Exploring the Challenges of Implementing Integrated Coastal Management and Achieving Sustainability within the Cameroon Coastline

Abstract

More than a decade ago the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published Legal and Institutional Aspects of Integrated Coastal Area Management in National Legislation 1. The preface to that publication pointed out that integrated coastal area management law was a relatively new the field and that few jurisdictions had comprehensive legal frameworks to promote integrated coastal management. The situation has changed dramatically since then. Integrated coastal management (ICM) is now widely accepted throughout the world as the best approach to dealing with coastal issues and the 1990s saw a proliferation of legislative reform processes throughout the world aimed at supporting the implementation of ICM. This trend remains strong and many countries, including most of the Member States of the European Union, are in the process of strengthening the legislative basis for ICM. The urgency of addressing coastal issues is now considerably greater than it was a decade ago. Despite many international environmental treaties, declarations and other promises of action, the quality of coastal environments continues to deteriorate in most of the world. Many of the major pressures on coastal areas in the early 1990s have continued to intensify. Coastal fisheries in much of the world have continued to decline rapidly while the demand for coastal resources and the pollution of coastal waters has increased in most areas due to a variety of factors including increases in coastal populations. The full implications of other threats are only now becoming apparent or being appreciated fully. These include the risk arising from the transfer of pathogens and aquatic organisms in ships' ballast water, and the effects of climate change. Sea levels are rising and in many parts of the world disruptions of weather patterns are apparent in the increased frequency and intensity of storms. As a result, coastal erosion and flooding has increased, threatening coastal human populations and the natural environment. On the positive side, it is clear that globally there is now a far greater appreciation of the environmental, economic, social, cultural and recreational importance of coastal areas, and of the value of ICM. Indeed there is now 1

Fostering coastal resilience to climate change vulnerability in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay: a cross-country comparison

“…The relative poor adaptive capacity of Cameroon is attributable to intrinsic vulnerability (i) increase in PD, (ii) increase in EE, (iii), poor GR, (iv) high Pov and (v) low GDP (CMEF 2005;Nachmany et al 2015;Ngoran et al 2016; this article), all of which are difficult to improve in the short-term. Sustained SED and planning for futures (e.g.…”

“…Despite the economic significance of Cameroon's coastline, unsustainable utilisation, poor management and the negative impacts of climate change pose serious challenges to its sustainable development (Ngoran et al 2016). Cameroon relies greatly on its agriculture, industries, tourism, and natural resources that are focused upon the 402 km long coastline of the Limbe, Douala and Kribi municipalities.…”

The Ocean Transition: What to Learn from System Transitions

“…Complexity of this nature in coastal governance has implications for resource and livelihood sustainability (Agrawal and Perrin 2009). For this reason, implementing ICM has proven to be a challenge in different parts of the world (Ngoran et al 2016;Cantasano et al 2017;Warnken and Mosadeghi 2018).…”

Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Kuwait: A Knowledge-Based System Model

“…To face the challenges related to the legal and administrative capacity, it is inevitable to have an agency the has a legal jurisdiction that is expected to fulfill multiple roles and responsibilities such as defining and categorizing the coastal zones, developing and implementing coastal plans, and regulating the development activities in congested zones. Ngoran et al (2016) concluded that, to achieve a beneficial employment of the integrated coastal management, the sectoral lines must be minimized. With respect to the financial capacity, adequate financial resources need to be available for the appropriate planning and application of coastal management strategies.…”