Development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management System for the Black and Caspian Seas

Six Black sea and five Caspian sea riparian countries began their way to modern managerial practice at their coasts in 1990s of the previous century. For five Black sea and four Caspian sea countries the time has coincided with launching complicated transitional period from socialism to market economy. The most important activities were carried out within framework of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea (CEP) Environmental Programs and resulted in National and Regional ICZM Reports (Coastal Profiles), ICZM Networks, Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses, Strategic Action Plans. The international assistance in ICZM development in the regions is very important, but the large specificity of the regions and countries required and keeps demanding improvement of the approaches, methods, criteria for efficiency and practical significance of the international activities. The paper analyses heritage, current situation and possible prospects of ICZM development in the regions under consideration. During the last decade, important steps have been taken for the improvement of managerial process at the Black and Caspian seas countries coasts, but the clear need should be emphasized now to move from planning to implementation stage. Among the main findings of this stage are: ICZM is very difficult for real implementation and takes years, it needs proper understanding, and it has to be implemented using both top-down and bottom-up approaches, it has to be implemented using all possible tools and procedures. At the moment the use of sustainable development approaches to the coasts depends, in the first place, on social responsibility and vital motivation of certain key decision-makers, especially at provincial and local levels. Meanwhile, two recent events: (a) new activity in the Black sea region initiated by EU, and (b) launching of the long-waited CEP second phase – produce real infrastructural opportunities for moving forward.