Evaluation indicators for Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in China: lessons learned from Xiamen

Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) initiatives spread all over the world to cope with declining conditions and intensifying user conflicts to achieve sustainable development of coastal resources and environment. A set of indicators with regard to sustainable development and governance aspects were developed in Xiamen to monitor the State of Coasts (SOC) under ICM implementation. In developing the evaluation indicators for Xiamen, a number of lessons were learned related to data compilation, indicator development, public participation and scaling up. The experience of Xiamen was believed to contribute to develop evaluation indicators for ICM in China.