Attempts at integrated coastal management in a developing country

The goal of integrated coastal management (ICM) is, presumably, to maintain a desired quality of life for coastal communities. In developing countries where subsistence populations heavily exploit the indigenous resource base, this has reached or exceeded its capacity to provide goods and services supporting particular living standards. If natural resources are to be conserved, then lessons from the more affluent societies indicate the importance of bringing in forms of external subsidy to meet economic demands, such as investment, or certain industries (such as tourism). ICM should involve both natural and social sciences. The natural sciences help elucidate the dynamics of the resource base so that sustainable forms of exploitation may be evolved. However, the course of societal development (which, of course, is ultimately limited by what natural resources can deliver) is the primary context in which ICM must be applied, thus highlighting the role of social sciences such as politics, economics and sociology.