Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Ghana

Environmental degradation of coastal
areas was identified as a key issue in Ghana's
Environmental Action Plan. The central objective of the
World Bank-assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management
(ICZM) initiative in Ghana, which commenced in 1995, was to
identify economically, socially and environmentally
appropriate interventions and projects in the coastal zone
that improve the prospects for human development. ICZM is
recognized by governments, international agencies and by the
donor community as a process through which coastal
eco-systems and resources can be protected, developed and
managed in a sustainable manner. In order for implementation
to be successful, effective ICZM must be based on a clear
understanding of the complexities of the relation between
coastal natural resources, and the coastal population that
subsists on these resources. More concretely, this
understanding must relate to how specific economic,
political, social and technical parameters link, in a
reciprocal way, specific coastal ecosystems and specific
human activities.