Resource information
The National Integrated Coastal Management Framework (NICMF) and Implementation Strategy for Vanuatu is a cross-sectoral strategy enacted in 2010 that seeks to give substance to the national vision for sustainable coastal environmental management by prescribing institutional arrangements needed for management of the coastal ecosystem, and identifies relevant stakeholders to support the process for implementing management and development activities. The NICMF provides a situational analysis of the coastal zones as well as a consolidated overview of roles and responsibilities, issues and the range of tools (strategies, plans, legislation, etc) available to address. It is designed to allow for stakeholders, managers, and those involved in management of Vanuatu’s coastal resources, to identify the most appropriate response to best manage coastal resources for long term sustainable use.The Management Framework is followed by an Implementation Strategy which will support the development of detailed implementation arrangements. To make coastal agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable the implementation framework promotes increased agricultural production in an environmentally sustainable manner. To this end, the key issues affecting sustainable development have been assessed based on six categories of pressures/activities: coastal development; coastal fisheries; tourism; land-based pollution and siltation; marine-based pollution; and climate change. Addressing these pressures will require application of multiple approaches such as the precautionary and the ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, fisheries management plans, establishment of forestry-buffer zones, nursery/forestry development, ecosystem restoration, resource monitoring, water quality monitoring programs, preparation of environmental impact assessments, environmental management and monitoring plans, establishment of conservation and marine protected areas, preparation of Code of Logging Practice and other codes of practice as required, introduction of community-based management including traditional and customary management approaches, and education and extension programs.To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters various management plans will be prepared including climate change vulnerability assessments, disaster management plans, emergency response plans, and restoration and rehabilitation plans.Regarding governance, although the Department of Environment would take the lead role in coordinating the implementation of the NICMF, the implementation strategy will seek cooperative outcomes between Government Departments, Provincial Governments, communities and other stakeholders. Annual monitoring and evaluation of performance against the NICMF objectives as part of annual program development will be conducted to evaluate progress and identify areas of improvement. The national annual evaluation report will be based on monitoring and evaluation against the objectives and also reports and progress reports of any Area ICM Action Plans. Technical reports from different stakeholders will be encouraged and used as part of the evaluation.
