Understanding Integrated Coastal Management

This course introduces and discusses the philosophy, concept, guidelines, framework, and processes of ICM for the sustainable development of coastal areas.

The course also provides a guide to a quick assessment of the requirements for developing an Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) program through giving an orientation on the State of the Coasts Reporting tool and the ICM Code of Good Practice. A work planning session will allow participants to identify the next steps in preparing for the development of an ICM program in their respective areas.

At the end of the course, the participants are expected to;

1. Understand and appreciate the basic concepts and principles of ICM

2. Explain the framework and processes involved in developing and implementing ICM at the local and national levels

3. Familiarize the participants with the tools to assess the social, economic, and environmental status of the coastal areas in their locale, as well as the use and management of these areas

4. Identify the strategies and approaches to initiating or strengthening an ICM program 

 Integrated Information Management System (IIMS)

The integrated information management system (IIMS) is a relational environmental database that can store sets of data that are necessary in environmental management.  The system is one of the tools developed by PEMSEA for coastal and marine management to facilitate decision-making.  IIMS has been developed to store and process important data in coastal and marine, and river basin management.  It provides information on appropriate format for the managers, decision-makers and planners, and stakeholders, in general to facilitate decision-making.

The main objective of IIMS training workshop is to train core staff in the  establishment, operationalization and maintenance of IIMS at the various ICM sites. Specifically, the training workshop aimed to:

1. Discuss the details of IIMS, its structure, functionalities and requirements;

2. Develop the skills of the participants on the establishment of IIMS, which includes data collection, screening, standardization and encoding data into the IIMS;

3.Describe the procedures in maintaining the system, including quality control and security;

4. Assess the availability of data and their sources, and identify data gaps; 

5. Be able to appreciate the applications of IIMS in ICM and river-basin management; and

6. Develop a plan of action on the establishment of IIMS in each of the sites.

 Integrated Coastal Management Training of Trainers (ToT)

The Integrated Coastal Management Training of Trainers (ICM ToT) Workshop is designed to equip participants with better understanding and enhanced knowledge, skills and resources in organizing and conducting Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) training for their national agencies and local governments. Utilizing PEMSEA tools and materials, participants are effectively trained in delivering the training course in their local context and are provided with opportunities to develop necessary skills to plan and deliver national ICM training workshops.

The training workshop aims to:

1. Orient participants with a level up knowledge base of the ICM framework and processes and how it can be used towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and other international commitments.

2. Through the appreciation and understanding of ICM, participants should be able to understand their vital role and their sectors’ role in the multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach of developing and implementing an ICM program.

3. Understand how ICM can help address their responsibilities and commitments under various national, regional and international agreements and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4. Appreciate how case studies provide factual lessons on ICM implementation and recognize how they can use these information for their own planning and application.

Coastal Use Zoning Development

The course introduces and discusses the concept, principles, guidelines and processes of coastal use zoning as a tool for Integrated Coastal Management. The course also provides a step by step guide for the activities to be carried out in drafting a zoning plan through the workshop session. A work planning session allows participants to identify next steps in preparing and initiating coastal use zoning in their respective areas.

The general objective of the course is to enhance understanding of participants on the basic concepts, principles, importance and process of coastal and sea use planning and zoning.

Specifically, at the end of the course, the participants will be able to do the following:

1. Explain the relationship between ICM and coastal use zoning;

2. Explain the concepts, principles and benefits of coastal use planning and zoning;

3. Identify the basic requirements for initiating a zoning initiative;

4. Distinguish the different applications of zoning in the use, management and sustainable development of coastal and marine resources;

5. Enumerate the steps in the zoning process and identify key components, requirements, and elements necessary to support the development and implementation of a zoning plan; and

6. Discuss the steps and processes in identifying policy and institutional arrangements to support the implementation of coastal and sea use plans.

Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

Climate change adaptation has become a chief concern at all levels and sectors of governance due to its far ranging implications such as sea level rise, storm surges and waves, sea surface temperature changes, and variable rainfall. Subnational to local units have been mandated to develop and implement climate change adaptation (CCA) in their respective jurisdictions in response to this threat. 

Vulnerability assessment (VA) is an essential preliminary step in the broader CCA process. It informs the development of suitable strategies to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Correct application of these tools, including being able to properly address the various data requirements, is critical to the success of the VA. In line with this, some basic technical training is required to prepare potential members of the CCA teams participating in this workshop.

The primary objectives of the activity are:

1. To equip participants with knowledge, skills and resources in conducting Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Assessment for marine and coastal areas, and the application of results in ICM planning and implementation;

2. To strengthen capacity in providing capacity building and technical support to local governments developing and implementing ICM programs;

3. To introduce the three Coastal VA tools, namely: (a) Coastal Integrity VA Tool or CIVAT; (b) Tool for Understanding the Resilience of Fisheries or VA-TURF; and (c) Integrated Coastal Sensitivity, Exposure, and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change or ICSEA-C-Change;

4. To provide detailed instruction on the Coastal VA tools using data from two barangays in El Nido, Palawan. The training consists of lecture and scoring exercises for each of the Coastal VA tools; and

5. To build an understanding on the CCA process.

Financing Sustainable Environmental Projects through Public-Private Partnership

This workshop presents public-private partnership (PPP) as an innovative approach to implementing environmental infrastructure improvement projects (e.g, municipal sewage treatment system, solid waste management system, toxic and hazardous waste management system, etc.). 

The workshop aims to enable the participants to:

1. Understand the basic principles, processes, and responsibilities of PPP implementation;

2. Be aware of national legislation, policies and practices related to PPP;   

3. Identify challenges and constraints to implementing environmental infrastructure projects;

4. Explain the roles and responsibilities of local governments in developing and sustaining private sector participation in environmental infrastructure improvement projects; 

5. Describe available financing options, as well as different methods of generating revenue to support repayment of loans and operating costs; and 

6. Give details on the actions required by local governments in order to evaluate and justify the use of PPP in implementing environmental infrastructure projects. 

Water Quality Monitoring and Analysis: Integrated Environmental Monitoring Program (IEMP)

This training is designed to equip participants with better understanding and enhanced knowledge, skills and resources in monitoring and assessment of marine water quality through lectures, data collection, laboratory work, computer work, data analysis, comparison and discussions through; 

1.Providing an overview of environmental monitoring and role in environmental management;

2.Reviewing IEMP, benefits over conventional monitoring, and link with risk assessment/risk management;

3.Introducing general aspects of nutrient pollution and monitoring and sampling techniques and QA/QC protocols;

4.Conducting field sampling and collection of nutrients; and

5. Discussing capacity needs and gaps of countries.

The course aims to:

1. To orient participants with a level up knowledge base on environmental monitoring and its role in environmental management and how IEMP benefits over conventional monitoring, and link to risk assessment/risk management;

2. To train participants on general aspects of nutrient pollution and monitoring and techniques in data analysis;

3. To strengthen capacity of of countries for application in the IEMP by identifying the needs and constraints as well as needs for other parameters. member states in area-based management tools, including ICM, and discuss issues relating to marine litter such as microplastics, etc.

Marxan with Zones (Marxan-Z) and Marine Assessment & Planning Support System - Marine Suitability Assessment (MAPS-MSA)

Marxan with Zones (or Marxan Z), based on the earlier version Marxan, is a planning tool that allows the allocation of planning units to multiple zones (i.e., marine protected areas of various protection levels: partial conservation) and incorporates multiple costs into a systematic planning framework. Marxan Z aims to assign each planning unit in a study region to a particular zone in order to meet a number of ecological, social and economic objectives at a minimum total cost. It is also a tool for designing efficiently configured protected area networks or reserve systems.

Marine Assessment & Planning Support System - Marine Suitability Assessment (MAPS-MSA) is another decision-making support tool on coastal and marine spatial planning and management. Applications include coastal seawater zoning, site designation for specific uses, and screening and scoping in environmental impact assessment (EIA) & strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Major steps include the preparation, planning area delineation & grid setting, data collection and pre‐processing, score calculation & integration, standardization of scores, and spatial classification.

The primary objectives of the training are to:

• Provide an overview of spatial planning and management 

• Introduce Marxan and Marxan with Zones and teach how to

i. Create Marxan input files with QMarxan in QGIS 

ii. Run Marxan and displaying spatial outputs

iii. Modify Marxan results with Zonae Cogito 

• Explore the applicability of Marxan with Zones and MAPS-MSA in countries and localities, including MSP-related needs, current capacity and availability of data and information as well request for technical assistance.