Delineation of Coastal Zone Management Units Using Ecological and Legal Criteria: The Caseof Atlantic Canada
Year: 1975
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The coastal zone is an area that has inspired man to some of his loftiest achievements and has provided an environment suited to many uses. Unfortunately, the growing pace and scale of development have created irrevocable disturbances of a natural environment important to the welfare of man. Environmental management is presented as the action essential to secure future benefits by reducing and preventing harmful effects of utilization. Water was chosen as the focus of the management program because of the role it plays in the coastal zone, its past history of management, and its interdependency with adjacent land uses from which total environmental management may inherently evolve. Basic to this management process was acknowledgement of and adherence to the 'situation' premise, namely, each region has its own particular identity which influences not only the importance of the various considerations but also the resultant actions to be taken. Management is implemented through administrative agencies whose first priority is to establish designated areas of jurisdiction. If there were no constraints such as political boundaries and problems of political feasibility, what shape would these administrative units take? What are the ideal spatial units and what compromises will have to be employed given the 'situation'? These units were thought best conceived through legal and ecological considerations as they give notice to the 'situation' as well as being scope oriented. Their application to the spatial delineation of the coastal zone management unit was the purpose of the study. Ecological considerations exemplify the complexity and fragility of the coastal zone, define the role man plays in the scheme of things (something that has been paid little attention by managers), and serve as an introduction to systems management having spatial connotations. Legal considerations not only define the area of jurisdictional authority but also the administrative capabilities. Chapter 2 reviews the ecological considerations by focusing on man's role in nature, and the systems outlook from which the application of two natural ecosystems in spatial delineation of the management area may be justifiably proposed. Acknowledgment of the ecological 'situation', which incorporates the laws of nature, ideally should be complacent with international and national law which provides not only the jurisdictional authority to act but also the power to restrict what might be considered the appropriate action. This was carried out in Chapter 3 as it delved into legal norms as well as speculation of future developments in this field.
Author: Anderson, Henry Paul
Institution: University of Rhode Island
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Funder: Dartmouth College
OpenAlex ID: W2795515910