The integrated governance of the coast

Jurnal: Costas, UNESCO Vol.1
Chapter: The integrated governance of the coast. The Galician Coastal Management Plan.
Date: 2012
Author: Miriam García García, Manuel Borobio Sanchiz, Francisco Castillo Rodríguez
Publisher: Instituto Universitario de Urbanística y el Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valladolid
Pages: 27-40

The Coastal management plan of Galicia (POL) is a comprehensive planning tool on the coast, contained in the law 10/1995 of November 23, management of Galicia, whose purpose is to "establish the criteria, principles and general rules for the urban planning of the coastal zone based on criteria of durability and sustainability as well as the regulation necessary to ensure the conservation, protection and enhancement of coastal areas”. The POL is a systemic approach and a relational model away from the classical proposals. Thus, not only have defined a number of elements with its corresponding regulation, but has sought to reveal the dynamics and processes of socio-ecological co-evolution of the territory. The POL, establish a new model of "active management" of the territory through the design of a relational model, whose structure is articulated through different elements that overlap and complement, to collect the particulars of each area,. In it, the landscape is integrated  as a multiscale approach, as a tool, as an element of reflection and motivation for territorial planning, facilitating decision making from a dynamic and participative.

One of the distinctive features in this plan is the intensive use of geographic information systems, facilitating dialogue between fieldwork and mapping and promoting a new way to read and understand the territory, using the multidimensional aspects of landscape as a tool of interpretation. And finally, the commitment to information transparency, engagement and dialogue between all actors involved, both political and administrative sphere, and from the public.

This article provides a summary of some of the main aspects of the Plan.