The evolution of the European framework for coastal management, linked to the new environmental challenges. The Portuguese case

Abstract

: The sharing of space by various human activities leading to social conflicts and threats to ecosystems, alongside increased awareness of the threats to coastal zones has created the need to legislate on coastal planning and integrated management by developing international guidelines. A new management challenge has emerged due to climate change that had not previously been considered in legislation or policies. Therefore, the European tools and frameworks applied in Portugal, their implementation and effectiveness will be analysed. Extensive bibliographic data was analysed including EU directives and policies, and Portuguese governmental documents from national to a municipal level. We found that all the European Union guidelines and frameworks are being implemented in the Portuguese Governmental planning and are very well substantiated, whereas the base of all land management instruments (IGT), have a questionable implementation, mainly due to the number of entities involved and the long implementation process.