In addition to hosting critical natural habitats, Mediterranean coastal zones underpin crucial blue economy activities. As biologically active interfaces where complex land-sea interactions are at play, the coasts are hotspots of climate change vulnerability. Coastal communities must grapple with a wide array of climate-related risks: from sea-level rise and havoc-wreaking extreme weather events to the salinization of river deltas and aquifers.
In this context, the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) is promoting coastal plans to bolster adaptive capacity. This is achieved by enabling robust territorial planning based on the principles of sustainable development, and by preserving the health of coastal ecosystems—thus making them more resilient to climate change.
Planning under a changing climate
Coastal plans serve as tools for territory-based multi-stakeholder cooperation to alleviate the pressure exerted on ecosystems. This is done by identifying locally viable pathways to using natural resources sustainably. In doing so, coastal plans capture the principles outlined in the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).
The first coastal plan aligned with the ICZM Protocol and encompassing the climate dimension was launched in 2014 in Šibenik-Knin County in Croatia, with the support of the GEF-funded MedPartnership. The Plan, which was adopted by the County in 2016, earned the MedAward in 2019. As part of the planning process, Šibenik-Knin County recently initiated the “coastal infrastructure cadastre” with the support of the EU Interreg AdriaAdapt project. Kaštela, another Croatian coastal town, emulated the Šibenik-Knin County example by producing an even more detailed cadastre. The towns of Kaštela, Vodice, and the county of Split -Dalmatia, also in Croatia, recently adopted full-fledged coastal adaptation plans.
Other coastal plans have been developed in Italy, Montenegro and Morocco. Funding has come from several sources, including the GEF, the European Union and the local or regional governments’ own budgets. Currently, two coastal plans are under preparation with the support of the GEF-UNEP MedProgramme for the Boka Kotorska Bay in Montenegro and the region of Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima in Morocco.
In Montenegro, Boka Kotorska Bay—home to a UNESCO-recognized natural and cultural site—devised a coastal management plan in response to mounting climate-induced threats, including floods, droughts and forest fires. In Morocco, where the national “Coastal Law” requires regions to prepare regional coastal plans (referred to locally as Schémas Régionaux du Littoral), experts from the PAP/RAC and Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centres of UNEP/MAP are supporting coastal planning in Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima. Plan Bleu is implementing its Climagine foresight methodology to support the elaboration of the coastal plans in Morocco and Montenegro.
PAP/RAC has developed a wealth of tools to assist local governments and their partners in devising robust coastal plans, including a knowledge platform on coastal adaptation. Although initially aimed at Adriatic countries, this platform has received visits from more than 150 countries worldwide, thus demonstrating its relevance to common coastal challenges around the Mediterranean and beyond.
Working in synergy with PAP/RAC, Plan Bleu is underpinning the conduct of regional climate risk assessments, engaging researchers, decision makers, local communities and the private and financial sectors to support climate change adaptation solutions. Plan Bleu is also piloting a local foresight exercise in the Agglomeration of Sophia-Antipolis in the South of France, where the Centre is facilitating territorial dialogue on challenges posed by climate change in the coastal context while focusing on solutions at the community level.
Coastal plans as locally relevant frameworks for climate action
The most effective coastal plans are those developed in an inclusive manner, integrating gender equality and embodying inclusive partnerships among government, academia, civil society and businesses. The process leading to the development of a coastal plan provides plenty of opportunities for genuine whole-of-society engagement for adaptation and, by the same token, the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals.
Coastal plans constitute conducive frameworks within which nature-based solutions, which require wide uptake and collaboration, can be successfully introduced to build local adaptation muscle. Such solutions include, for instance, the restoration or preservation of wetlands, dunes and salt marshes.
One of the main contributions of coastal plans is also to infuse the essence of the ICZM Protocol in local development planning. This is a crucial because the full implementation of the Barcelona Convention and its six Protocols constitutes a prerequisite to achieving healthier and, consequently, more resilient marine and coastal ecosystems that can underpin adaptation efforts in the Mediterranean.
