Abstract

The primary focus of this study is to develop a National Coastal Zone Management Program for Venezuela, a moderate, comprehensive, and an effective long-term program which allows the development and protection of the Venezuelan Coastal Zone now and in the future. This program must comply with the actual Venezuelan environmental laws and its administrative mechanisms. Also, it must help to control ecological, economic, commercial, social, and human pressures on the Venezuelan coastal area. The design of this project will be based on an analysis of the extensive experience of the U.S.A. coastal states under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA); the interpretation of the Cartagena Convention to those developing countries located in the wider Caribbean region; and the evaluation of the Venezuelan major environmental laws such as the Venezuela's Organic Law of the Environment and the Environmental Crime Law. It is not the purpose of this article to compare the United States regulations on Coastal Zone with Venezuelan environmental regulations and other nations. Also, it is not the purpose of this article to implement identical regulations and programs on Coastal Zone Management between different countries. However, the essential purpose remains the same, the improvement of coastal resources. Thus, it is very important for countries with coastal areas like Venezuela and the United States to develop and implement Coastal Zone Management Programs with an effective regulatory program and administrative teamwork in order to improve renewable and non-renewable resources within the defined coastal areas.

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