Human Settlement on Coast

Human settlements on the coast, being a land-based activity, does not fall under the purview of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), although the basic legal regime for the protection and preservation of the marine environment from land-based activities is set out in UNCLOS.

 

The legal regime for human settlement on the coast is, in general, provided by the coastal State through national legislative action, and this can vary from one coastal State to another. Urban and regional planning attempt to address the competing demands of urban areas. Human settlement may fall within the town planning system (e.g. United Kingdom) or land use planning (e.g. USA). In other countries, actions of legislative bodies provide a broad legislative basis for managing particular resources and activities, and regulations, rules, permits and licences provide implementation mechanisms.

 

Within the United Nations system, the body having responsibility for human settlement is the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).