COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 25 February 1992 on the future Community policy concerning the European coastal zone (92/C 59/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

RECOGNIZING that the European coastal zone, including islands, is a fragile and vital common heritage, and that it is essential that its biological diversity, landscape value, ecological quality and its capacity to sustain life, health, economic activities and social well-being are safeguarded;

EMPHASIZING that a key to sustainable use and development of coastal zones lies in the full integration of economic, physical planning and environmental policies;

ACKNOWLEDGING that the vulnerabilities of the environment, including the natural and cultural heritage, in coastal areas should explicitly be taken into account in developing coastal policies;

TAKES NOTE of the final declaration of the European Coastal Conservation Conference, held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 19 to 21 November 1991 about the future policy with regard to the European coastal zone;

CONCLUDES that, taking into account the subsidiarity principle, there is a clear need for a Community strategy for integrated planning and management of the coastal zones based on the principles of sustainability and sound ecological and environmental practice;

CONCLUDES that conservation and sustainable use of coastal zones is one of the fundamental aspects of such a strategy and that accordingly high priority should be given to specific action in this field;

INVITES THE COMMISSION:

- to propose for consideration a Community strategy for integrated coastal zone management which will provide a framework for conservation and sustainable use,

- to incorporate this initiative into the Fifth Environmental Action Programme.