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Successful Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Program Model of a

Developing Country (Xiamen, China) – Implementation in Bangladesh
Perspective

Article  in  Journal of Wetlands Ecology · May 2009

DOI: 10.3126/jowe.v2i1.1854

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

Project Paper
Successful Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
Program Model of a Developing Country (Xiamen, China)
– Implementation in Bangladesh Perspective.
Kazi Shakila Islam1, Xiong-Zhi Xue1, Mohammed Mahabubur Rahman2
Address: 1College of Oceanography and Environmental Science, Coastal and Ocean Management
Institute (COMI), Xiamen University, Xiamen, China, E-mail: shakilatanee@gmail.com, xzxue@xmu.edu.cn
2Education and Research Center for Subtropical Field Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University,

Nankoku, Kochi, Japan, E-mail: mahabubtarek76@gmail.com

*Corresponding author: shakilatanee@gmail.com

Accepted: 13 May, 2009

Abstract
This paper represents the overall current situation of two Integrated Coastal Zone
Management (ICZM) programs- one is as a successful model like Xiamen ICZM
program in China and another is as a developing project like ICZM program in
Bangladesh. The paper begins with an attempt to track the evolution of policies and
their implementation on coastal zone management with particular reference from
both the countries. It then discusses the coastal management and livelihood issues
that predicate the different socio-economic and environmental situation between the
two countries. The paper then goes on to discussion how the institutional
management and policy initiatives of Xiamen ICZM have dealt with in the
perspective of Bangladesh. There is a brief consideration of the progress of the
management for ICZM of Bangladesh and how this project might be more effective
and beneficial for Bangladesh.
Key words: Integrated coastal zone management, Socio-economic, Bangladesh,
Institutional management

Introduction
Bangladesh, facing 710 km long coast to the Bay of Bengal (Sarwar 2005) which contains several
ecosystems that have important conservation values. As a zone of vulnerabilities as well as opportunities this
coast prone to natural disasters like cyclone, storm surge and flood. This poses a daunting challenge to the
sectoral coastal management programs, active since the 1960s, aiming at simultaneously ameliorating
people’s livelihood and supporting the ecosystem. The limitations of these programs include the tendency to
adopt an exclusionist approach, a narrowly departmentalized administration and weak management (Iftekhar
2006). The city of Xiamen, located on the southeast coast of China. It has 64.3 km long natural coastline, little
sediment and is ice-free. The Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project in Xiamen, which started
in the mid-1990s, is considered a successful example of ICZM implementation (Hong and Xue 2006). Hong
and Xue (2006) argued that ICZM of Xiamen, in general, has proven to be a workable environmental
management scheme, and it has been replicated elsewhere in China and in other countries.

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

Methodology
Existing ICZM program of Bangladesh
Location of ICZM of Bangladesh
Bangladesh, located in the tropical climate zone. The coastal zone of Bangladesh covers an area of 47,201
km2, or 32% of the country, being the landmass of 19 districts (Figure 1). Around 35 million people,
representing 29% of the population, live in the coastal zone (MoWR 2005). The Government of Bangladesh
in 1999 adopted a Policy Note expressing its support for the ICZM approach (MoWR 1999). Under the
directive of the 1999 Policy Note, a program development office to facilitate the ICZM process was set up in
2001, located within the Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) of the Ministry of Water
Resources (Iftekhar 2006).

Figure 1: Map of the coastal zone of Bangladesh

The Activities of the ICZM of Bangladesh

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) activity policy has eight objectives to address the
vulnerabilities and opportunities of the coastal areas, where environmental friendly industrial activities and
other sustainable use of natural resources have been addressed very carefully and lawfully (Akhter 2005).

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

The ICZM process consists of three main components such as:

A coastal zone policy;

A coastal development strategy; and

A priority investment program.

The Coastal Zone Policy of 2005 was adopted with the overall goal to create conditions in which the
reduction of poverty, development of sustainable livelihoods and the integration of the coastal zone into
national processes can take place. One of the objectives of the Policy is the preservation and enhancement
of critical ecosystems and ecological processes (MoWR 2005). Strategy and investment programs have
been developed to implement policy objectives. The salient features of the present ICZM approach
(Pickaver et al. 2004) are outlined in the following sections.

The Challenges for the ICZM of Bangladesh

The adoption of the 2005 Coastal Zone Policy in Bangladesh was a significant step towards implementing
ICZM. The immediate effect of the adoption of the Policy was that it laid the foundation (Olsen 2005) for the
management infrastructure on which better coastal management can be built (Pickaver et al. 2004). But the
coastal zone has suffered from a large number of management-related problems that have produced poor
economic returns and extensive environmental damage. Many of the problems caused could have been
avoided if good management practices had been followed (Hossain 2001). Some of the major challenges
confronting the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems are outlined below.

Generation of information and filling knowledge gaps

Appreciation of ecosystem linkages

Dissemination of information to assist decision-making

Harmonizing sectoral policies, plans and laws

Improved governance

Ensuring sustained political support

Results and Discussion

ICZM Program of Xiamen (As a Model ICZM in Developing Country)
The Structure of ICZM in Xiamen, China
In 1994, Xiamen was selected as one of the national demonstration sites for the implementation of an ICZM
program which has made significant achievements in the integrated management of marine and coastal
resources (Hong and Xue 2006). The development of ICZM in Xiamen involves the establishment of cross
sectoral management, implementation of integrated land-sea use planning, and active participation of
scientists and stakeholders in resource conservation and environmental protection (Peng et al. 2006).

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

The implementation and management procedure of this ICZM can be described by the Table 1.
Table 1: Management instrument under ICZM

Marine pollution prevention and mitigation

Ocean use licensing

Use fee system

Total pollutant discharge limit

Controlling pollution from ships and ocean disposal of solid waste

Cleanup of Yuandang Lake

Protection of endangered species

Establishment of nature reserves for

Lancelet (Branchiostoma belcheri)

Egret (Egretta spp.)

Chinese white dolphin (Sousa chinesis)

Mangroves

Preservation of scenic spots

East coast scenic spots

Sandy beaches

Cultural sites

Maluan Bay scenic spot

Ocean use zoning

Xiamen sea area functional zoning scheme was constitute in 1997 for managing multiple use of
the ocean and minimizing adverse environmental impacts

Source : Peng et al. 2006

Benefits with the Activity of the ICZM in Xiamen

The indicator for assessing the success of an ICZM program is its socioeconomic benefits (Chua 1998). The
ICZM program in Xiamen has led to an impressive increase in net socioeconomic benefit from its marine
sectors (Table 2).

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

Table 2: Sensitivity analysis with respect to discount rate (unit: million yuan)

Discount rate Without ICZM With ICZM Difference Growth

2% 20,408.94 30,608.46 10,199.52 49.98%

4.50% 18,369.46 27,514.65 9145.19 49.78%

9% 15,334.16 22,912.98 7578.82 49.42%

Source: (Peng et al., 2006)

Proposed Management Procedure of Xiamen ICZM in Bangladesh Perspective

As the development of the coastal zone progresses and the national and local interest in coastal and marine
resources rise, the coastal zone needs to be managed sustainably. Coastal Zone Management as a
planning and implementing program (Lau 2005). ICZM sustainability mostly dependent on some
considerable factors like legal, socio-economic, institutional, bio-physical, and project design (Christie,
2005). So to implement the management procedure of Xiamen ICZM in Bangladesh we have to compare
some of these factors within these two countries. And we also have to identify as a successful ICZM
program how Xiamen is going through and how Bangladesh can do better with these factors.

Legal Factors in Local Level

The legal framework is the fundamental requirement for success and sustainability for a management
program (Pomeroy et al. 1997). As part of the Xiamen Demonstration Project, local regulations were
enacted concerning resource management, environmental protection and transportation management. In
order to strengthen integrated law enforcement, a supervisory force was formed within the Marine
Management and Coordination Committee (MMCC). Key personnel from relevant departments, like the
harbor supervisor, fishery supervisor, water police and environment supervisor, were organized into an
integrated law enforcement group. This group successfully resolved a number of coastal use conflicts (Pang
et al. 2006).
In Bangladesh a number of laws are in operation since long authorizing surveillance and patrolling of the
coastal and marine waters for the preservation of the natural environment and sustainable use of coastal
resources (MoWR 2005). All the laws of Bangladesh are applicable to coastal zone. But the enforcement of
existing legal coverage is a key issue in sustainable coastal management. This policy will be given effect, if
needed, through revision, modification of existing laws, rules and regulations specifying provisions of the
coastal zone policy to facilitate its implementation.

Institutional Factors
The development of ICZM in Xiamen involves the establishment of cross sectoral management,
implementation of integrated land-sea use planning, and active participation of scientists and stakeholders
in resource conservation and environmental protection (Peng et al. 2006). The Xiamen municipal
government emphasized the interaction of scientists and decision makers. Therefore it founded an advisory
group of marine scientists, legal experts, economists, engineers, and urban planners to provide their
expertise to local policymakers. Scientific tools such as Integrated Environmental Impact Assessment (IEIA)
were introduced and apparently used to prevent unfavorable ecological and socioeconomic impacts of
planned development projects (Lau 2005).

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Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

In Bangladesh the coast is an area of institutional weakness: though several government agencies and
departments are working in the coastal region, there is hardly any linkage between them and institutional
fragmentation is common (A policy review). Only bilateral communication takes place between the Ministry
of Land and other executing agencies when the latter require land for construction purposes. Further, the
agencies responsible have hardly any presence at the local level. Most of these agencies operate only from
their Thana level offices; again this is not the case for all the departments who are responsible for program
concerning the coastal areas.

Economical Factors
Implementing ICZM is a costly project and the Xiamen ICZM program consists of the cost of regulatory
development. About one million US dollars the Xiamen demonstration project was invested in Xiamen to
explore and develop the ICZM framework. And also Xiamen government funded various activities to identify
key management issues, to formulate relevant regulations, and to establish ICZM management institutions
(Peng et al. 2006). In Bangladesh the Government and local Government Institutions, all concerned
Agencies, NGOs, private sector and the civil society will put their efforts for the development of the coastal
zone (WARPO 2005).

Social Factors
The Xiamen Marine Management and Coordination Committee organized several public awareness
activities during the Xiamen Demonstration Project, like A weekly column in a local newspaper was
published focusing on the marine environment, articles about the marine environment broadcasted on local
TV and radio (Chua et al. 1997). A trivia contest was held for employees of the district governments and the
Xiamen Municipal Government about marine issues, educational materials about marine environmental
issues were prepared for local middle school students. In Bangladesh gender inequalities and gaps exist in
the coastal zone, in particular in the fields of access to livelihoods assets and access to resources. Often
the economically and politically powerful people with ensuring political protection seized the land of coastal
area (Hossain and Lin 2001). So with the brief discussion of two country’s ICZM procedure we can realize
that although Bangladesh have so many problems, a big change should be possible. And the adoption of
the model ICZM of Xiamen in Bangladesh can be a significant step towards implementing a successful
ICZM in Bangladesh.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The concept of ICZM is very broadly defined in order to be applicable to most regions and countries. There
are numerous approaches of Xiamen ICZM to produce general guidelines for all countries that wished to
follow the ICZM concept in order to control problems and negative impacts in the coastal zone and make a
sustainable development there possible (Lau 2005). But without significant modification and careful
evaluation of involved power structures a successful local ICZM structure cannot be implemented
nationwide. So adoption of recommendations made in this paper is likely to improve ICZM sustainability, not
all are appropriate for each context or issue at hand. Rather, adopting them is likely to improve the rate of
success. For the researcher of ICZM, these concepts also provide guidance for future research on coastal
management.

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 Journal of Wetlands Ecology, (2009) vol. 2, pp 35-41
Open access at www.nepjol.info/index.php/JOWE
Wetland Friends of Nepal www.wetlandsnepal.org

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