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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.46, 389-401
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
399
be more specific, throughout the project preparation
there were two main coordinators of project activities.
Firstly, the general coordinator, MEDCITIES, which
was the main entity contracted by the European
Commission who in turn signed individual contracts
with the rest of the project partners (Marfà, 2008). It
coordinated the overall activities of the project,
provided technical support and was responsible for the
organization and implementation of the activities that
were carried out in Europe. Secondly, the Egyptian
coordinator, CEDARE, who acted as the coordinator
of the activities in Egypt, and was responsible for the
implementation of the various project activities in
Alexandria in coordination with MEDCITIES and the
project partners (ALAMIM Team, 2007, CEDARE,
2007). Furthermore, the project was based on two
studies - a Stakeholder Analysis and a Stocktaking
Analysis, it proposed creating an integrated
management unit at the governorate level and
empowering it, with trained staff and efficient
management tools, to become the core future
integration authority, if and when it is established
(Marfà, 2008, El-Refaie and Ragué, 2009). In this
respect one interviewee, reflecting the opinion of
many others, claimed that
“Through the ALAMIM
project almost all the Lake stakeholders integrated
together through the frequently meetings which were
coordinated by CEDARE and MEDCITIES. Thus the
stakeholders reached collectively to propose an
integrated management unit to manage the Lake and
to follow up on the project’s final plans”
.
To conclude, the absence of any clear mechanism for
coordination between all concerned parties makes
effective ICZM unachievable and efforts towards
integration are often left to the goodwill of involved
agencies and stakeholders. Moreover,
it seems that
Egypt has embarked on the ICZM second phase
initiatives without considering the lessons from the first
phase. Indeed, the absence of an
ICZM policy or
strategy at national and regional levels is
still
one of
the main problems facing the implementation of
local ICZM projects. Besides, most of the ICZM
local projects in both phases failed to create local
networks that could enhance the integration
between stakeholders and ensure sustainability of
the ICZM plan.
3 Conclusion
The review of ICZM initiatives in Egypt highlighted
Lack of integration:
Egypt is suffering from lack of
integration in the field of coastal management in all
dimensions. The reason for this was referred to the
absence of effective integration mechanism among all
concerned parties at any level. Furthermore, most of
the ICZM local projects, in both phases, failed to
create local networks that could enhance integration
among stakeholders and to ensure that the proposed
ICZM plans could be implemented in a sustainable
manner.
Based on the previous evaluation for the Egyptian
ICZM initiatives some recommendations could be
developed in order to enhance the ICZM
implementation:
z
Egypt needs to establish an ICZM coordinating
bodies at all levels of governance.
z
At the national level: the creation of a technical
sub-committee, which would include experts and
managers from all the concerned coastal
stakeholders, could work to help the NCICZM to
perform its role.
z
Relevant stakeholders should be defined through
an appropriate stakeholder analysis.
z
All ICZM proposals should be prioritized by the
coordinating bodies, which should have a
supervisory role over all coastal projects, on all
levels.
z
There is a need for effectively involvement of
local communities, NGOs, politicians, people
from the media, and judiciary in the ICZM
process. This will enhance and raise the
awareness about coastal management issues.
Reference
Abdelwahab M.E., 2009, Pilot Actions Report. Plan of Action for an
Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the area of Port Said (Egypt).
Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation
ALAMIM TEAM, 2007, ALAMIM Project/Alexandria Lake Maryut
Integrated Management, ICZM 2nd Regional Workshop, Cairo
ATKINS, 2004, ICZM in the UK: A Stocktake, London: Queen's Printer and
Controller of HMSO
Barker A., 2005, Capacity building for sustainability: Towards community
development in coastal Scotland, Journal of Environmental
Management, 75: 11-19
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.002 PMid:15748800