Sustainable Coastal Development Policy 2008.

The Sustainable Coastal Development Policy is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The goals of this Policy are: (I) upholding coastal areas as national Taoga for their significant cultural values; (II) integrated coastal planning, management and development; (III) pollution control and waste management, (IV) sustainable management and development of coastal resources; (V) disaster risk reduction and management; and (VI) strengthening governance and capacity building.
Public participation and partnerships will be strengthened between the Government, the private sector and civil society in order to foster co-responsibility in coastal management and development. The participation of fishermen and councils from the traditional fishing villages will be encouraged to decide on the development and protection of traditional fishing areas and to resolve conflicting and competing uses. Moreover, coastal management plans will be developed for vulnerable and/or key coastal areas in close consultation with villages and families. A rehabilitation programme for degraded coastal ecosystems and habitats will be prepared and implemented through public participation.
Integrated coastal zone management will be incorporated into the key development sectors, such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries, with an ecosystem approach. Pollution control and waste management will be strengthened in order to minimize and strictly control discharges into coastal ecosystems. The direct disposal of untreated waste and hazardous material into coastal systems will be strictly controlled through penalty provisions. Moreover, the discharge of marine pollutants and waste, especially ship-board waste, marine fuels and ballast waters, into coastal waters will be prohibited. The diversity, health and productivity of coastal processes and ecosystems will be maintained. Existing protected areas will be strengthened in order to maintain the integrity of coastal ecosystems. The existing scientific monitoring programme will be strengthened for key coastal ecosystems, including species and coastal water quality. Data collection and reporting processes in the field of coastal management will be improved. Strategies will be developed for the recovery of degraded coastal ecosystems and habitats and other important coastal fauna and flora. Reuse and recycling will be promoted by economic incentives to minimize waste generation and at the same time will be compulsory for licensing of an enterprise established in coastal areas. Fair and equitable public rights will be ensured to access the foreshore and traditional sea bed, in accordance with EIA and social impact assessments. Private ownership and/or exclusive usage of the sea tracks and areas above high water mark will be assessed for public interests. In addition, all new coastal leases that might obstruct public access to the foreshore and the sea will be assessed in terms of this Policy. Education and awareness programmes will be strengthened by using multiple media to promote awareness of traditional users and methods related to coastal resources/ecosystems.
Disaster risk reduction and disaster management principles will be incorporated into the EIA process in order to assess potential impacts of key natural or human induced hazards on coastal development and formulate strategies to minimize the risks. In addition, socio-economic assessments as well as hazard and disaster risk assessment will be incorporated into the EIA process to increase the resilience to disasters. A precautionary risk reduction approach will be used in decision making. Appropriate mitigating and adaptive measures to address the consequences of sea-level rise, droughts and storm surges on the coastal resources will be included in the priorities of climate change programmes. Plans for disaster evacuation and shelters will be developed for new village facilities built on the coastal area, as conditions for construction. Institutional capacity building will be enhanced in the fields of EIA, disaster risk reduction and management. Public health and safety and the physical characteristics and landscape of the surrounding environment will be taken into account in the design, development and management of public access to minimize risk to hazards such as storm surge, erosion and run-off. To this end, a long-term plan will be developed to strengthen the capacity of existing sea tracks and ramps to minimize erosion and to better cope when exposed to storm surges and wave run-up.
The coastal management implementation plan will be developed, implemented, monitored, reviewed and thereafter updated every five years. The monitoring tools will be developed to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the policy.