This report is based on a review of literature and experience relating to the integration of aquaculture into coastal area management. It is divided into two parts:
1. Guidelines, designed for both policy makers and technical specialists, which provides broad guidance on the principles and practice of more integrated planning to promote sustainable coastal aquaculture development;
2. Tools, designed primarily for scientists and technical specialists, or those closely associated with aquaculture development, which provides a more detailed scientific review of the tools and methods which can be used to facilitate and inform the planning process.
The Guidelines (Part 1) are "stand alone" and can be read by policy makers, planners and stakeholders without reference to Part 2. The guidance is necessarily general: the most effective approaches will vary significantly between locations. Our review of planning approaches world-wide revealed no models that were simple, effective and widely applicable. However, we were able to identify broadly agreed principles, and a common framework for more integrated approaches. The procedures and tools which can be used in support of better planning are also introduced in Part 1, with some discussion of their application, strengths and weaknesses.
Part 2 (Tools) should be read in conjunction with Part 1, since the latter provides the context and rationale for the former. The most important tools and methods that can be used to facilitate more integrated planning are reviewed, particularly as they relate to aquaculture. It was beyond the scope of this report to review all these tools in detail, and emphasis was therefore placed on those that have been applied in practice to aquaculture development planning. Where appropriate the reader is directed to other more comprehensive reviews and guidelines.
This report should not be considered a simple tool box. The complexity of the issues, and the variety of circumstances, precludes a standardised approach. Instead, the report provides realistic advice based on practical experience made in the field of planning of coastal aquaculture development and integrated coastal management throughout the world. Practitioners are encouraged to select, modify and continuously adapt their own approaches and tools to specific circumstances. The report calls for pragmatic, systematic and flexible planning and management efforts, which may need to be supported with patience, endurance and adequate funding, for the benefit of sustainable aquaculture development in coastal areas.
This document is an output from Working Group 31 of GESAMP, which met in Bangkok, Thailand, from 1-5 December 1997. Contributions to the work of the Working Group by the following experts are acknowledged with appreciation: John Hambrey (Chair), Piamsak Menasveta, Don Morrisey, Arthur Neiland, Ong Jin-Eong, Michael Phillips, John Radull, Marguerite Rasolofo, Peter Saenger, Siri Tookwinas, and Uwe Barg (Secretariat). The Working Group prepared the document "Integration of Aquaculture into Coastal Management" (GESAMP/XXVIII/5 and XXVIII/5.1). Valuable comments and suggestions on the draft study were received from Malcolm Beveridge, Dan Fegan, James Tobey and Rolf Willmann. The document was presented to the 28th Session of GESAMP in Geneva, 1998, and to the 29th Session in London, 1999, (as GESAMP/XXIX/5) for discussion and comments. The final version was endorsed at the 30th Session of GESAMP held in Monaco, 22-26 May 2000.
The report complements previous Reports and Studies by GESAMP which focus on the environmental impacts of coastal aquaculture and coastal management issues. They include: Environmental Capacity: an Approach to Marine Pollution Prevention (1986); Global Strategies for Marine Environmental Protection (1991). Reducing Environmental Impacts of Coastal Aquaculture (1991); Biological Indicators and their Use in the Measurement of the Condition of the Marine Environment (1995); Monitoring the Ecological Effects of Coastal Aquaculture Wastes (1996); The Contributions of Science to Integrated Coastal Management (1996), and Towards Safe and Effective Use of Chemicals in Coastal Aquaculture (1997). The work of the Working Group was jointly sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the United Nations - Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the IUCN-The World Conservation Union. The Secretariat was provided by FAO.
