European coastal zone management becomes hot item

The Institute for Environmental Studies of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is to organise jointly with the University of East Anglia a four-day workshop on the future of European coastal zone management, at the invitation of the European Commission. From Monday, 4 June to Thursday, 5 June, a group of fifty European coastal zone managers, policymakers and researchers will come together to shape the contours of future European costal zone management and the required research programmes. They will base their discussions on the results of the European research cluster ‘ELOISE’ (60 projects, approximately 150 million euros) and they will assess strategic prospects.

The European coastline is bound to change dramatically as seen from both the continent and the sea. While continental Europe is on the brink of an unprecedented enlargement with unknown economic and social consequences, climate researchers are predicting that a sea level rise will have a major impact on the European coast. Interactions between the hinterland and coast will be subject to radical changes. We can no longer protect ourselves against the deepening coastal seas simply by raising the dikes. The ongoing globalisation of trade and industry will markedly alter the appearance of the European coast.

An important feature of the workshop is the mix of disciplines (ecologists, chemists, engineers, economists and other social scientists) and stakeholders (NGOs, policymakers, managers and researchers). The workshop is aimed at discussion and the constructive formation of opinions. The participants will build on pre-prepared background papers in discussions held in parallel sessions and with a varying composition. The authors will revise these texts after the workshop and a write a chapter on each session. The tangible result of the workshop will be a book setting out the ideas for the future philosophy on the European coast.