Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: From Local Delimitation to National Implementation

Transcription

1 Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: 945 Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: From Local Delimitation to National Implementation Marina García, María Teresa Abogado, Frederick Pérez, Abigail Castillo, Silvia Garcia, Jean Carlos Marín, Javier Morales and Jaime Duarte Dirección Técnica de las Zonas Costeras. Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, Torre Sur del Centro Simón Bolívar. Piso 10. Caracas Venezuela mgsupernova@hotmail.com mabogado@minamb.gob.ve fdperez@minamb.gob.ve acastillo@minamb.gob.ve silviagcuesta@gmail.com jcmarin@minamb.gob.ve javmorales@minamb.gob.ve jfduartemora@gmail.com ABSTRACT García, M., Abogado, M. T., Pérez, F., Castillo, A., García, S., Marín, J., Morales, J. and Duarte, J.F., Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: From Local Delimitation to National Implementation, Proceedings 12 th International Coastal Symposium (Plymouth, England), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 65, pp , ISSN Coastal public domain constitutes the area of interaction between land and sea. For its nature, is very dynamic due to the advance and retreat of the coastline. In Venezuela, coastal public domain is legally considered in the Law of Coastal Zones as an area to be delimited for conservation and public use purposes. The boundary of coastal zone has not defined, resulting in the inappropriate use of ecosystems and natural resources through incompatible developments with planning proposals. This article aims to establish criteria to define the boundaries of coastal public domain and to apply directives and guidelines in this space. These are derived from the National Policies for Conservation and Sustainable Development of Coastal Zones in Venezuela, established in The areas of study, Patanemo and Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños, have different natural characteristics and degrees of intervention. In both areas, a diagnosis was done and the coastal public domain boundaries were defined based on five (5) criteria. Used criteria are fully integrated into the physical, biotic aspects and risk management, allowing efficient planning. For Patanemo, three (3) directives and five (5) guidelines were applied. For Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños, two (2) directives and four (4) guidelines were applied. The directives and guidelines are adjusted to the natural characteristics of each area. A nationwide strategy to define and manage coastal public domain is to be established. ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: ICZM, Policies, Directives, Guidelines, Methodology. INTRODUCTION The coastal zones in Venezuela are characterized by the development pressure that implies land occupation, with several uses and their associated activities (tourism, recreation, urban, commercial, fishing, ports, aquaculture, and others). These occupations are based on the opportunities coastal zones offer in terms of space availability and diversity of natural and social resources, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with great environmental sensitivity (Castillo et al., 2011). The development of coastal areas has been subordinated to the increase in demand associated with the increase in population density, with little regard to the conservation and sustainable use of this key area of interaction between sea and DOI: /SI received 07 December 2012; accepted 06 March Coastal Education & Research Foundation 2013 land (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001). In Venezuela, the legal framework for environmental management requires that the national planning takes into account the best use of the space according to its capabilities, specific conditions and ecological constraints (República de Venezuela, 1983, República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 1999 and 2006). This is evident in the National Territorial Planning (República de Venezuela, 1998) which aims to "orient the location of people, economic activities and physical infrastructure, harmonizing criteria of economic growth, social development, security and protection and preservation of the environment, based on knowledge of the potentials and constraints in each geographical area". Under this premise, and the fact that coastal areas are dynamic and continuous, the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001), proposes a management model under a comprehensive and proactive approach.

2 946 García, et al. Associated to the coastal zones, the public domain acquires a legal vision. This has been identified as a space requiring management approaches related to their particularities, especially with its characteristic of being for public use, where activities are carried out for the common good. The coastal public domain can be defined as an area of direct interaction between the marine ecosystem and the terrestrial ecosystem, dynamic, delicately balanced, with touristic and biological potential and as a protection zone from the effects associated with climate change (Garcia, 2012). In Venezuela, the public domain space is considered as a priority conservation area due to its inclusion in the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001). The Law defines the limits of the public domain as well as the elements that comprise it (Article 9), restricted activities (Article 19) and prohibited activities (Article 20) within this area. The public domain space in Venezuela, as in other countries, is subject to multiple conflicts, allowing the execution of certain uses and activities associated. Considering the context of environmental standards and current scientific knowledge, these uses are not consonant with the proposal for coastal zone management, formulated by the National Plan for Integrated Coastal Zone Management of Venezuela (POGIZC for its initials in Spanish) (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2012). The recognition of the importance of coastal areas and especially the coastal public domain is extensive. There are examples such as the República de Costa Rica, (1977); República Oriental del Uruguay, (1979 and 2003); NOAA, (2005); Chile (1995); Castro and Alvarado (2009); España, (1988); Torres, (2009); MAGRAMA, (2012). Coastal public domain recognition in national legislation, states unequivocally, the desire to ensure public access to the coast, to promote the protection of collective and establish foundations for the development and implementation of a climate change adaptation plan. The legal instrument establishes that the entire aquatic space of Venezuela is public domain, confirming the provisions of Article 304 of the Venezuelan Constitution (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 1999). Sea coasts are considered public domain (Article 12, República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 1999), defined by a minimum width of 80 m projected from the highest tide, besides the ecosystems and geomorphologic elements such as coral reefs, sea grass beds, mangroves, estuaries, deltas, coastal lagoons, coastal wetlands, salt marshes, beaches, dunes, cliffs, rocky coasts, bays, capes and lands reclaimed from the sea (Castillo et al., 2011; República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001) Under these premises, the aim of this work is to define management strategies for the coastal public domain in Venezuela; to establish criteria for the delimitation of coastal public domain in order to promote the process of management in this area and; to implement policies, directives and guidelines. Two areas were taken as an example (Figure 1). Patanemo (Carabobo state), located in the west central coast, with an approximate area of 201 Ha and Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state), located on the central coast, with a total area of Ha. These areas present different physical characteristics, allowing to develop a strategy broad enough to be applied nationally. In Patanemo, a community with about 100 homes is located, as well as a fishing settlement. There are six main ecological Figure 1. Areas of Study Patanemo (Carabobo state) and Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state). systems: beach, coastal lagoon, river, estuary, coral and marine environment. In Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños, about 150 people from civil organizations and service providers have interest in the area. Environmentally, this area is a reclaimed land from the sea, as a result of mudslides occurred in The area consists of two beaches: Coral "A" and "B", to the east, with similar physical characteristics, and Bahía de Los Niños, to the west. Between them lies a land of 3.15 Ha, protected by a breakwater that serves as a physical boundary between these beaches. In these areas, the stakeholders within the ICZM can be divided into three groups. The first comprises the Ministry of Environment (national and local level), as the main responsible of the ICZM process; Carabobo and Vargas governments, as well as the authorities who propose and implement executive policies through the various levels of government. The second group is formed by the government agencies for the Ministries of Tourism, together with its affiliated entities, Water Transport, with the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces, and Agriculture and Land, with the Socialist Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture. In the third group, there are other government agencies involved in ICZM as the Ministry of Health, Coast Guards and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Each one of these stakeholders continuously receives inputs related to the participation of organized communities present in the sector Patanemo and Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños, who participated in the formulation of the Plan for Integrated Coastal Zone Management of their coastal states and localities. A total of 16 environmental problems were identified, eight problems in each area (Ministerio del Ambiente, 2007a, 2007b and Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, 2010). After the analysis by the group of participants, four major problems were synthesized: 1. Lack of monitoring and control. 2. Pollution of the coastal zone. 3. Lack of a Management Plans. 4. Weakness in ICZM processes. The existence of these problems has caused alterations to coastal dynamics, environmental quality deterioration, conflicts in the use of space for the development of different activities, and decreased responsiveness of the stakeholders involved.

3 Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: 947 METHODS To establish coastal public domain space in the study areas a natural and social classification was conducted. The natural classification included all those environments and ecological systems as morphologies created by wind and waves, and wind and coastal erosion. The social classification included those aspects of man - space relationships taking place in those areas. Based on ecosystems and geomorphological features identified as part of the public domain in Article 9 of the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001), besides the characteristics of each area, five criteria were proposed to define coastal public domain in Patanemo and Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños. 1. Structures and installations built by the State and particulars in that domain. 2. Structures and installations for marine signaling. 3. Presence of Areas Under Special Administration Regime (Protected Areas). 4. Areas susceptible to flooding from any extreme weather event, based on the Flood Maps in the Coastal Zones of Venezuela. 5. Areas vulnerable to sea level rise, considering an increase of mean sea level of 0.517m, based on documents and maps developed on Climate Change. (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2005). On the resulting delimitation, the directives and guidelines for Integrated Management of the Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela were defined. These have their foundation in the National Policies for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Coastal Zone (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2009; Pérez et al., 2011), which are based on the guidelines set out in the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001). Additionally, other policies whose characteristics are complementary were taken as reference, for example, the guidelines stated by the Caribbean Environment Program and the United Nations Environment Program (PNUMA, 1996). Through an integrated analysis of the documents generated at state and local level (Ministerio del Ambiente, 2007a, 2007b and Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, 2010), a representation of the current situation was established, grouping the identified problems and proposed programs and actions. The resulting product was taken to the planning and management proposals in each of the selected areas. From a conceptual and integrated framework, the directives specify the rules derived from the National Policy for the Conservation and Sustainable Development in coastal planning and management, while the guidelines express how to implement the directives (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2009). In this regard, three directives (numbers) were designed grouping 14 individual guidelines (letters). These were applied to selected areas and will serve as a framework for national implementation (Table 1). These directives and guidelines aim to achieve the following objectives: 1. The conservation and restoration of ecological functions, values and cultural landscape of the coast. 2. The protection and restoration of beaches as natural or created spaces. 3. The environmental recovery of urbanized coastal areas. 4. The recovery of public spaces, especially those for recreation and associated facilities for the direct service of users of the coast. 5. The defense, security, conservation and recovery of public spaces integrity, and the purpose for which they were created. 6. The release of occupations which do not comply with current legislation or generate effects on coastal dynamics. 7. The recovery and improvement of open access, transit and public use of the shoreline. 8. The enjoyment of the sea and coastal areas. Table 1. Directives and Guidelines for Coastal Public Domain Management in Venezuela. Directive Guideline 1. Conservation - enhancement 2. Sustainable use 3. Prevention and Rehabilitation of the shoreline a. Construction or maintenance of coastal paths. b. Improve open access, transit and public use of the shoreline. c. Implementation of projects or landscaping, prioritizing the use of native vegetation. a. Maintenance or improvement of sports facilities. b. Design of areas to services associated to the public domain (areas of food and beverage, parking, and others). c. Planning of fishing settlements. d. Establishment and monitoring of marine tourism and sports. a. Verification or completion of protection structures and recovery of the coast and rivers. b. Beach recovery. c. Implementation of projects or actions for environmental recovery, through wastewater and runoff management. d. Sanitation of the public domain space of junk and solid waste. e. Sanitation of public domain space of debris and damaged or abandoned infrastructure. f. Sanitation of urban uses not consonant with the purpose of the public domain. g. Relocation of public facilities within the public domain.

4 948 García, et al. PRELIMINARY RESULTS Delimitation of Coastal Public Domain Spaces The first result is associated with the delimitation of the coastal public domain in the selected areas. For Patanemo (Carabobo state), the delimitation of the coastal public domain includes elements like the beach, dune, coastal lagoon and the estuary. It also included those areas susceptible to flooding due to any extreme weather event, especially rainfall (high intensity and short duration), based on the documents produced in this context by the Ministry of the Environnment (Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, 2012). One additional criterion was the vulnerability to sea level rise, estimated in m for the year 2090, representing Ha spatially. Taking into account this, the western part of Patanemo would be underwater, affecting existing coastal wetlands in the area (Figure 2). On the other hand, due to the heterogeneity in the configuration of the coast of Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños in Vargas state (Figure 3), from the point of view of occupation and the absence of natural ecosystems, the delimitation of the coastal public domain was made taking into account the provisions of the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001), which states a minimum width of 80 m from the highest tide. In this case, the measurement was taken from the previous shoreline (before the mudslides of 1999), based on the fact that the Law states that all reclaimed land from the sea (whether artificial or natural) are part of the public domain. Similarly, the delimitation was made taking as a reference human elements such as roads or paths. Also when the boundaries touch urban areas, the totality of the infrastructure (houses, swimming pools, shops, etc.) where considered. Application of Guidelines and Directives The multidisciplinary team, based in Table 1, selected a directives and guidelines, in order to address the processes of action of institutions and communities linked to the planning and management of these coastal areas. For Patanemo (Carabobo state) three directives and five guidelines were selected (Table 2), in order to avoid damage of natural, scenic, historical, and socio - cultural resources; to regulate the intensity of the uses and for these to correspond to the capacity of the ecosystems, as well as pointing to the area recovery by using measures that enhance natural resources management, without letting the uses and associated activities disturb their dynamics, aiming to protect the quality of the environment for present and future generations. For Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state), two directives and four guidelines were selected (Table 3). These are designed to protect and restore the beaches as natural or created areas with high environmental and socio-cultural values, indispensable to address vulnerability to sea level rise and extreme weather events; to restore the functional capacity of the resources and ecosystems of the negative impacts caused by the uses and associated activities and; to regulate the uses and activities in sensitive areas. For both cases, the guidelines are presented with activities, timelines, goals and stakeholders in order to facilitate the assessment of the actions taken. These aspects are under construction within the framework of integrated processes of coastal areas, following principles of cooperation and coordination with the communities. Figure 2. Coastal public domain space in Patanemo (Carabobo state) Source: García, M., Figure 3. Coastal public domain space in Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state) Source: Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, Table 2. Directives and Guidelines that apply to coastal public domain space in Patanemo (Carabobo state). Directives / Area Basic Aspects Guidelines Patanemo The area consists in a contact zone between land and sea of about 2606 m long. Flat relief composed of different types of landscapes, a river, a coastal lagoon and a sandy beach of about 800 m long. The predominant economic activity is tourism. There are a total of 37 commercial establishments in the berm and a parking area. 1c 2c 3b 3d 3f

5 Developing Management Strategies for Coastal Public Domain in Venezuela: 949 Table 3. Directives and Guidelines that apply to coastal public domain space in Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state). Directives / Area Basic Aspects Guidelines Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños Lands reclaimed from the sea where parking facilities are located as well as sports areas not well structured. Playa Coral has a beach of 475 m long. It is divided into two sectors "Coral A" with a distance of 261 m and "Coral B" with 214 m. Bahía de Los Niños is 175 m long. Coastal public domain affects the urban sector in approximately 20 meters. There are also temporary facilities associated with structures being carried out for the recovery of Vargas State after the mudslides of CONCLUDING REMARKS Management strategies for coastal public domain in Venezuela represent a challenge and an opportunity to guarantee free access to public domain, additionally it serves as a basis to establish a Climate Change Adaptation Plan. The technical criteria to delimitate coastal public domain, at a local level complement the national ones, are stated in the Law of Coastal Zones (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2001). By using these criteria coastal public domain of Patanemo (Carabobo state) was delimitated with a total area of Ha y Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state) with a total area of Ha. In these cases coastal public domain are not a homogeneous strip, in fact these areas have particular environmental characteristics. In order to achieve the objectives, a special planning process is expected. This is set by using three actions developed under the National Policies for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Coastal Zone (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2009, Pérez et al., 2011). The Policies state the main action strategies for coastal zone management. The Directives specify the rules around these actions. Finally the Guidelines express the implementation, dynamic and practice of each action. The proposal consists in nine policies (República Bolivariana de Venezuela, 2009; Pérez et al., 2011), three directives and 14 guidelines to coastal public domain management, in order to address three of key approaches. The first one referred to the Conservation and enhancement of public domain spaces. The second approach is oriented to Sustainable use of the public domain spaces. The third approach refers to the processes of prevention, rehabilitation and recovery of the coastal public domain. This work is the result of a multidisciplinary team analysis, who implemented the adequate directives and guidelines at their local level. In Patanemo (Carabobo state) three directives and five guidelines were selected. In Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños (Vargas state) two directives y four guidelines were selected. The compound effort with the directives and guidelines must become in the tool, in the best case possible, to develop the work together with the 14 Work Committees of Coastal Zones at national and local levels. 2a 2b 3b 3e By the application of these elements, the management process is expected to continue the support and promotion of the cooperation and coordination principles between the stakeholders, other institutions and communities, going forward in the ICZM processes as a tool to achieve sustainable development in the Coastal Zones, a space with its own identity. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors appreciate the valuable inputs made by the Work Committees of Coastal Zones of Carabobo and Vargas states, Carlos Marcano and Ervin Rivero. This project was developed with the contribution of Cuban specialists and the financial support from the Venezuela - Cuba Cooperation Agreement. LITERATURE CITED Castro, A. and Alvarado, C., La Gestión del Litoral Chileno: Un Diagnóstico. Universidad Católica de Chile: Instituto de Geografía, Santiago de Chile, Chile, 22p. Castillo, A., García, M., Padrón, A., Abogado, M.T, Pino, A. and Pérez, F., Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Venezuela: A space with its own identity. In: Furmańczyk, K., Giza, A. and Terefenko, P. (eds.), Proceedings of the 11 th International Coastal Symposium (Szczecin, Poland), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 64, pp España (Gobierno de España) Ley de Costas, Boletín Oficial del Estado, 16 p. García, M., Delimitación de la Franja de Dominio Público como Herramienta para la Gestión Integrada de Zonas Costeras. Caso: Bahía de Patanemo, estado Carabobo. Caracas, Venezuela: Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica de la Fuerza Armada Nacional, Master s thesis, 167p. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAGRAMA), Proyecto de Ley de Protección y Uso Sostenible del Litoral y de Modificación de la Ley 22/1988 de Costas, Boletín Oficial del Estado, 33p. Ministerio del Ambiente, 2007a. Ordenación y Gestión Integrada de la Zona Costera del Área Piloto Playa Coral - Bahía de Los Niños. Estado Vargas. Venezuela: Comité de Trabajo de las Zonas Costeras del estado Vargas, 175p. Ministerio del Ambiente, 2007b. Ordenación y Gestión Integrada (Fases I y II) de la Zona Costera del Área Piloto Bahía de Patanemo - Laguna La Bocaina, Estado Carabobo. Venezuela: Comité de Trabajo de las Zonas Costeras del estado Carabobo, 169p. Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, Directrices y Lineamientos para la Ordenación y Gestión Integrada del Área de Dominio Público del Estado Vargas. Venezuela: Comité de Trabajo de las Zonas Costeras del estado Vargas, 47p. Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ambiente, Verificación del Mapa de Inundación por Precipitaciones en las Zonas Costeras de Venezuela. Venezuela: Despacho del Viceministro de Ordenación y Administración Ambiental - Dirección General de Planificación y Ordenación Ambiental - Dirección Técnica de las Zonas Costeras, 51p. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Evaluation Findings for the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program from November 2001 through August United States: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management National Ocean Service, Department of Commerce, 43p.

6 950 García, et al. Pérez, F., Pino, A., Grilli, M., García, M., Abogado, M., and Araujo, N., National Policies in the Coastal Zones of Venezuela: A Participation Strategy. In: Furmańczyk, K., Giza, A. and Terefenko, P. (eds.), Proceedings of the 11 th International Coastal Symposium (Szczecin, Poland), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 64, pp Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), Directrices para una Planificación y un Manejo de las Áreas Costeras y Marinas en la Región del Gran Caribe. Kingston, Jamaica: Programa Ambiental del Caribe, 136p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Asamblea Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, 88p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Decreto con Fuerza de Ley de Zonas Costeras. Asamblea Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, 22p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Primera Comunicación Nacional en Cambio Climático de Venezuela. Venezuela: Ministerio del Ambiente, 164p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Ambiente. Asamblea Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, 52p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Políticas Nacionales de Conservación y Desarrollo Sustentable de las Zonas Costeras. Venezuela: Despacho del Viceministro de Ordenación y Administración Ambiental - Dirección General de Planificación y Ordenación Ambiental - Dirección Técnica de las Zonas Costeras, 65p. República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Plan de Ordenación y Gestión Integrada de las Zonas Costeras de Venezuela, El Plan - Proyecto de Decreto. Despacho del Viceministro de Ordenación y Administración Ambiental - Dirección General de Planificación y Ordenación Ambiental - Dirección Técnica de las Zonas Costeras. Caracas, Venezuela, 98p. República de Chile, Política Nacional de Uso del Borde Costero del Litoral. Santiago de Chile, Chile, 4p. República de Costa Rica, Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre. San José, Costa Rica, 44p. República de Venezuela, Ley Orgánica de Ordenación del Territorio. Asamblea Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, 23p. República de Venezuela, Plan Nacional de Ordenación del Territorio. Comisión Nacional de Ordenación del Territorio. Caracas, Venezuela. 58p. República Oriental del Uruguay, Ley Código de Aguas. Montevideo, Uruguay, 44p. República Oriental del Uruguay, Plan General de Ordenamiento y Desarrollo Sustentable de la Costa Atlántica del Departamento de Rocha. Montevideo, Uruguay, 379p. Torres, J., La Ocupación del Dominio Público Marítimo - Terrestre en España. España: Universidad de Alicante, 30p.