Preparing national guidelines for coastal management

Wetlands are viewed as areas offering different opportunities by different sectors and users: agriculture seeks to reclaim wetlands for food production; fisheries seek their productive shelter for aquaculture; planners seek water availability for industrial and domestic use; environmentalists seek wildlife conservation; and so on. Often wetlands are used and managed traditionally by local people whose participation is essential. Considering that the management process will involve land and water allocation, it should be based on a consultative process among governmental and non-governmental agencies, resource users, and the scientific community.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

A coastal wetland profile includes information on the biophysical environment, the socio-economic environment, the institutional environment that determine the current and anticipated negative and positive impacts of each sector's activities, problems to be addressed, causes of concern, and possible alternatives. The profile will also serve as baseline data against which change will be monitored. The focus will be on essential information from both primary and secondary sources, including rapid appraisal and public inquiries.