C o a s t N e t eve n t s

Coastal Access Conference

A step too far, or a far sighted step?
Location: Durham
Date: 19-20 June 2008 (On day two, an optional tour
Questions to be tackled

• What is the right balance between accessibility

and ‘naturalness’ to ensure that social and
economic benefits are optimised?
Theedge
T h e m a ga z i n e o f C o a s t N e t Spring 2008

of Durham Heritage coast will be made.) • How can new provisions for coastal access be
used to enhance the conservation and enjoyment
In September 2007 Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, of this resource, and deliver wider social and

Getting to the P I N T
announced that the Government intends to legislate economic benefits?
so that the public will have the right to walk around • The dynamic nature of the coast presents unique
the English coast for the first time. management challenges, especially on rapidly
eroding coasts. What mechanisms can be used to
In this conference
CoastNet will look
beyond the detail of the
forthcoming
ensure sustainability of access, and to manage the
health and safety implications?

We will address these questions through expert

of Corepoint
parliamentary process, contributions and examples from trails and path
to explore the potential networks that have successfully met differing social,
gains for coastal economic and environmental demands.
communities that might
arise from improved Call for papers – We are looking for case studies
coastal access, and to where an integrated approach to path and trail
question how people’s legitimate concerns might be management has delivered benefits to community,
taken into account. local business, wildlife and users. Case studies may
range from strategic initiatives to local action.
The conference will be aimed at coastal planners, land
managers, conservation and heritage professionals, Contact: Alex Midlen, Tel 01206 728644
and countryside and access professionals. Email: alex.midlen@coastnet.org.uk

Corepoint Partners Contacts

EUCC – www.eucc.nl/ Envision – www.envision.uk.com/index.asp

The Maritime Institute, Ghent – University of Aberdeen – www.abdn.ac.uk/aicsm/

www.maritieminstituut.be/main.cgi?s_id=1&id=&lang=en
CCMR – www.science.ulster.ac.uk/ccmr/
University of Western Brittany – www.univ-brest.fr/
Martin Ryan Institute –
www.ifremer.fr/anglais/
http://mri.nuigalway.ie/marinelaw
MACE at Cardiff University –
Cork County Council – www.corkcoco.ie/co/web/Cork%20
www.earth.cardiff.ac.uk/research/mace/
County%20Council/Departments/Planning
CoastNet – www.coastnet.org.uk/
CMRC, University College Cork – http://cmrc.ucc.ie
Sefton City Council – www.sefton.gov.uk/

This publication is partially funded

CoastNet emails:
through the Corepoint project under
Alex Midlen; alex.midlen@coastnet.org.uk the Interrreg 3B Programme. Corepoint
aims to establish North West Europe
Theresa Redding; theresa.redding@coastnet.org.uk as an internationally recognised
Lesley Smeardon; lesley.smeardon@coastnet.org.uk region of excellence in coastal
management by encouraging full
Manuela de los Rios; manuela.delosrios@coastnet.org.uk implementation of ICZM, highlighting
Suzanne Gattrell; suzanne.gattrell@coastnet.org.uk best practice, providing education by
influencing national spatial policies –
Events; events@coastnet.org.uk for further details please see
General; admin@coastnet.org.uk http://corepoint.ucc.ie Coastliners On the ground Unlocking the data Training the
professionals
 Contents Editorial
3 Editorial

6 However idealistic we might like to be, resources usually drive us

4 News
6 Getting to the point of Corepoint
Val Cummins, instigator and project
CoastNet – breathing new
coordinator for the Corepoint project,
life into coastal matters
explains the purpose and goals of the
Spring 2008 four year project.
Getting to the point of Corepoint
towards European programmes. I have come across two opposing
schools of thought in relation to matching budgets and workloads: if budgets are restrictive
then a) scale back on activity and overheads; or b) seek some additional funding to fill the gap.
Both have their place of course, but in small teams (and that is usually where coastal things
sit), the former leads to a downward spiral of activity that quickly leads to extinction, while the
latter can facilitate survival against the odds.

The edge is a quarterly magazine,
sent out to all CoastNet members.
CoastNet is an international
networking organisation that
works with all coastal interests to
promote the exchange of ideas,
information and expertise to find
long term solutions to coastal
problems that benefit all. Our
mission is to safeguard the world’s
coast and those communities of
people and wildlife that depend
upon it for their future.
Editor: Lesley Smeardon
Lesley.smeardon@coastnet.org.uk
Designed by: Cottier & Sidaway
Printed by: Swan Print
Submissions
To submit an article for publication, please
email to the editor saving your submission
as a word document. Alternatively, send to
the address below. Letters can be sent to the
editor but we are unable to acknowledge
receipt. The editor reserves the right to edit
submissions.
CoastNet: The Gatehouse,
Rowhedge Wharf, High St,
Rowhedge, Essex, CO5 7ET.
Tel/Fax: 01206 728644
Email: admin@coastnet.org.uk
Web: www.coastnet.org.uk
8 Coastliners
12 partners, 7 countries, one continent
10 On the ground
A look at Corepoint’s central idea of
expert couplets – partnerships between
locally-based research institutions and
local authorities.
12 Unlocking the data
Tim Stojanovic discusses the
development of local information
systems in ICZM practice.
14 Training the professionals
A brief look at Corepoint’s training
schools and its projects that cut across
issues, sectors and regions.
It was in applying approach b)
8 that I was first introduced
to European programmes and
working in a broad-based project
partnership. It was hard at first to
make sense of the administrative
systems (the financial reporting
was a nightmare) but I persevered
and now it is second nature. And
in addition to the extra resources
that these programmes bring I can
now talk at length about other
benefits of equal importance.
10
First among these is creating the
freedom to innovate; to try new
ways of working and to share
that learning with others. In
some cases I have seen these
innovations become part of
mainstream working because they
were positive improvements.
A close second is what I have
14
learned personally from seeing the
diversity of approaches that are at
work across Europe, and through
having to understand different
systems and the thinking that
underpins them. I don’t doubt
that this is common to most
people who have been involved in
European projects, and I am sure
that they would all agree that it
is an immensely valuable and
satisfying experience.
I hear of many people who shy
away from Interreg, from LIFE,
from Leonardo and so on, because
of fears about bureaucracy, about
being diverted from one’s core
work. But I would urge these
people to think again, especially
when they work in coastal
management. We need to develop
new ways of working and that is
what these programmes are largely
about. So I say innovate, converse
and debate with your European
neighbours, and bring the benefits
back home.
This special edition of the edge
celebrates and reflects upon the
achievements of the Corepoint
project, funded through the
European Interreg programme.
The following pages give a taste of
the project and some insight into
what it achieved.
Alex Midlen,
Strategic Director

CoastNet is governed by an independent

Board of Management and serviced by a
Secretariat.
Registered charity no 1055763
Registered as a company limited by
guarantee, company no 3204452

The opinions expressed in the magazine are

not necessarily those of CoastNet.
© CoastNet, 2008

2 The edge Spring 2008 The edge Spring 2008 3

N ew s
Local communities to share stories of
the East Anglian coast
Pamela Pearson,
also known as
‘the Wallasea
Mermaid’, will be
the first person to
share her story as
part of Holding
Back the Tide – a
new Heritage
Lottery funded
project delivered
by CoastNet.
Pamela grew up on the banks of the
Crouch Estuary in Essex where her
parents ran the Wallasea Yacht Club.
Pictured here, at the age of 20, in her
homemade mermaid’s tail you can
understand why she went on to be a
professional synchronised swimmer –
having nursed her passion for being
on and in the waters of the Crouch
from a young age.
News in brief
● Caribbean countries plan early
tsunami warning system by 2010
Caribbean nations will set up a joint
tsunami early warning centre by
2010, governments agreed at a
meeting in Panama in March.
Supporters want the centre to relay
information from national geological
institutes across the region, that
could help prevent deaths and
infrastructure damage in the event
of a tsunami.
4 The edge Spring 2008
The project will involve collecting
stories, pictures and artefacts from
East Anglian communities to tell
stories of coastal change in the
region over the past 50 years or
more and culminate in a travelling
exhibition that celebrates this
coast and changes faced as told by
its inhabitants.
“The telling and sharing of stories
can generate great pride in both
individuals and communities, as well
as reinforcing the value of the coast
itself”, says CoastNet’s newest team
member, Suzanne Gattrell, who is
coordinating the project.
For more information contact
Suzanne Gattrell,
Project Coordinator:
suzanne.gattrell@coastnet.org.uk
● Mediterranean tuna fleet in race for
the last bluefin
The most comprehensive analysis yet
of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fleet
shows it conservatively having twice
the fishing capacity of current quotas
and more than three and a half times
the catch levels recommended by
scientists to avoid stock collapse
according to a new report by WWF,
Race for the last bluefin.
The fleet is so bloated that just
covering its costs implies that a third
of its fishing would be illegal, with the
worst over-capacity culprits being
Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Libya, France
and Spain says the report.
WWF is calling on concerned
countries to dramatically reduce
capacity in this fishery as a matter of
urgency ahead of the 2008 fishing
season that starts end-April.
Solutions focus proves
a success for SEA
conference
CoastNet’s first conference of
2008, on Strategic Environmental
Assessment, proved yet again the
popularity of CoastNet-style
conferences with a strong
emphasis on practical problems
and solutions to implementation
of SEA in coastal and marine
situations. The approach was
complemented by some thought-
provoking contributions on the
role of SEA in environmental
justice, and on SEA as a learning
tool for sustainable development.
Beverley Walker, of Royal
Haskoning Scotland, who made a
keynote presentation commented,
“It’s the best conference I have
been to for years”.
See www.coastnet.org.uk for
the conference outputs.
● Uncovering the mysteries of
oceanic bacteria
A team of MIT researchers is trying to
understand how microbes living in the
oceans play a critical role in regulating
Earth’s environment. The researchers
have devised a new method to analyse
gene expression in complex microbial
populations and say the work could
help better understand how oceans
respond to climate change.
● IMO to discuss shipping carbon
emissions cuts
The International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) is to discuss
binding measures to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions from international
shipping. In April the body’s marine
environment protection committee will
explore a range of options for tackling
the issue.
Imcore to begin where
Corepoint ends
Imcore, Innovative Management for
Coastal Resources, is an Interreg
IVB project and successor to the
Corepoint project. Provisionally
approved by the North West Europe
Programme, Imcore will enable
many of the Corepoint partners to
continue to work together and apply
lessons learned and techniques
developed to the issue of climate
change in coastal areas. It is hoped
that the project will start in April.
TV Coast’s, Mark Horton,
speaks at APPG
The Coastal and
Marine All Party
Parliamentary
Group held its AGM
in February with Dr
Mark Horton from the popular
Coast series delivering a
passionate address on the major
challenges facing the UK’s coast.
His enthusiasm for the coast, and
concern for the threatened
coastal heritage and archaeology
stimulated contributions from the
audience and a lengthy debate.
CoastNet working in Wales
CoastNet has won a contract to
support CCW (Countryside Council
for Wales) in taking forward the
‘Making the most of the coast’
initiative in North West Wales. Its
focus will be the Menai Straight and
Conwy Bay Natura 2000 nature
conservation site, but taking into
account the wider priorities and
pressures in that area of NW Wales.
CoastNet will be working with local
and regional stakeholders to identify
the best approach to the creation of
a sustainable coastal management
framework and action plan.
News in brief
● Maine wants lobster fisheries
certified sustainable
According to the Associated Press,
the US Maine lobster industry is
seeking to have its lobster certified
as sustainable by the London-
based Marine Stewardship Council.
● Greatest glacier ice loss recorded
Latest official figures from the
World Glacier Monitoring Service
show that the world’s glaciers are
shrinking at record rates and many
could disappear within decades,
the UN Environment Programme
reports. Data from close to 30
reference glaciers in nine mountain
ranges indicate that between the
years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the
average rate of melting and
thinning more than doubled.
● North Pacific right whale receives
new legal protection
The US federal government in
March declared the North Pacific
right whale ‘endangered’ under the
federal Endangered Species Act,
following petitions and litigation
from the Center for Biological
Diveristy. The whale, once ranging
from California to Alaska and across
the North Pacific to Russia and
Japan, is now the most endangered
large whale in the world.
N ew s
● Wind and wave developments
A new study commissioned by the
Scottish government has found that
wind turbines will not put tourists off
visiting Scotland. According to
researchers at Glasgow’s Caledonian
University carrying out the survey,
three-quarters of visitors surveyed
said wind farms had a positive or
neutral effect on the landscape, and
97% said wind farms would have no
impact on their decision to visit
Scotland again.
This is good news for the plethora of
wind and wave development
programmes in the pipeline or
underway such as that by British Gas
owner, Centrica, who is now set to
push ahead with one of the UK's most
ambitious offshore wind generation
building programmes off the
Lincolnshire coast after it secured a
long-term contract on the MV
Resolution, the world's largest
turbine-installing barge.
Spanish company Iberdrola has also
begun testing its wave energy pilot in
Santoña, Cantabria, which will
become the first of this kind to
be installed in Europe. And UK tidal
energy firm, Marine Current Turbines
has announced its plans to install the
world's first commercial scale, grid-
connected tidal energy generator at
Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland
late in April. The project is expected
to generate enough electricity for
1,000 homes.
In North America, proposals for a
deep water farm off the coast of
Martha's Vineyard has been met with
enthusiasm while the Pacific Gas &
Electric Corporation were given a
permit to study and possibly develop
wave energy off the coast of
Northern California.
The edge Spring 2008 5

Getting to the point of
Corepoint
What made the four year Corepoint project different
to other Interreg funded coastal projects involving a
number of European partners focusing on ICZM?
True capacity building where it matters most is the
answer says Val Cummins, Corepoint Project
Coordinator who speaks to Lesley Smeardon.
In 2004, the €4.3 million Corepoint
project was borne out of frustration at
the stop start approach of many
funded ICZM coastal projects. Its
aim was to build a lasting capacity
within ICZM, on the ground, where it
really mattered. The idea was to create
a bridge locally between those with
research expertise in ICZM and those
working at the ‘coast face’, perhaps
with less understanding of ICZM
but great knowledge of applied
coastal management.
Says Val Cummins, Project Coordinator
and instigator of the Corepoint project,
“With so many projects around that
time suffering from the stop start nature
of funding, it wasn’t difficult to find
support in others interested in building
local, sustained networks like those we
were proposing. We put together a
sound proposal with agreed partners
and the project eventually kicked off
in 2004 with 12 partners throughout
North West Europe representing
seven countries.”
Partners represented a range of
expertise and specialisms. “All of the
research groups involved in Corepoint,
have a broad perspective on coastal
management with a genuine interest
in applied research”, adds Cummins.
“The expertise that they brought to
the project was very diverse. Our
French partners, for example, had a
strong knowledge in maritime
6 The edge Spring 2008
economics and in Belgium it was
maritime law. Northern Ireland and
Sefton were strong on coastal
processes, while in Cardiff and Cork,
stakeholder engagement and GIS
respectively were more the focus.
All brought something different to
the mix and all were interested
in coastal zone management as a
process. Where one partner was
weak, another was strong.”
The geographical and socioeconomic
characteristics of the coastlines
represented by the partners were
equally diverse. Physical characteristics
ranged from sites with one shoreline
type, to those with far greater
contrast. Sandy beaches almost totally
characterise the Belgian and Sefton
coasts for example, while Donegal and
the eastern side of the Western Isles are
predominantly comprised of rocky
peninsulas interspersed with small
sandy beaches or mudflats. Locations,
such as the Severn Estuary and Mont
Saint-Michel, are much more varied,
with large areas of shingle, sand and
mud, but also with areas of sea cliff
and rocky shore platform.
Equally varied were the socioeconomic
characteristics, with Cork Harbour, the
Severn Estuary and Flanders, for
example, incorporating large urban
populations and extensive industrial
development as well as tourism and
recreation. Others, such as Donegal,
Western Isles and Mont Saint-Michel,
are sparsely populated with a high
reliance on more traditional industries,
such as agriculture, fishing and,
increasingly, tourism.
“This provided Corepoint with great
physical, ecological and socioeconomic
diversity in which to test ICZM
capacity building approaches”, adds
Cummins.
So just how did the project build
capacity? “The central focus of
Corepoint was the development of
local relationships between those
involved in the day to day coastal
management and those with expert
knowledge of ICZM”, says Cummins.
“These relationships, coined ‘expert
couplets’ by the project, were piloted
across Europe between partners and
local authorities. The aim was to
implement policy-led research by
pooling resources in local centres to
lift capacity.”
“To help facilitate this process we also
set up a series of two day training
schools, targeted towards local
authorities that focused on the ICZM
principles of best practice. The schools
made use of good relevant case studies
from our partners that allowed
unprecedented cross-learning. This,
along with site visits, gave the learning
experience huge practical relevance.
Manage to be successful?
Jeremy Gault from the
Coastal and Marine
Resources Centre in Cork
had the task of
managing the four year
project. What are his tips
if he had to do it again?
Communicate well
• Get off to a good start. The first
meeting should offer opportunities
for Partners to get to know how the
people they are going to work with
actually tick.
• Build up a rapport with the funding
body from the start – they like to be
kept informed and are as keen for you
to succeed as you are!
• Promote the project from the start –
our biggest error was not including a
budget for promoting the project with
high quality multi-language material
for dissemination.
• Don’t be over-reliant on email. It’s a
“With information management funding under a new name (Imcore),
great management tool but you need
being key to good ICZM practice, with a new set of objectives and
to follow up with phone calls and
Corepoint also provided guidance timeframe. Wouldn’t capacity building
other contact.
on developing local information in ICZM have been better served had
systems. Six pilots were developed in Corepoint used its coastal credibility to Play to the project’s strengths
the course of the project with a set of lobby at a national level for national • Cultural diversity is a key strength of
very structured guidelines the end strategies with real financial teeth to a European project but remember
result. In addition, Corepoint, through fund on-the-ground work? that with this diversity comes a need
CoastNet, developed ‘CoastWeb’, a for cultural sensitivity.
coastal portal launched in June 2006 “There’s definitely a need for EU • Work transnationally. In a very
enabling practioners anywhere to member states to develop national short time it became apparent that
access important coastal management strategies”, says Cummins. “Only a the training schools were better
information as well as add to the handful of countries have responded because several partners were
resource themselves.” to the EU ICZM recommendation working together to deliver them.
so far – Germany, France, Northern Partners saw the benefits of this
“Of course, there were many other Ireland, for example. In Corepoint, type of working for other actions
aspects of Corepoint, with cross cutting we tried to develop a nested approach and the actions which involved
work going on throughout the project. to influence back up from the more partners produced the best
The EUCC, for example undertook some local level. In Ireland, for example, we outputs and generated the best
interesting research, testing the EU encouraged the development of working environment.
approved ICZM progress indicator at the a national advisory board which was
Manage expectations
local level to measure the progress in set up with government departments.
• Be prepared to adapt the project to
ICZM implementation in Europe.” This proved highly successful,
unforeseen internal and external
culminating in a national coastal
influences, such as changes in the
“Ultimately”, says cummins, “with conference with recommendations for
political landscape.
Corepoint we wanted to demonstrate changes to foreshore legislation
• Be aware of the differing levels of
that building capacity from the local coming out of this.
expectations from partners. Partners
level through our expert couplet
need space and time to decide exactly
approach can work and I think we “It’s true that without a recognised
what they can take from the project
proved that.” national strategy, you’re always going
and what they are prepared to give.
to be riding the funding circus. But I
• Be absolutely clear to partners about
Where next? think Corepoint has certainly raised a
what is happening at project level,
Now, as Corepoint comes to an end, greater interest in ICZM. This is hugely
not just in their specific field or
you can’t help wondering if the stop evident in the fact that many more
geographical area, from the very start.
start nature of coastal funding has local authorities are now coming on
• Accept critical feedback. It’s a
changed all that much. Continuing board as full partners in Corepoint’s
positive thing and can only benefit
where Corepoint left off has meant successor, Imcore. The commitment is
any project.
reapplying for a new package of there far more than it’s ever been.”
The edge Spring 2008 7
 “ ”
8

9
7

1 EUCC, the Coastal Union

EUCC’s main focus was in
The really positive thing about Corepoint has been the way it
tried to apply the science by taking a wider learning approach.
10 6 Corepoint
testing the EU approved ICZM progress
indicator at the local level to measure
the progress in the implementation
Tim Stojanovic, MACE, Cardiff University
11 12
in numbers
of integrated coastal zone management
in Europe.
CoastNet Aberdeen Institute for
€ 4.3 million
5 8 Coastal Science and
4
5 1
2 The Maritime Institute,
University of Ghent
CoastNet developed and
delivered eight regional conferences Management, University 4 years
in every partner country on a
of Aberdeen 2
The Institute formed an expert couplet specific aspect of ICZM. It also
(along with the local Flemish developed and delivered the coastal The Institute formed an expert 12 partners
Authority) looking at ICZM in Flanders. portal ‘CoastWeb’. couplet with the Western Isles Council
It also undertook a review of legal
approaches in ICZM.
working on various issues including
coastal archaeology, education and 7 countries

“
Sefton City Council use conflict. 3
6 Sefton Council formed an
Over 19,000 km of coastline*

”
University of Western expert couplet with fellow Corepoint
3 Brittany partner, MACE at Cardiff University to Centre for Coastal and
The university formed expert couplets develop a local information system
9 Marine Research (CCMR) 9 expert couplets
in Mont Saint-Michel Bay and also the focusing on coastal change. at the University of Ulster

“ “
schools with over 120
Golfe Du Morbhian.
Envision
CCMR formed an expert couplet with
Donegal County Council to look at 11
Cork County Council
12
Coastal & Marine
6 training

” ”
Resources Centre
Marine and Coastal
7 Envision developed and ran
coastal erosion along Donegal’s
Cork County Council formed
an expert couplet with fellow (CMRC), University
participants
4 Environment Group the six ICZM training schools (see
beaches. The group provided
Corepoint partner, CMRC, working on College Cork
p14) and formed an expert couplet
(MACE), Cardiff University with the Durham Heritage Coast
recommendations for how to work
with natural process in dealing with an integrated coastal management
strategy for Cork Harbour.
CMRC were project leaders of
6 local information
MACE was the key partner in looking at ICZM on the Durham coastal issues. Corepoint as well as forming an expert systems in development
developing local information systems Coast. The group also produced, couplet with Cork County Council.
for a number of local areas including with CMRC, a report quantifying
Sefton and the Severn. It also provided the economic benefits of natural 10
Martin Ryan Institute, 8 conferences
National University of
There is a long way to go but the expert couplets have been a
input into a number of key reports as coastal ecosystems.
well as forming an expert couplet with
the Severn Estuary Partnership looking
Galway
The Institute produced and coordinated useful starting point.
720 conference delegates
Jeremy Hills, Envision
at maritime heritage and ICZM policy
along the Severn.
an extensive review of international
approaches to ICZM and a review of EU
legislation and policies with
19 reports
implications for coastal management.
The expert couplet provided a first hand living laboratory in the These were produced with input from Corepoint has been extremely positive in terms of better ONE coastal portal
Severn for our research into coastal planning and management. other Corepoint partners, namely understanding and knowledge of one another’s issues.
MACE, Envision, University of Gent
Rhoda Ballinger, Mace Manuelle Phillip, University of Brest
*(CIA world factbook: www.cia.gov/library/
and CMRC. publications/the-world-factbook)

8 The edge Spring 2008 The edge Spring 2008 9


On the ground
The heart of the Corepoint project was about building ICZM capacity through the
development of long lasting, sustainable relationships with locally-based research
centres and coastal professionals working daily on coastal issues. These, Corepoint
called expert couplets. Did they work? The edge takes at look at two.
Developing an integrated management strategy, Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour is one of the world’s
largest, naturally sheltered harbours
and is characterised by several
concentrated urban areas, principally
Cork City but also rapidly growing
towns. There is much industrial
development dominated by the
chemical, (bio)pharmaceutical and
technology industries and recreational
boating is also increasing in popularity.
From the researchers – Coastal &
Marine Resources Centre (CMRC)
“The local authority identified a need
to look at an integrated management
strategy for Cork Harbour”, says Val
Cummins of CMRC. “They asked
CMRC to do the research and we
looked at a number of issues. These
included a review of best practice in the
rejuvenation of coastal brownfield sites
and a detailed study regarding
recreational carrying capacity to see
what opportunities were available to
further support boating activities.
“The overarching objective however
was to facilitate a more integrated
approach to the planning and
management of the harbour which we
10 The edge Spring 2008
did through the development of the
Cork Harbour Forum – a multi
stakeholder group representing the
various interests in the Harbour. This
greatly helped in the production of the
integrated management strategy which
has just been finalised.”
From the practitioners – Cork
County Council
“Our role in the planning department
is very much land use based terrestrial
planning so ICZM wasn’t really
something which played a major role
in our day-to-day working lives.
Corepoint teamed us up with a group
of researchers where ICZM was a daily
part of their work”, says Darragh
O’Suilleabhain, Planner at Cork
County Council.
“The Local Authority was given initial
ICZM training through Corepoint. The
two day course brought together staff
in the council who hadn’t met before.
This alone, opened up communication
between different departments. Now,
for example, I can phone a local
engineer from the west part of the
county (around 100 Km away) for
another perspective which helps with
planning policy and decision making.”
“Of course, one of the main outcomes
was the Integrated Management
Strategy for Cork Harbour. This
strategy was prepared with the help
of key stakeholders, who were
represented on a steering group
jointly chaired by Cork County
Council and CMRC. The steering
group included Cork County Council,
Cork City Council, Port of Cork, NGOs,
the Chamber of Commerce and IDA.”
And the benefits…..
Says Cummins of CMRC, “It was great
to apply our research into a working
document. We couldn’t have done this
without the institutional weight of the
authority to get all stakeholders
together to take the strategy forward.”
Says O’Suilliebhain from the Council:
“It was an outstanding outcome for
us. The strategy is now finished and
we now start on implementation.
Corepoint was the catalyst for this work
to start. People knew something had to
happen but day to day workings of our
own organisation came first. There was
a need to be more proactive.”
The success of Corepoint? “Well”, says
O’Suilliebhain, “apart from the strategy
we (the council) want to be part of the
Corepoint follow up project, Imcore.
That, in itself, is an achievement
because it has generated so much
interest and willingness to move
ICZM forward”.
Improving local community participation in
ICZM projects, Mont Saint-Michel Bay
Mont Saint-Michel Bay has one of the
largest intertidal zones in the world
and the bay is characterised by long
flat beaches with a few dunes, but also
cliffs and rocky coast at its western and
north-eastern parts. About 40,000
people inhabit the bay but this
population increases in summer with
tourists attracted by the historic abbey
of Mont Saint-Michel.
Fabienne Kervarec from the University
of Brest says of the project, “The expert
couplet concept developed by
Corepoint didn’t really exist before
Corepoint and we had to build new
ways of working with the other
organisation involved – in this case,
Manche-Ille et Vilaine. It took us time
in order to identify the issues where it
would be relevant to collaborate. For
Mont Saint-Michel Bay, we focused on
looking at the role of those
stakeholders whose participation in
ICZM projects was difficult to obtain.
This involved many interviews and a
final report aimed to improve the
participation process of the local
population.”
And the benefits...
Says Manuelle Philippe, also
University of Brest and part of the
expert couplet team at both Mont
Saint-Michel and the Gulf of
Morbihan, “The result has been
extremely positive in terms of better
understanding and knowledge of both
organisations’ issues. One area we
really had to work on was simply the
difference in timescales between
researchers and local managers as well
as each other’s key competencies.
Moreover, the couplet in the Gulf of
Morbihan which we were also
involved in has been successful in
terms of long term collaboration as the
SIAGM (practitioners) is now a
member of the Corepoint follow-on
project, Imcore.”
Other expert couplets in
the Corepoint Project
Flanders
Coupling up: Maritime Institute,
University of Gent and Flanders
Administration
Focus: Linking the expertise of the Flanders
Administration in coastal defence and the
effects of climate change with the Maritime
Institute’s knowledge in the field of maritime
law and policy.
Donegal Beaches
Coupling up: University of Ulster and
Donegal County Council
Focus: Building on existing relationships
including advice on soft engineering
approaches to coastal erosion, the
development of a beach recreational strategy
and informal site level advice.
Durham Coast
Coupling up: Envision Ltd and local
authority, Durham Heritage Coast
Focus: Developing a holistic regional level
approach to ICZM.
Golfe Du Morbhian
Coupling up: University of Western
Brittany and Ifremer (Corepoint partners)
and The Intercommunal Association of the
Gulf (SIAGM)
Focus: Improving capacity building and
experience exchanges on ICZM and also
generating a GIS-based use model focusing
on both sea kayaking and bird conservation.
Western Isles
Coupling up: Aberdeen University and
the Western Isles Council (Comhairle nan
Eilean Siar)
Focus: Various issues but including the
application of risk assessment and use
conflict techniques to coastal archaeological
prioritisation in the region and using a
biodiversity portfolio approach to assess the
services provided by the coastal environment
of Baile Sear Island, North Uist.
Sefton Coast
Coupling up: Cardiff University and
Sefton Council
Focus: Developing a local information
system focusing on coastal change (see p12).
Severn Estuary
Coupling up: Marine and Coastal
Environment Group (MACE), Cardiff
University and the Severn Estuary
Partnership.
Focus: Developing a maritime education
heritage pack for the Severn Estuary.
The edge Spring 2008 11
Unlocking
the data
Producing a methodology for those interested in implementing
local information systems (LIS) at the coast was a key aim of
the Corepoint project. Six pilots later, the guidelines have been
produced and are about to be sent out to 50 projects around
Europe already looking at the possibility of using such
systems. So, what are the secrets of a good LIS?
A user perspective
Access to quality information that’s
filtered to provide the data you
need, when you need it is probably on
the top ten wish list for many
coastal professionals. And a shared
information system that’s regularly
updated and easy to access can
potentially save money, time and
resources for all those involved in the
long term. Enter the local information
system (LIS) – an IT-enabled system
built to support the efforts of local
managers, such as engineers, planners,
tourism officers, harbour masters and
environmental managers.
For those willing to form a network for
managing coastal information, then a
LIS may be a suitable option. But it’s
not without its pitfalls.
“An important, but little recognised
fact is that information systems can
and often do fail because the lessons
learnt in the field of information
science and information systems
are simply not applied”, says Tim
Stojanovic of MACE who was charged
with developing LIS across six pilots as
part of the Corepoint project. “We
wanted to produce a set of structured
guidelines informed by LIS projects
across Europe and the latest thinking
“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)
in the information system discipline to
stop people repeating past mistakes.”
In working with the six organisations,
MACE was keen to adopt a user-led
approach for developing information
systems at the outset. Says Stojanovic,
“We found that people generally start
from three possible places. The first is
where those involved are excited first
and foremost by the technology. This
can lead to some really positive, novel
solutions but I’ve also seen a lot of
money spent on tools where there’s
been little real application. There’s a
danger that you can become
bewitched by technology. The second
approach is a data-led one – simply
asking the question: what are the
resources out there and how can we
catalogue them? The problem with
this approach is that people become
overwhelmed by it – there’s simply no
real rationale for structuring the
information. The last approach, and
one we favour, is the user-led one –
developing a series of questions
relating to a real need.”
“Through this approach, the
organisations we worked with were
able to develop clear and distinct
needs for their information systems.
Sefton Council, for example, wanted
to look at coastal change, while Cork
was interested in land use planning
and development control decisions
and the Fal Estuary in Cornwall
focused on nature conservation and
environmental quality.”
What resulted from the six pilots was a
structured, seven point methodology
for LIS development (see opposite).
While the guidelines are set to provide
an excellent grounding for those
looking to set up an LIS, the ultimate
success will inevitably come down to
funding for the development of such
work. Even within the Corepoint
project, money available was limited
with some pilots only able to complete
phase 1 of the work. For those
organisations without the necessary
resources and time, an LIS project is
probably not the best way forward.
“The crazy thing is many organisations
involved, probably spend tens of
thousands of Euros collecting and
storing data that may only be used a
few times”, comments Stojanovic.
“What’s really needed is the vision and
drive to share information. It’s really a
central theme for true ICZM. The
benefits could be huge if we all begin
to share.”
we can find information on it.”
Data sets available
for the Sefton Coast
Training walls –
dates of intervention,
location and action
Coast Wide Data
– Historical photographs and
video footage of the coast
– Water table monitoring
– Soils
– Sediment sampling
– O/S data from 1850 to
present day
– Aerial photography from
1945 to 2006
– Storm data
Chart data showing the
positions of sand banks and
channels for the Ribble and
Mersey Estuaries
Liverpool Bay data
– Tide gauges
– Bottom drifters
– Wave modelling
Dredging locations,
dates and quantities
of materials dredged
and dumped
Training walls – dates
of intervention,
location and action
Mersey Estuary
A working LIS for Sefton
One of the teams MACE worked with
was fellow Corepoint partner, Sefton
Council. Says Graham Lymbery of the
council, “We already had experience of
putting together a type of database in
the early eighties when computer
power was limited, so the database
itself was a collection of documents in
a number of cardboard boxes.”
“We wanted to store and interpret this
existing coastal change data in such a
way that it could more easily be
updated in the future and
communicated to other users, such as
land-managers or researchers.
“We originally wanted the LIS to be
available online but the costs, for us,
Guidelines for implementing
Ribble Estuary Local Information Systems
at the coast
The methodology produced by MACE as
part of the Corepoint project is a great
Land Reclamation extents and dates starting point to help avoid previous
mistakes in developing a usable local
information system. The detailed
methodology points to seven key steps:
Southport Salt marsh extent
and levels
Birkdale
Ainsdale Beach profile data from
line 1 at Crosby to line
30 at Marshside
1 Justify information systems –
Beach topographic survey
It takes money, time and commitment
from collaborators to build an
Dune toe survey information system. So it’s important to
build a case to justify why LIS is useful.
Formby
2 Have clear purpose
Tide pole data Weather station data
You cannot answer all questions
relevant to coastal management in one
attempt. Instead, focus on some key
Sand dune topographic data
Hightown from Formby to Ainsdale purpose/s for the system so coastal
practitioners can clearly identify the
A total of 2,600 datasets were system with a particular part of their
identified by Sefton Council, such
work.
as 18th century charts showing
3 Involve users
where the shoreline was and
aerial photographs from the Be user-led, not data-led – relate your
1940s. Providing a properly system to the work of coastal
catalogued system to make practitioners.
the data available was 4 Solve technical obstacles
where the LIS came in.
Information systems can only work
where a variety of technical obstacles
have been solved – these obstacles
relate both to policy and technical
were prohibitive. Instead the system is
now maintained through a gatekeeper issues.
5 Deploy appropriate technology
(an information manager) and we
There are many technologies out there
make the reports generated from it
available online. so choose carefully to spend limited
finance wisely.
“We in the coastal defence team 6 Check for quality assurance
manage the LIS because it is the data Put checks in place to avoid the
we need for undertaking analysis. We ‘rubbish in – rubbish out’ syndrome.
are still adding to the information 7 Implement and train
both through digitisation of material
Involve users from beginning to end to
such as aerial photos and old records
ensure familiarity with the system and
and through new data capture. For us,
the LIS is extremely useful. We’ve willingness to provide data to populate
found it provides a starting point for it as well as belief in the product.
much of our analysis that
subsequently informs policy and it
The final, comprehensive, step by
does so in a credible way – credibility
step methodology is available
is very important.”
online at:
http://crc67.ucc.ie/corepoint/wp46
The edge Spring 2008 13
Site visit to one of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated tourist attractions, the Giant’s Causeway. The site
is managed by the National Trust and the training group looked at a wide combination of instruments
needed to maintain the heritage and wilderness values while ensuring accessibility to as wide a part
of society as possible.
“The ICZM training schools have provided an excellent and valuable experience not just for me but for our
regional stakeholders and partners. The involvement in the Schools has also had a strongly positive effect on
this region’s approach to how it manages its coastal resource.”
Niall Benson, from Durham Heritage Coast Partnership and participant at the Severn Estuary training course

Training the professionals Cutting across the issues

As part of Corepoint’s commitment to
build capacity for ICZM on the
ground, a series of two day training
courses were developed and delivered
across North West Europe to help
coastal professionals get to grips with
the key principles of ICZM in practice.
Jeremy Hills from Envision, a research
consultancy and partner organisation
of Corepoint, was heavily involved in
the development of the courses. “We
were interested in bringing practical
skills into what could be perceived as
an academic based project”, says Hills.
“The academic community has long
since embraced ICZM with much
excitement and enthusiasm. The
reality on the ground, however, is
different with many professionals
working in local authorities,
responsible for implementation, not
having a clue about ICZM. It’s not
on their radar in the same way.”
The training courses set out to change
that, focusing on the EU approved
principles of ICZM as the course
platform, and using the multinational
skills of partners to create practical
case studies to show best practice in
ICZM. Unique to the training was
the integrated approach taken, not
looking at specific sectors for example
as in the case with much ICZM
training but dividing the information
by principles, cutting across sectors
and issues.
“For each course, we selected and
focused on the principles that were
most appropriate for the local area in
terms of issues”, comments Hills. “In
Port Rush, Northern Ireland, for
example a key issue was planning and
housing development in coastal areas.
We took that to be an issue of local
specificity and went out to look at
planning and the problem with
planning law. This, coupled with a
visit to a site to illustrate the
principles, made them real and
most importantly, relevant to the
participants.”
“Our pool of expertise from our
partners allowed us to take examples
from various locations and show them
to be relevant in other areas dealing
with similar issues. Dolphin stranding
in Holland, for example, was an eye
opener in courses we ran elsewhere.”
CoastWeb
As well as specific regional work,
Corepoint also undertook a number
of more overarching projects.
Through Corepoint partner CoastNet,
the project ran eight conferences
throughout North West Europe
focusing on specific aspects of ICZM.
In addition, CoastNet developed the
coastal portal CoastWeb.
Says Alex Midlen, CoastNet’s Strategic
Director “CoastNet wanted to improve
access to information for decision-
making in coastal areas. It's about
joining up separate sources, about
making all that ‘grey’ literature
(un-published reports) available for all
to use, about connecting up internet
based sources of information and
sifting the good from the bad.
Corepoint enabled us to realise the
first stage in this vision with the
construction and launch of CoastWeb,
an online archive and news resource.”
A considerable achievement of the
Corepoint project has been to link
CoastWeb with other digital
initiatives at European level.
CoastWeb, for example, provides a
structure and a home for background
information for the new Coastal
Wikipaedia. This has been developed
by the Encora project, of which
CoastNet is a Partner and Corepoint
an Associate Network. This hopefully
marks the start of a shared coastal and
maritime information infrastructure
for Europe.
ICZM EU indicator
As well as reviews and reports looking
at various aspects of ICZM, Corepoint
also tested at a local level the EU
indicator to measure progress in the
implementation of integrated coastal
zone management in Europe.
Says Alan Pickaver of EUCC, the
Corepoint partner responsible for the
work, “We wanted to test this
indicator at the local level, to get
some first hand feedback from local
users. We organised a number of
workshops with our Corepoint
partners in Wales, France, Belgium,
Ireland and England.”
“The work allowed us to test
the indicator in a focused way giving
us some indication of ICZM
implementation in Europe. There
certainly is clear evidence that ICZM
is progressing.”
“Now we are hoping to do more work
through Corepoint’s successor Imcore
dividing the EU indicator actions into
steps, giving it greater sophistication
and relevance”.

14 The edge Spring 2008 The edge Spring 2008 15