Delimitación de la “zona costera” en la normativa de la región iberoamericana. ¿Aplicando criterios ecosistémicos?

Abstract

In the management of coastal zones the definition of the geographical area has been conceived over the years in an imprecise way. Various authors and international organizations have defined this concept, although of different form and using very different criteria. The trend and recommendations of the last decade are focused on ecosystem‐based management. Analyzing the advances of the management, since the 1990s, in theory, there is a clear evolution in the notion of the mentioned area. In this sense, the objective of the present work is to make an analysis on how it is defined and delimited, in practice, in the normative. For this purpose, Ibero‐American countries have been selected with general or specific legislation that explicitly defines the term costa. Of this selection, 11 countries, a detailed study of different aspects is done: designation, limits and criteria of delimitation, competences and reasons. From this analysis it is clear, among other ideas, that the geographical area in the terrestrial zone is more precisely defined than in the marine territory. However, in the emerged part ecosystemic criteria are not usually used and arbitrary lengths are applied, generally measured from the limit of the maximum equinoctial maximum high tide.