History

Coastal regions are a highly contested and vulnerable landscape. Due to the nature of the problems at hand, management must be intersectoral and interdisciplinary in nature. Both Europe and Asia have diverse and varied coastlines with rich biodiversity and a wide range of highly productive ecosystems. Developmental activity has affected coastal ecosystems and the functional integrity of the coastal zone. This had led to livelihood insecurities and vulnerability for coastal people, industries and infrastructure. The capacity for effective management is frequently lacking, however, and countries do well to learn from each other. Existing expertise tends to operate within single sector departments and most Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) courses focus principally on single discipline/sector approaches. Developing and improving educational programmes is the key to sustainable Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Coastal Profs therefore aimed to develop MSc-modules for professional capacity in coastal zone management.

The project’s overall objective was to uphold the wise use of coastal regions through a process of environmental management that promotes good governance supporting all stakeholders and their livelihoods. Although Europe and Asia have access to a large pool of well-educated academic staff and practitioners, they have been almost exclusively trained and are operating within single-sector departments. Consequently, they do not have the professional skills and organisational structures to support developments in a multi-sectoral environment, especially to apply their knowledge to the practical challenges of managing the human and natural resources of coastal areas.

The project purpose was, therefore, to develop and improve educational programmes that promote the application of knowledge for the workplace in a context that is appropriate for the management of complex and dynamic natural and social environments.