ABSTRACT
This chapter features the concepts that currently underpin the conscious planning and management of coastal areas, and attempts to examine them within the evolution of coastal management. It introduces the key theoretical concepts and analyses how they have been interpreted and implemented by organisations with coastal management responsibilities with examples. The chapter outlines the most important terms and guiding statements for coastal management and planning. It discusses the choices in the design of administrative arrangements to implement coastal zone management and planning programs. The chapter describes the monitoring and evaluation of coastal programs. It provides insights into possible changes in the direction of coastal management concepts in the immediate future. Several international and national organisations promote the application of ecosystem-based management in marine and coastal management. The United National Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries calls for countries to take an ecosystem approach to managing fisheries.
