Assessment of impacts of the ratification of the ICZM Protocol in Croatia with a focus on Article

8 of the ICZM Protocol

Ivica Trumbić

Article 8

1. In conformity with the objectives and principles set out in Articles 5 and 6 of this Protocol, the Parties shall endeavour to ensure the sustainable use and management of coastal zones in order to preserve the coastal natural habitats, landscapes, natural resources and ecosystems, in compliance with international and regional legal instruments.

2. For this purpose, the Parties: (a) Shall establish in coastal zones, as from the highest winter waterline, a zone where construction is not allowed. Taking into account, inter alia, the areas directly and negatively affected by climate change and natural risks, this zone may not be less than 100 meters in width, subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b) below. Stricter national measures determining this width shall continue to apply. (b) May adapt, in a manner consistent with the objectives and principles of this Protocol, the provisions mentioned above :

1)  for projects of public interest; 2)  in areas having particular geographical or other local constraints,

especially related to population density or social needs, where individual housing, urbanisation or development are provided for by national legal instruments.

(c) Shall notify to the Organization their national legal instruments providing for the above adaptations.

Article 8 3. The Parties shall also endeavour to ensure that their national

legal instruments include criteria for sustainable use of the coastal zone. Such criteria, taking into account specific local conditions, shall include, inter alia, the following:

(a) identifying and delimiting, outside protected areas, open areas in which urban development and other activities are restricted or, where necessary, prohibited;

(b) limiting the linear extension of urban development and the creation of new transport infrastructure along the coast;

(c) ensuring that environmental concerns are integrated into the rules for the management and use of the public maritime domain;

(d) providing for freedom of access by the public to the sea and along the shore;

(e) restricting or, where necessary, prohibiting the movement and parking of land vehicles, as well as the movement and anchoring of marine vessels, in fragile natural areas on land or at sea, including beaches and dunes.

Coastal setback

A “Coastal development setback” or coastal buffer zone is defined as a prescribed distance to a coastal feature, such as a line of permanent vegetation, within which all types of development are prohibited

Functions of coastal setback

they provide buffer zones between the ocean and coastal infrastructure, within which the beach zone may expand or contract naturally, without the need for seawalls and other structures, which may imperil an entire beach system. Thus in this sense they may actually reduce beach erosion

they reduce damage to beachfront property during high wave events, e.g. hurricanes

they provide improved vistas and access along the beach

they provide privacy for the occupiers of coastal property and also for persons enjoying the beach as a recreational resource

they can prevent negative impacts of climate change, notably sea level rise

ICZM Protocol: The criteria are more complex and diverse. They suggest not to consider just the natural/environmental criteria, but to explore the social ones as well, like projects of public interest, or the overall conservation and protection of the coastal zone

Red Sea Coast

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis

Coastal hazards

Adjustment for accelerating sea-level rise (ASLR)

Shoreline Evolution Rates (SER)

Croatian legislation and ICZM: Spatial Planning

Croatian legislation most closely linked to ICZM is one related to spatial planning

the issue of sea and coast was mentioned for the first time in the Law on Spatial Planning and Use of Development Land (1973)

the Law on Spatial Planning was passed (1994), which states that the coast cannot be taken, or enclosed, and that free and public access and use of the coast has to be secured

the Spatial Planning Strategy of Croatia (1997) and the Spatial Planning Programme (1999) mention the coastal area as a priority and problem area, suggesting a set of measures for its management

the Act on Regulation and Protection of the Protected (sic!) Coastal Area was adopted by the Government (2004).

new Law on Spatial Planning and Construction (2007) included all the articles of the above act, albeit updated on the basis of the experience gained during three years of its implementation.

Croatian legislation and ICZM: Other legislation

no special legal provisions for the coastal zone management, with the exception of the previously mentioned Act

there are several other laws and regulations that deal with specific issue of coastal zone

the Law on Protection of Nature, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Public Maritime Domain and Sea Harbours, the Law on Islands and the Law on Regional Development

Current use of coastal zone

790 settlements (with around 1,050,000 inhabitants, 370,000 apartments and 190,000 secondary homes),

around one hundred spatially detached tourist zones (with about 430,000 beds),

few dozen industrial zones

about one hundred big harbours and marinas (with about 17,000 berths)

cities, settlements and other urbanized areas, according to the data from the year 2000, have occupied about 850 linear km, or 15%

Coastal urbanisation

until 1960 (the year when the intensive development started on the Adriatic) between 120 and 150 kilometres of the coastline were used of the total coastline

in the period between 1960 and 1990, cities, towns and other urbanised areas occupied additional 700 linear kilometres of the coastline

according to the spatial plans that were in force until 2004, additional 800 km was planned for further expansion of the cities and settlements along the coastline

if these plans materialise, the urban part of the coastal area will expand to about 1,650 linear km and the size of the urban area to about 65,500 ha

the tourist zones would take about 600 km of the coast and 15,300 ha of space.

Act on the Protection of the Protected Coastal Zone

Prevention of further expansion of development areas, because the new generation of spatial plans for the coastal communes and municipalities brought a significant reduction in size of many development areas,

Compulsory preparation of urban plans for new development areas, which included planning for adequate street network, urban facilities and communal infrastructure,

Establishment of the minimum level of infrastructure as a precondition for future development in the coastal zone,

Establishment of the coastal setback, which was intended to be, above all, for public use (apart from the special cases related to activities dependent on location close to the coastline),

Definition of strict building rules and regulations for the tourist and other coastal uses in order to ensure their better management, creation of green spaces and other facilities, as well as to secure public access to the shore.

Definition of the coastal zone

protected coastal zone includes all the islands, the coastal strip with a width of 1,000 metres from the coastline, and the sea area with a width of 300 metres from the coastline

the line from which the coastal zone will be measured is the line of the medium high water line

in the protected coastal zone, with a few minor exceptions, there can be no construction

Major Exception

buildings needed by registered family business in agriculture and rural tourism/catering services provided that the surface area of the plot is not less than 3 hectares, and is at a distance from the coastline of at least 300 metres, (100 metres on the islands), and provided that the gross surface area of the building ground floor does not exceed 200 m2

latest revision of the Law: it has now been made possible to issue a site permit or building permit if the building is on a plot with a surface area of at least 3 ha and removed from the coastline by at least 100 metres, or 50 m in the islands, and provided that the gross surface area of the building ground floor does not exceed 400 m2

Other exceptions

in the development area of a settlement (and within the prescribed 100 m setback), if more than 50% of the existing buildings are used for habitation by persons who permanently reside in that settlement

in the zone beyond the belt of 70 m from the coastline, in the development areas and their detached parts of settlements where less than 50% of the existing buildings are being used by for habitation by persons who permanently reside in that settlement

facilities complementing tourism/catering services, in the development areas of settlements, their detached parts, and the development areas detached from the settlements, within the prescribed 100 m setback

In conformity with Article 8

new development areas detached from the settlement to be used for production purposes can be planned only beyond the coastal belt of 1,000 m, except for those uses that by their nature require proximity to the sea (shipyards, harbours, etc.)

development areas detached from the settlement, which are located in the zone within 100 metres from the coastline, cannot expand nor can new such areas be planned

Adaptation possible

in the development area of a settlement (and within the prescribed 100 m setback), if more than 50% of the existing buildings are used for habitation by persons who permanently reside in that settlement

in the zone beyond the belt of 70 m from the coastline, in the development areas and their detached parts of settlements where less than 50% of the existing buildings are being used by for habitation by persons who permanently reside in that settlement.

for the construction on the islands the setback should be reversed to 100 m

Illegal construction

it is estimated that within the zone of 100 metres from the coastline, but outside development areas, about 35,000 buildings have been built illegally during the period from 15 February 1968 to 11 June 2011 when survey was made

the Law on Dealing with Illegally Constructed Buildings allows legalisation of the abovementioned buildings

should these areas be defined as exceptions?

Conclusions

Croatia ratified the ICZM Protocol in September 2012

legislation on spatial planning and construction is particularly important for the implementation of the Protocol: most of the principles on which the Protocol is based are already built in the existing system of land-use planning of which physical planning is the basic instrument

in spite of the exceptions built in the Law, it is largely commensurate with the requirements of the Protocol, while the exceptions could be largely accommodated

the issue of illegal construction in coastal zone and its legalisation remains critical