n is just one tool to manage coastal areas. There are other tools such as putting information and maps in public domain, training and education, involvement of the local community in management etc that need to be used to develop a holistic governance systems for the coasts. Probir Banerjee, President PondyCan, stressed that the “worst affected are the people living at the margins and the objective has to be to enhance livelihoods and not compromise them.”
Lastly, the meeting recognised that coasts in each country are limited and face competing demands. Every thing from ports to power plants to cities to livelihoods of local communities have to be accommodated. In this context, Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) has to be a practice and not a just buzzword. ICZM must be institutionalised so that the interests of all stakeholders including those advocating conservation and habitat protection are accommodated and managed.
The delegates at the convention collectively felt the need for experience sharing in the region. “It is important for different South Asian countries to arrange study tours in different countries to learn from each other’s successes and failures,” feels Anil Premaratne, Director-General (DG) of Sri Lanka’s Coast Conservation Department. Naseer Khan Kashani, DG Pakistan (Balochistan) also seconded this opinion, “Every country has a story to tell and it is important to learn from each other. We need better information exchange and information access among the South Asian countries.”