THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA’S COASTAL AREA

Abstract

Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is an international management paradigm for coastal governance to promote sustainable coastal development. To study the effectiveness of this ICM approach in promoting sustainable development in China¿s coastal cities, and to further improve this approach, I developed three index frameworks to evaluate the performance of ICM in coastal cities of China with respect to the three aspects: coastal governance, ecological environment and social economic development. I then applied them to three case studies ¿ Xiamen, Quanzhou and Dongying to assess the outcomes of ICM in contributing to the sustainable development of these coastal cities. For management purposes, my study also identified and proposed a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for each city to enhance efficiency in monitoring and measurement of ICM performance. The relationships between ICM governance, coastal environment changes and socio-economic development are also discussed using the driving force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model.