AUSTRALIAN PLANNER SEPTEMBER 1987

The concept of Coastal Zone Management includes both the planning function that determines appropriate land uses and resulting control systems, and the land management function that maintains or repairs the ecological integrity of an area such that it can meet the needs of society. This is especially difficult in Australia, where we often divide the various functional components of coastal zone management between two, or more frequently more, government agencies and provide ineffective co-ordination mechanisms between them. These problems of organisational structure have been discussed elsewhere. In this article I intend to look at performance in planning and management on the Australian coast and review, from a personal perspective, how I think the various professional groups have performed in the past, and what might be the prospects for the future.