Coastal management: Global change ..... global observation?

The theme of the present discussion is to consider coastal observation needs in the broader context of a sustainable, integrated management response to coastal change. Thus underlining the notion that observations are an element of a more comprehensive process. We will therefore, first explore the process of ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management), and find that deficits in international co-ordination and co-operation are large. An overview of salient coastal zone issues emphasises the spatial, spectral and temporal diversity of observational needs, which is concluded to be an important reason for the relative underdevelopment of coastal zone observation systems. A "global" coastal observation effort should give due consideration to these aspects, and aim to help resolve this in cooperation with national and international institutions carrying responsibility for a sustainable development of the coastal zone. The interpretation of the meaning of global appears to be twofold, global in the sense of a generic, universal need (although many coastal problems are local), and global in the sense of institutionalisation and co-ordination on a global level.