Iran's Integrated Coastal Management plan: Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, and southern Caspian Sea coastlines

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Ocean & Coastal Management 50 (2007) 754–773 www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman

Iran’s Integrated Coastal Management plan: Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, and southern Caspian Sea coastlines$ Ali Paka,1, Manuchehr Farajzadehb,,1 a

Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran b Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Available online 30 March 2007

Abstract Iran, having two separate coastlines at its north and south of about 3000 km length, with very different characteristics, suffers from various coastal problems. While its northern coastal area is over-populated and its sensitive and unique habitats must be protected from destruction, most of its southern coastal areas are undeveloped and deserted. Intense oil and gas exploitation activities in the Caspian Sea region and occurrence of two wars in the Persian Gulf during the last two decades have rendered hydrocarbon pollution a major issue for this country’s marine and coastal environment. Biodiversity is under threat in some areas and natural resources are deteriorating. To overcome the problems, Integrated Coastal Management has been considered by Iran’s government as a long-term solution. In Iran’s ICZM study project, baseline studies along with social, economical, and spatial planning studies in the coastal provinces are carried out in order to achieve the desired outcomes as a number of strategic plans for the coastal areas that are to be implemented by a coastal management entity. Providing the required laws and regulations for establishing such a management body is also under way. In this paper after reviewing Iran’s coastal zone characteristics and problems, the longterm goals, strategies, and policies for sustainable management of Iran’s coastal areas are outlined. Then, the ICZM study procedure and its prospected outcomes are explained, and importance of some of the findings of Iran’s ICM is emphasized. Finally, some challenges including having two separate and different coastlines at the north and south of the country and their effects on the Iran’s ICZM plan are discussed. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

$

Based on the results of ICZM project being conducted by Ports and Shipping Organization of Iran.

Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Pak), [email protected] (M. Farajzadeh). Project manager and deputy project manager of ICZM study, SPI Consulting Engineers.

1

0964-5691/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2007.03.006

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1. Introduction Iran with 750 km coastline along the Caspian Sea and around 2250 km coastline along the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, suffers from various kinds of coastal problems. Iran’s northern coasts along the Caspian Sea enjoy a mild and pleasant weather. There exist beautiful landscapes consisting of green forests, hills, rivers and wetlands. Hence, a large number of people usually choose this area for recreation and leisure. Overpopulation and large amounts of solid/liquid wastes that are normally generated from tourism, agricultural, and industrial activities have caused major environmental problems for these areas. On the other hand, Iran’s lengthy southern coastlines along the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman suffer from different kinds of problems. Undevelopment, hard climatological conditions, and poverty have left only a few major coastal towns along the coastlines which are hundreds of kilometers apart. The main concern of the government for these areas is eradicating the poverty and unlawful activities, such as smuggling, via building infrastructures and construction of road/railroad networks. Length of the country’s coastlines has made Iran’s ministry of interior to consider three coastal provinces in the north of the country and four coastal provinces in the south. There are lots of conflicting issues in the coastal zone not only among the governmental agencies, but also among them and private stake-holders that have to be resolved to achieve a sustainable development. Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit [1] in Rio (1992), gave a boost to the government’s motivation for facing the coastline problems by an integrated coastal management approach. This has initiated an attempt for setting up a national strategic plan for the coastal areas in Iran. Besides, the government has announced a self-mandate for implementation of an ICZM plan along the coastal boundaries during the fourth 5-year socioeconomic and cultural development plan that started at 2005. In this paper, the characteristics of the coastal zones along the Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, and southern Caspian Sea are first explained. Then the problems that have triggered the integrated costal management in Iran are described. At the third part of this paper, goals, strategies, and policies of Iran’s government for sustainable development of the coastal areas are discussed. Attempts that have been made for a comprehensive ICZM study and its prospected outcomes comprise the fourth part of the paper. The findings and some early results of this study are explained next. Finally, the challenges that Iran faces for implementation of ICM are discussed. 2. A general overview on Iran’s coastlines Iran, located in the south west of Asia, covers a vast area of 1 648 000 km2 of the strategic and oil-rich region of Middle East. Iran is connected to open seas via the Persian Gulf and Hormoz Strait, which connects it to the Oman Sea and Indian Ocean. In the north of Iran there exists the largest closed body of water in the world, i.e. the Caspian Sea, along which three of Iran’s coastal provinces are situated (Fig. 1). While the weather in the south of the Caspian Sea is moderate, humid and usually very pleasant, the weather in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coasts are hot, dry, and unfavorable. This large difference in the climate has caused large difference in living style, culture, and degree of development. Iran’s three provinces at the north are overpopulated and are considered to be among the country’s most attractive regions for tourists, especially in the summer season. These provinces enjoy having good infrastructures and can provide relatively good services to

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Fig. 1. Map of Iran with its coasts in the north (Caspian Sea) and in the south (Persian Gulf and Oman Sea).

millions of people who choose the north beaches for their vacations. On the other hand, Iran’s four southern provinces that are connected to the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, except Khuzestan, are undeveloped, coastal towns are sparse, the level of people’s income is low, and coastlines are virtually untouched. Caspian Sea’s southern coastal regions have the most precipitation rate compared to other parts of Iran. The precipitation ranges from 1800 mm in the west (Gilan province) to 400 mm in the east (Golestan province). Relative humidity usually varies from 24% to 100%, and average annual temperature is 17 1C. These favorable conditions have created dense forests that are extended towards Alborz Mountains. Due to existence of huge reserves of groundwater as well as surface fresh water, people in this region have traditionally been farmers. Rice, tea, cotton, olive, and fruits are the main products of

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these areas so that these three provinces comprise one of the major agricultural poles of the country. Around 30% of these areas are irrigated agricultural lands. Forests cover 55.5%, pastures cover 13%, and the rest are mainly gardens and fruit yards. Surface water resources vary from 4000 million cubic meters at the west to 1235 million cubic meters at the east. The same trend can be found for ground water which is estimated to be around 2000 million cubic meters at the west to 1200 million cubic meters at the east. All of the water is consumed by agricultural and industrial sectors. In this region, traditional and industrial fishing produce 45 000 ton different kinds of fish each year with the average value of 25 million dollars (including caviar). Industries based on aquaculture products, woods, and paper comprise the main industrial divisions in this region. As mentioned, very nice natural sceneries and beautiful landscapes attract millions of people each year to Iran’s northern coastal areas. Emergence of the tourism industry during the past 20 years has persuaded many native people to shift their traditional careers towards jobs that are somehow related to tourism. Caspian Sea’s southern coast has around 750 km length beach which is mostly sand or sandy gravel and rarely contains pebbles or cobbles. Sensitive environmental habitats such as Anzali wetland, Gorgan Bay, and Miankale peninsula host hundreds of types of flora and fauna. Some of these areas are officially declared protected areas by Iran’s Department of the Environment. Despite the importance of these unique habitats, pollutants discharged to the sea from the town’s sewage, agricultural/industrial waste water, as well as solid waste generated by the native people and large number of tourists along the Caspian Sea coasts have caused severe environmental problems. Based on the 1996 census, 10% of the country’s 60 million population live in the three small northern provinces. Statistics show that 1.6 million people live in a 10 km bandwidth and 3.7 million people live in a 50 km bandwidth from the shoreline of the Caspian Sea [2]. On the other side of the country, there exist the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The Persian Gulf climate is distinguished with long and hot summer and short and mild winter, which last 8 and 4 months, respectively. Relative humidity in this region is usually low and average precipitation varies between 144 and 500 mm. Development of the Persian Gulf coast in the past decades has been mainly founded on its large oil and gas reserves. So, Khuzestan province is more developed compared to Iran’s other southern provinces due to its oil wells that have been discovered around 100 years ago. The latest studies indicate that total oil reserves in the Persian Gulf region exceed 565 000 million barrels which comprises 63% of the world total oil reserves. Natural gas in this region has been estimated at 31  1012 m3 which is 30% of the world’s [3]. The share of Iran currently is estimated at 100 000 million barrels of oil and 17  1012 m3 of natural gas. These huge amounts of natural resources have to be produced, refined, exported, and/or processed along the Persian Gulf coastlines. South Pars Gas Field which is located in the continental shelf of the Persian Gulf is a good example that vividly shows the importance of oil and gas industry in development of the region. A rather overnight construction of a giant complex of refinery, petrochemical plants, two large ports, and related downstream industries in Asaluyeh in the Bushehr province in just a few years, have changed the face of this province very rapidly. Oman Sea’s northern coastlines consist of the sea boundary of the two of Iran’s four southern provinces, namely Hormozgan and Sistan va Baluchestan. The climate in this region is more or less similar to the Indian Ocean. Lack of enough rain in these areas has

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caused severe limitations for agricultural development. Therefore, the number of the human settlements in these provinces is small; population density is low and only 10% of Iran’s 66 million populations live in these large provinces. Due to the connection to open seas, most of Iran’s main commercial ports are located in the southern coast from which 86% of Iran’s needs are imported. These ports are Bandar Imam in Khuzestan province, Bushehr in Bushehr province, Shahid Rajaee in Hormozgan province, and Chabahar in Sistan va Baluchestan province. Although these ports play a vital role in Iran’s economy, they have not been able to create a uniform and harmonized development in Iran’s southern coastlines, mainly because they are around 800 km apart (Fig. 1). Fishing and aquaculture activities by 10 000 traditional vessels are the most popular business among the native people along the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines. Existence of coral reefs and mangrove forests along the Persian Gulf coasts as well as habitats of hundreds of various species provides potential for ecotourism, especially in the periods when these provinces enjoy a mild weather at the time the rest of the country spends cold and snowy winter time. But lack of the required infrastructure and inadequate facilities have not allowed an active tourism industry to grow up in these areas. 3. Iran’s coastal zone problems Different climates and cultures have created different kinds of problems in the northern and southern coastlines of Iran. One of the main problems along the Caspian Sea coastlines is either lack of law or lack of law-enforcement to protect public right for having access to the sea. Most of the shoreline and in some cases even the setback area is occupied either by individuals or by government agencies. The latest figures [4] show that in Mazandaran province people are banned from 96% of the shoreline, so tourists may get access to the beach just from the remaining 4%. Another crucial problem in the Iran’s northern coastal provinces is inundation of shoreline and coastal facilities due to sea-water level rise [5]. This natural hazard has destructed so many buildings and structures along the shore during the last 15 years. Overpopulation and high residential density is another major problem which, in turn, has created coastal pollution due to the increasing amount of generated liquid/solid waste. Furthermore, studies show that 160 000 ton hydrocarbon materials are released per annum to the Caspian Sea which can further worsen the situation [6]. A comprehensive list of the problems along the Caspian Sea coastline is presented in Box 1 [7]. The nature of the problems associated with Iran’s southern coastal regions is different. Along the Persian Gulf coastlines smuggling and other unlawful activities are considered to be a threat for national security. Environmental concerns in these areas are basically related to oil/gas industries and also heavy traffic of oil tankers, the number of which has exceeded 14 000 vessels during the year 2004. Environmental problems have increased especially due to the effects of two wars during the last two decades. Along the Oman Sea coastlines the main problem is undevelopment and poverty, which has caused increase in the rate of illegal trafficking of goods. Another major issue in the Oman Sea coastal area is inadequate infrastructure and weak connection to the hinterland. A detailed list of the problems along the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines are mentioned in Box 2 [7]. The above-mentioned problems are constantly deteriorating the situation at Iran’s coastal areas. Following UN guidelines in Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit in 1992 [1],

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Box 1 Problems encountered in the Caspian Sea coastal areas [7]. (a) Natural and environmental problems  Discharge of municipal, industrial, and agricultural liquid/solid waste to the sea  Unsystematic and/or over-exploitation of natural resources  Pollution of coastal areas due to limitation of land for waste disposal  Sea-water level rise  Coastal erosion  Threats to biodiversity  Sea-based sources of pollution (b) Economical problems  Low productivity of agricultural activities and unsuitable use of land  Decreasing trend of fish resources (including sturgeon)  Lack of parent industries, and/or supporting industries  Weak and inactive marine trade (c) Spatial (land-use) problems  Irregular/illegal construction and development  Restricted public access to the sea  Lack of suitable land-use plan for coastal zone development  Shoreline/coastal land ownership (real-state problems)  Unlawful change in land-use (especially agricultural lands)  Inadequate transportation infrastructures (d) Social–cultural problems  High population rate  Rapid/undesirable change in cultural texture

Iran’s government has chosen the ICM as a long-term solution to achieve the goal of establishing a sustainable development in the country’s coastal zones. The first step in the ICZM study of Iran has been focusing on the definition and determination of coastal zone boundaries.

4. Criteria for delineation of Iran’s coastal zone boundaries Several approaches for delineating coastal zone boundaries have been used so far around the world [8]. Surprisingly, some of the countries that are already experiencing different levels of integrated management have not yet defined their coastal boundaries and in some countries only few jurisdictions regarding the setback line or no-construction zone exist [9]. In Iran’s ICM studies the following three levels of management in the coastal area have been defined [8]. It should be mentioned that each management level is to be practiced in a coastal stripe that covers part of the land and part of the sea.

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Box 2 Problems encountered in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines [7]. (a) Natural and environmental problems  Problems associated with oil/gas exploitations  Pollution of coastal area  Discharge of municipal, industrial, and agricultural liquid/solid waste to the sea (b) Economical problems  Meager agricultural activities due to unfavorable climate, low freshwater resources, no flood control measures, and unsuitable cultivation procedures  Weak or inactive sea-trade  Lack of tourism facilities and services  Fresh-water shortage (c) Physical/spatial problems  Irregular/illegal construction and development  Unlawful change in land-use  Inadequate transportation infrastructures (d) Social–cultural problems  Weak connection with hinterland  Unlawful trade and smuggling  Undevelopment and poverty

4.1. Shore stripe zone (zone 1) This stripe is the place of direct interaction between land and sea. Coastal phenomena such as waves, tides, storms, and coastal processes such as sedimentation and erosion occur in this stripe. Protection of valuable coastal habitats in sea and land such as mangrove forests, coral reefs, and sea grass, as well as coastal morphologies such as estuaries, capes, bays, wetland, deltas, etc. is under the jurisdiction of shoreline management body. The width of the shore stripe zone varies along the coastal areas but its typical width is 2000 m in the land and contour of 10 m depth in the sea. 4.2. Integrated management zone (zone 2) Integrated management zone overlaps the shore stripe from both sides of land and sea. The main task in this zone is coordination among different policies and actions that are taken in the coastal zone by different governmental agencies and private sector. This stripe covers the so-called ‘‘coastal zone’’, where the effects of the sea are evident on the natural circumstances and also economical aspects of people’s lives. The typical width of this band is 10 km in the land and marine areas behind the reference shore line (UN secretariat registered reference line for Iran [10]) in the sea. The distance between this reference line and the nearest beach of Iran is mostly less than 12 Nautical miles (Nm). For areas that this distance exceeds 12 Nm, the contour line corresponding to lowest water level replaces

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the registered reference line; therefore, the contour line corresponding to 10 m depth in the sea would designate the boundaries of zone 2. 4.3. Monitoring zone (zone 3) Although no real management is enforced in this zone (outside the integrated management zone) monitoring of the issues that may affect the coastal zone both landward and seaward is carried out in this zone. It should be emphasized that control and monitoring of activities are carried out in the ‘‘shore stripe zone’’ and ‘‘integrated management zone’’ as well. The indicators and criteria that are normally monitored in zone 3 can be physical, chemical, biological, economical, etc. The typical width of this zone is 50 km in the land and territorial waters (12 Nm from the registered reference line) in the sea. 4.4. Influence zone This normally contains such a large area that, in principle, is outside the authority of the governmental agencies that are responsible for coastal affairs. The influence zone, in fact, extends to the boundaries of the drainage basin. This large area contains the whole land/ sea that directly or indirectly may have a kind of effect on the coastal area [11]. This zone is not of much interest in the Iran’s current ICM program. Some of the characteristics of zones 1–3 that were defined above are depicted in Tables 1–3. The differences among the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Oman sea coastlines are evident through the figures shown in these tables [12]. In Table 1 the number of the coastal towns with a population more than 10 000 is shown. While around 147 towns with more than 10 000 people exist along the 750 km coastlines at the north, the number of the towns along the 2200 km southern coastlines is limited to 45, which is around one-third of the northern figures. These figures show the sparsity of the towns along the southern coastlines. Table 2 shows the population distribution in different zones in the northern and southern coastal areas. As shown in this table, the population density along the Caspian Sea southern coastlines exceeds 270 persons per km2, while the same figure for the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines is around 50. Table 2 bears another interesting result, i.e. in Table 1 Number of the coastal towns in Iran’s coastal areas (zone 1: shore stripe zone; 2: coastal zone; 3: monitoring zone) Coastal area

Zone

Population 0–10 000

Population 10 000–25 000

Population 25 000–50 000

Population 50 000–100 000

Population 4 100 000

Caspian Sea

1 2 3

2 18 54

4 6 14

3 11 26

1 1 5

0 0 2

Persian Gulf

1 2 3

1 2 3

0 4 5

0 1 2

0 2 4

1 2 2

Oman Sea

1 2 3

2 3 4

1 1 1

1 2 2

0 0 0

0 0 0

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Table 2 Population of different zones in Iran’s coastal areas (zone 1: shore stripe zone; 2: coastal zone; 3: monitoring zone) Coastal Zone Total Total population area population density (per km2) Caspian 1 Sea 2 3

Rural Rural population population density (per km2)

366 779

278.3

266 473

202.2

100 306

76.1

1 633 199 3 708 416

235.9 146.2

698 579 1 723 938

100.9 68.0

934 620 1 984 778

135.0 78.3

454 971

53.6

362 966

42.7

92 005

10.8

1 364 027 2 044 830

67.4 44.1

957 168 1 209 695

47.3 26.1

406 859 835 135

20.1 18.0

1

95 512

56.7

58 626

34.8

36 886

21.9

2 3

222 937 358 357

27.1 11.8

103 443 105 713

12.6 3.5

119 494 252 644

14.5 8.3

Persian 1 Gulf 2 3 Oman Sea

Urban Urban population population density (per km2)

Table 3 Land cover of different zones in Iran’s coastal areas (zone 1: shore stripe zone; 2: coastal zone; 3: monitoring zone) Irrigation farming Dry farming (km2) (km2)

Forest (km2)

Pasture (km2)

Garden (km2)

Other (km2)

Coastal area

Zone Surface area (km2)

Caspian Sea

1

1318

753

0

52

88

0

425

2 3

6923 25 363

3866 7385

0 274

2333 13 524

88 3176

0 12

636 1004

1

8495

816

n.a

5

1091

63

n.a

2 3

20 230 46 420

3176 8965

n.a n.a

7.6 1173.6

7020 8053

141 190

n.a n.a

1

1685

140

n.a

0

309

6

n.a

2 3

8239 30 489

823 2391

n.a n.a

0 0

2607 17 440

155 337

n.a n.a

Persian Gulf

Oman Sea

n.a: Not available; surface area does not include the sea.

the northern regions rural population is more than urban population indicating a uniform distribution of human settlements, while in the southern areas the situation is reversed, showing that most of the people reside in the towns and the lengthy coastline in the south is mostly deserted. In Table 3 surface areas of the zones 1–3 at the northern and southern coastal areas are shown along with some data regarding the types of land cover and vegetation. Figures in this table indicate existence of vast areas of irrigation farming and forest at the north compared to the small areas of green cover at the south. Noting that the

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coastal areas in the south of Iran are three times greater than that in the north confirms the fact that the natural environment of two coastal regions are entirely different. 5. Iran’s long-term goals and objectives for coastal zones Iran’s ‘‘Management and Planning Organization’’ (MPO) is responsible for the preparation of the 5-year development plans aiming at establishing a harmonized, yet rapid, progress in socioeconomic conditions of the whole country. In the ‘‘Fourth social, economical, and cultural 5-year development plan act’’, article 63 has focused on the coastal areas with special reference to Mazandaran province [13]. There has been an attempt by MPO to present a ‘‘National Deed’’ for rehabilitation of the country’s coastal areas to provide a basis for further acts and/or plans that should be prepared. In this document Iran’s long term goals and objectives have been announced as follows: 1. Utilization of seas for interaction and communication with the world in order to extend Iran’s economical outreach and establishment of sustainable development in coastal areas. 2. Making ground for a sustainable socioeconomic development in the coastal areas via appropriate exploitation of the coastal zone capabilities. 3. Conflict resolution in laws, regulations, and activities of governmental, cooperative, and private sectors. 4. Putting the human settlements and installations in order, in the coastal areas. 5. Protection of the environment at the coastal areas. 6. Reducing the risk of natural hazards for communities and installations along the coastlines.

6. Iran’s strategies for development of coastal areas Iran’s general development strategies, for the coastal zone, quoting from the ‘‘National Deed’’, are as follows: 1. Supporting business activities that have proved to be consistent with environmental capacities of the coastal areas. 2. Establishment of an integrated management system in the coastal zone. 3. Coordinating the activities of different agencies in order to keep or increase their efficiencies in the coastal affairs. 4. Providing public access to the beach. 5. Providing suitable conditions for participation of people in the coastal management affairs. 6. Protection and restoration of coastal habitats. 7. Prevention of pollution and destruction of coastal environment. 8. Increasing the capacities of the coastal areas to reduce the consequences of natural hazards. 9. Making ground for regularization of activities of construction industry in the coastal area.

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10. Promotion of the country’s status in the regional/international cooperation treaties based upon national interests. 11. Public awareness and education, regarding suitable utilization of sea and beach. 12. Establishment of a unified information system and database in the coastal zones. 6.1. Policies for development of Caspian Sea coastal areas As mentioned before due to different problems that exist in Iran’s northern and southern coastal areas, different policies are considered for solving these problems. The policies for the Caspian Sea coastlines mentioned below are based on the strengths and weaknesses explained in Table 4.

       

Equalization of distribution of population and activities along the coast consistent with the existing ecological capacities. Strengthening potential tourism capabilities and promoting its management efficiency at the national and international levels and giving priority to the private sector. Preventing irregular expansion of coastal cities and considering the shoreline’s limitations for establishing new human settlements. Preventing marine environment pollution, prevention of forest destruction, protection of soil/water resources and enhancing shoreline ecotourism via strengthening environmental management. Expansion of fishing ports, fishing fleet, and fishing industries and increasing the aquaculture production and export. Development and equipment of marine terminals and ports and providing required facilities for responding to the increasing demand for cargo transit. Land allocation consistent with coastal environment’s potentials and capabilities. Appropriate utilization of soil/water resources for increasing quality agricultural products.

Table 4 Strengths and weaknesses of the Caspian Sea southern coastlines Strengths Shore

 Existence of significant fish resources and fishing  

Coastal zone

ports Existence of ecotourism potentials Existence of free or special economic zones

Weaknesses

 Sea-water level fluctuations  Lack of regular shipping services  Weaknesses in commercial port facilities

 Existence of fertile grounds, pastures, and forests  High-population density  Existence of means for development of aquaculture  Limitation of land and livestock breeding  Low quality of services and facilities  Existence of ecotourism attractions  Lack of goods storage and preservation facilities  Balanced distribution of residential centers  Good access to the main transportation network  Inadequate roads/railroads/air transportation networks  Existence of industries related to agricultural,  Lack of main and supporting industries fishing, and forestry activities compatible with the environment

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Strengthening agriculture-related industries, handicrafts, and electronic industries and preventing establishment and development of industries harmful to the sensitive environmental areas.

6.2. Policies for management of coastal zones of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea These policies are based on the strengths and weaknesses explained in Table 5.

     

Establishment of chemical, petrochemical, mineral, and marine industries based on the existing oil and gas reserves/installations along the Persian Gulf coastline. Creating equalization in the distribution of population and strengthening the existing human settlements, especially small and medium size coastal towns. Construction of the required infrastructure and utilization of favorable natural and historical capacities, in order to establish an active tourism industry with contribution of private sector. Prevention of pollution caused by discharge of solid/liquid wastes to the sea, preservation of coastline’s ecosystem, and protection of unique or endangered species. Providing needed equipments for fishing ports, protection and restoration of fish and aquaculture resources to enhance the role of industrial fishing and aquaculture industries. Expansion of domestic marine trade (e.g. cabotage), establishment of commercial infrastructures, and providing due facilities to respond to the growing demand for cargo transit to neighboring countries.

Table 5 Strengths and weaknesses of the Persian Gulf and Oman sea coastlines Strengths Shore

Weaknesses

 Existence of suitable port and marine facilities for import/export and transit of goods

 Inadequate transportation infrastructure

 Having virgin coastal environment and unique    Coastal zone

ecosystems Having rich marine resources and fishing/aquaculture potentials Existence of islands with different functions, e.g. commerce, tourism, military Existence of huge oil/gas reservoirs and exploitation facilities, e.g. South Pars Gas field

to back up the existing port facilities

 Sea-water pollution

 Existence of favorable conditions for establishing large  Limitation of fresh-water resources chemical/petrochemical/metallurgical industries  Soil/groundwater salinity  Existence of large industries related to agricultural/  Sparseness of populated areas and aquaculture activities

 Having cultural and historical attractions  

limitation of agricultural land (east coasts) Old and unsuitable urban facilities and infrastructures Vulnerability of the coastal habitats and facilities to natural hazards

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Improvement and development of fresh-water installations, suitable road and railroad connections, etc. for the existing human settlements and activities.

7. ICZM study in Iran Started at early 2003, it consists of three phases as follows [7]: Phase 1: Preliminaries and start up. Phase 2: Planning. Phase 3: Programming for implementation. In should be mentioned that the implementation phase is not included in the present ICZM study project. The prepared ICZM plans will first be applied to a specified region as a pilot project before being implemented to the whole coastal areas. Following the IOC guidelines [14] for preliminary identification phase, the work sequence is planned as depicted in Fig. 2. For the preparation phases (1 and 2), two steps have been considered in the study (Fig. 3). In the first step, current situation of the coastal areas will be studied in detail (baseline studies). At the end of this step long- and short-term goals and objectives of Iran’s coastal development will be refined, and the existing sectoral plans for the coastal areas will be evaluated and adjusted toward establishment of sustainable development objectives. In the second step of the preparation phase, based on the results of baseline studies on one hand, and having the final goals and objectives of the coastal development on the other, the final outcomes of the study will be provided. Based on the studies conducted so far, it was concluded that for implementation of integrated management along Iran’s coastlines the following strategic plans have to be provided: (i) Shoreline management plan: The purpose of shoreline management plan (SMP) is to identify the resources in the coastal areas, through which negative consequences from interaction among the various interests are diminished, so that future generations, as little as possible, will be tied with handling difficulties based on earlier decisions. SMP basically Study of pre-requisites and requirements for study, planning and implementation of ICZM

Study the concepts and methods of ICZM and reviewing ICZM global experiences

Determination and delineation of coastal zone boundaries

Preparation of Geographical Information Database Structure Fig. 2. Preliminary identification phase in Iran’s ICZM study [7].

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• Baseline studies: • Ecological studies (geology and geomorphology, climate, water resources, environment, natural hazard, shoreline and marine phenomena) • Economical studies (soil and agriculture, forest and pasture, mine and industries, oil and gas, tourism, Fisheries) • Spatial studies (infrastructures, transportation, residential areas, land-use,urban service networks) • Social studies (population and public participation) • Existing institutions, organization, and governmental agencies related to coastal affairs • Existing laws and regulations related to coastal areas • Goals and objective (sectoral/cross sectoral) Synthesis

Step #2

• • • • • • • • •

Finalizing coastal zone boundaries Environmental Management Plan (EMP) Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) Coastal land – use Plan (LUP) Public participation Plan (PPP) Coastal management organizational/institutional structure Geographical Information Database management ICZM laws, and regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (MEP) Fig. 3. Preparation phase in Iran’s ICZM study [7].

deals with the interaction between the actual and potential coastal evolution and the existing and planned activities. Sea-borne agents such as waves, tides, tsunamis, etc. usually cause erosion, sedimentation, and flooding at the beach. Other natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, landslides, liquefaction, etc.) also may exist in the coastal areas. In SMP studies the vulnerable areas are identified, set-back limits are determined and coastal management units are established in order to minimize the possible destructive effects on the human activities and installations at the coastal areas. Since the coastal nature of Caspian is very different from that of the southern seas, it is expected that two basically different SMPs are required to tackle the problems of these two regions in the line of the policies adopted for management of the Caspian coastlines on one side and the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines on the other. (ii) Environmental management plan: The purpose of environmental management plan (EMP) is to identify environmental issues and analyze the effectiveness of existing mechanisms, processes, and procedures currently used in environmental management in Iran. Recommendations and action strategies based on the identified limitations in the present system will be proposed, which will ensure a more effective management and conservation of the coastal environment in a sustainable manner. The provided EMP should ensure that the environmental management principles and conservation of natural resources are fully integrated in the coastal zone developments.

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(iii) Spatial plan for the coastal zone: Spatial or land-use plan (LUP) integrates sectoral activities in support of Iran’s long-term goals and objectives mentioned earlier. The ICZM spatial plan translates state development goals and objectives into a physical plan indicating the manner that the land in the coastal zone should be put in use in the future. For ensuring sustainable development, any spatial planning should be based on real evaluation of land capabilities and potentials for various activities that are compatible with the environment. Allocation of land-uses should carefully observe the people’s right to have free access to the beach, preservation of coastal ecosystems, and rational use of coastal land and its resources. While preparing spatial plan for the coastlines of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea does not seem to cause serious problems, providing a LUP for densely occupied and overcrowded coastlines of Caspian Sea is expected to be a difficult task. (iv) Public participation plan: Public awareness and public participation in decisionmaking are of utmost importance in the process of conflict resolution and establishment of a sustainable management in the coastal areas. The public participation plan (PPP) is assumed to be one of the main outcomes of Iran’s ICZM studies. The mechanisms, procedures, and tools for active involvement of all stakeholders, especially local communities, in the process of planning and implementation of ICM will be investigated and proposed in the PPP. (v) Organizational/institutional structure plan: This plan determines the organizational structure and/or institutional arrangements that are required for ICM implementation process. Lack of a coherent and harmonized management in Iran’s coastal areas is one of the main causes of deterioration of the coastal situations. Hence, establishment of a governmental executive entity is vital for Iran’s ICZM. Currently, a number of alternatives such as: creating a new organization for the management of coastal zones, promoting an existing governmental organization with inter-sectoral responsibilities for coastal management, or establishing a new deputy in the governorates of the coastal provinces for carrying out the job are taken into account. The responsibility of this management body would basically be policy-making, planning, and monitoring the activities of the local NGOs and private companies that want to be involved in the implementation process of ICZM. (vi) Monitoring and evaluation plan: This plan is needed for evaluating the consequences of the policies approved and the actions taken in the framework of ICZM plan. A continuous supervision and monitoring is found to be vital to make sure that Iran’s dual ICZM plans along the northern and southern coastlines lead to the anticipated long-term goals for sustainable development of Iran’s coastal areas. Studies indicate that ecological, physical, as well as economical criteria have to be selected and monitored periodically for this purpose. It is intended that the gathered data and information during the study period become inserted in a Geographical Information Database (GID). Furthermore, GIS is used for study, analysis, and proposing the desired plans for Iran’s northern and southern coastal areas. The legal provisions for implementation of these five major plans will be extracted in the form of an ‘‘Integrated Coastal Management Act’’, and will be presented to the parliament for ratification. Consultation workshops with the authorities and NGOs are going to be held during the studies. Also when the drafts of the aforementioned plans are prepared, public hearing sessions are going to be used to

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ensure the participation of private sector, NGOs, and people in finalizing the process. Studies are currently underway and the above-mentioned plans are to become complete in 2007. Governmental concerns regarding coastal problems have been on the agenda of several meetings among the central/regional authorities as well as the coastal scientists and specialists which have led to some basic findings that have already shed their light to the continuation of Iran’s ICZM studies and efforts. Till now the basic findings are as follows:

     

In order to solve the coastal problems, the existing management structure for coastal areas requires fundamental change or major re-engineering. Coastal boundaries and limits must be carefully defined and marked on the ground in order to have control on the enforcement of the proposed regulations. For materializing the sustainable management a number of strategic and executive plans are required. Transparency and public awareness are necessary for making ground to have the private sector and NGOs involved in the process of ICM implementation. New laws and regulations pertaining to coastal issues should be enacted. Cooperation with neighboring countries at the north and at the south is of prime importance.

The last issue mentioned above deserves special attention because the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf both are closed seas in which the actions and policies taken by one country affect all other littoral states. This concern will be discussed next in further detail. 8. Iran’s regional and international relations regarding coastal issues For countries that are located around closed or semi-closed seas, any action regarding their coastal issues may impose either beneficial or adverse effect on the coastal regions of the neighboring countries. The necessity for cooperation among neighboring countries for betterment of the coastal situations is encouraged in UN guidelines [15]. In fact, one of the main features of integration in coastal management is considered to be the integration among local, regional, and international efforts to achieve the global goals such as environmental conservation. Iran, a neighbor of CIS countries at the north and several Arabic countries at the south is well aware of the importance of regional cooperations in the form of bilateral and multilateral treaties, to acquire the ICM goals. In this section the most important aspects of this cooperation are illustrated. 8.1. Caspian Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of Seas, adopted in 1982 [16], does not apply to the Caspian Sea. This is because of its uniqueness; it is neither a sea, nor a lake. There are five littoral Caspian states: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan. The exclusive rights to the Caspian resources belong to these five countries. The status of the Caspian Sea may be adopted only through the mutual approval of these states. Although some bilateral and trilateral agreements have been signed, there is still no agreement signed by all five littoral states, which leaves the Caspian

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Sea status still undefined, and important matters, such as navigation, fishery, and natural resources have to be resolved in the prospected Caspian legal regime. The Caspian Environmental Program (CEP) was a regional program launched in 1998 by all the five littoral states with the collaboration of international community through inter-alias the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), UNDP, and EU/Tacis [17]. The overall goal of the CEP has been ‘‘sustainable development and management of the Caspian environment, including living resource and water quality, so as to obtain the utmost long-term benefit for the human population of the region, while protecting human health, ecological integrity and the regions sustainability for future generations’’. Endeavors during this program paved the way for an environmental convention signed by all five littoral states to protect the marine environment in the Caspian region (2004) [18]. This was an important advance not only from an environmental view point, but also because it may herald a new era of cooperation among the signatories. This treaty has committed the parties to protection, restoration, and sustainable and rational use of the biological resources of the Caspian; however it does not apply to oil and gas reserves. As to particular environmental threats, the treaty contains a general commitment to reducing pollution from land-based sources, such as effluent of municipal or agricultural waste water. There is a provision on pollution from vessels, including oil and gas installations. There are also pledges to address the impact of other human activities, such as land reclamation, coastal dredging, and dam construction. 8.2. Persian Gulf and Oman Sea The regional and international relations in this strategic area can have strong impact on the Iran’s ICZM plan. Although most of these relationships are formed in commercial and economical frameworks, there are also a few, regarding marine and coastal issues. Some of the economical cooperation organizations that are active in this region, and Iran is an official member of them, are as follows:

    

Economical Cooperation Organization (ECO), Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Socio-economic Commission of Asia and Pacific (SCAP), and Organization of the Union for Economic Cooperation in Indian Ocean Region.

One of the regional conventions active in the Persian Gulf region is called ROPME (Regional Organization for the Protection of Marine Environment). ROPME encompasses the coastal and marine waters of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Iran. The priority issues of this organization are hydrocarbons and combustion products, physical alteration, sediment mobilization and destruction of habitats, sewage and nutrients, and litter. The goal of this convention is establishment of close cooperation among the signatories for protection of marine environment and controlling any action that causes adverse effect on the marine environment and its live resources [19]. Another regional program in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea is called SACEP (South Asian Co-operative Environment Programme). This program calls for participation among the south Asian countries in order to support and implement the plans for

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improving the quality of lives of the people, eradicating poverty, creating balance between development plans and natural resources exploitation projects, banning the development plans that leave irreparable harms to the environment and finally approaching selfsufficiency in the south Asia. Iran has been a member of this program since 1991 [20]. 9. Challenges for establishment of ICM in Iran Like any other country that starts ICM efforts, there always exist some opportunities versus some challenges. Parts of the challenges that Iran is facing are, to some extent, similar to the challenges that other states have experienced in their ICM initiatives. Some of these common challenges are: inefficiency of the institutions that are responsible for ICM implementation, insufficient budgets that are allocated for ICM-related projects, lack of a proper coastal zone information database, low level of knowledge/experience among the coastal native employees for carrying out ICM plans independently, jurisdictional and law enforcement problems, and late productiveness of integrated management’s plans and projects [21]. Other than the above-mentioned issues, there are a number of challenges that are native and sometimes unique for each country. Iran’s challenges for ICM can be outlined as follows [22]: (a) Inadequate attention to the sea and marine-related issues in people’s culture: Despite having 3000 km coastlines, marine-related issues do not have strong influence on the people’s culture in general. Hence, a comprehensive and long-term plan such as ICM requires culture making in advance. (b) Lack of public demand/determination for improvement of coastal situations: ICM is a governmental process; however, establishment of ICM requires public determination and support. Otherwise, any attempt for improvement of coastal situation may not be a continuous and long-lasting process. (c) Duality of ICM goals and plans: Large differences between the Caspian Sea coastlines on one side and Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastlines on the other, cause different goals and objectives which, in turn, yield different ICM procedure and plans. This, in fact, means that Iran should carry out two different ICZM plans at its two separate coastal areas simultaneously. (d) Jurisdictional constraints regarding freeing the set-back limits: since most of the coastlines of the Caspian Sea are occupied by either governmental or private sectors, freeing the no construction limits comprises one of the preliminary steps towards ICM goals, including providing public access to the beach. This requires overcoming jurisdictional constraints due to real estate problems. (e) Organizational/institutional framework: creating a proper institutional framework responsible for handling the ICM implementation is considered to be an important challenge. Based upon the decentralization policy of the government, it is intended to reduce the size of the government by privatization on one hand and granting more authorities to the provinces on the other. Although this policy may seem appropriate for coastal provinces, considering the fact that there is little knowledge and experience regarding coastal management in the coastal provinces/ towns, this does not seem to assure the achievement of the goals of integrated management.

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(f) Long legislative procedures for ratification of ICM laws and regulation: Current fragmented management of coastal resources among several ministries and governmental organizations requires redefinitions of responsibilities, tasks, and authorities of all state-owned bodies that are somehow involved in Iran’s coastal affairs. Ambiguities that currently exist in the laws necessitate revising all of the pertaining legislations that have already been used. Due to the long legislative procedures, having timely laws and regulations for preserving the coastal environment by employing ICM principles is a major concern. 10. Conclusions Iran’s coastal problems have been growing during the last decades. The country’s coastal problems are two-fold due to its special geographical situation of having two types of coastlines at its northern and southern boundaries. These differences have led to different objectives and policies that have marked their footprints in Iran’s ICZM study. It has been realized that sectoral management is the cause of many problems that Iran currently encounters in its long coastal areas which has rendered deterioration of the coastal resources. Based on Iran’s ICZM studies, three levels of management in the coastal area have been defined: shore stripe zone, integrated management zone, and monitoring zone. Defining and delineation of the country’s coastal zones that have been performed in Iran’s ICZM studies are considered a major step towards controlling all kinds of irregular and harmful activities and developments. The regulations that will be imposed in these coastal zones can minimize loss of capitals and properties that otherwise are constantly damaging in the coastal areas. It has been concluded that for implementation of ICM a number of strategic and executive plans such as SMP, EMP, PPP, LUP, monitoring and evaluation plan, and management organizational/institutional plan are required. The studies conducted so far have revealed that establishment of sustainable development requires combating several challenges. Although some of these challenges are common for all nations that have started ICM initiatives, some other challenges seem unique for Iran. Among them: inadequate attention to the sea and its importance, lack of public demand for improvement of coastal situations, duality of ICM plans at the north and south, and legal problems regarding freeing set-back limits, can be mentioned. Despite challenges ahead, Iran has initiated its efforts for handling the coastal problems and starting sustainable development in its long coastlines in a slow but sure manner. Acknowledgments Ports and Shipping Organization of Iran (PSO) is gratefully thanked for granting the permission for publishing some of the results of Iran’s ICZM study in this paper. Sazeh Pardazi Consulting Engineers’ support in preparation of this paper is acknowledged. The authors wish to thank the reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments. References [1] United Nations Conference on ‘‘Environment and Development,’’ Agenda 21. Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas, and the protection, rational use, and development of their living resources. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 1992 [chapter 17].

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[2] CEP. Caspian Environment Program. National Coastal Profile, I.R. IRAN, 2002. [3] /http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/pgulf.htmlS, /http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/iran.html# ReportsS. [4] Hamshahri. Interview with the head of the environment bureau of Mazandaran province. Issue of 13 August 2006. [5] CASPI Institute, Affiliated to ROSCOMWOD (water committee of Russian federation). CASPI technical–economical report to take urgent actions for 1993–1995. 1992 [in Russian]. [6] Jensen A. Oil contamination of the Caspian Sea—an overview of the sources and their control. Caspian Environment Programme (CEP); 2002. [7] Pak A. ICZM, necessities, global experiences, and actions taken in Iran. In: Sixth international conference on coasts, ports, and marine structures (ICOPMAS); 2004. [8] SPI (Sazeh Pardazi Iran) Consulting engineering company. Study, definition, and determination of coastal zone boundaries and border-lines. Iran’s ICZM study project, Ports and Shipping Organization of Iran, 2004. [9] Cicin-Sain B, Knecht RW. Integrated coastal and ocean management, concepts and practices. Washington, DC: Island Press; 1998. [10] United Nations Laws, UN, ST/LEG/SER.B15; 1973. p. 55. [11] UNEP. Conceptual framework and planning for integrated coastal area and river basin management. Priority Actions Programme; 1999. [12] Management and planning organization of Iran (MPO). Bureau of the environment and sustainable development. Documentary report on Iran’s coastal area development, 2004 [in Persian]. [13] Management and planning organization of Iran (MPO). Fourth economical, social, and cultural development plan for Islamic Republic of Iran. 2004. [14] IOC. Steps and tools towards integrated coastal area management, vol. 2, Manuals and Guides, No. 24. UNESCO; 2002. [15] UNDP. Guidelines for integrated management of coastal and marine areas, with special reference to the Mediterranean Basin. UNEP regional seas reports and studies, vol. 161, Nairobi. [16] United Nations Convention on the Law of the sea; 1982. [17] CEP. Caspian Environment Programme /http://www.caspianenvironment.org/scripts/print.pl?word= partners.htmS. [18] Department of the Environment (Iran). Convention for the protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention). 2003. [19] /http://www.ropme.com/S. [20] /http://www.sacep.rrcap.unep.org/about/sacep.cfmS, /http://www.sacep.org/www.sacep.org/S. [21] Sorenson J. Baseline 2000, background paper for coastal zone Canada 2000: coastal stewardship—lessons learned and the paths ahead. New Brunswick, Canada, 17–22 September 2000 /http://www.subertooth.ca/ czczcc2000/S. [22] Pak A. Challenges for establishment of an integrated management system in Iran’s coastlines. In: Seventh international conference on coasts, ports, and marine structures (ICOPMAS); 2006.