An attempt to assess horizontal and vertical integration of the Italian coastal governance at national and regional scales

This paper assesses the level of achievement of horizontal and vertical coordination needed to facilitate the governance of the Italian coast at national and regional scales. A questionnaire survey envisions a sectoral management of the coast and the lack of a uniform national strategy, even though a more integrated picture is found at regional scale. However, horizontal and vertical coordination is quite inhomogeneous between Regions, and different are the mechanisms put in place to accomplish it.
Overall, it emerges a greater difficulty in coordinating policies at horizontal scale (i.e. same level of government) rather than at vertical level (different scales of government). To overcome the limited horizontal cooperation, some Regions have developed institutions based on an inter-sectoral coordinating committee or an advisory body. Others opted for an internal proactive collaboration that may resolve conflicting interests between General Directorates, without the mediation of any third party (advisory board). From the questionnaire survey emerges that several Regions have promoted pilot site projects to address specific sectoral issues, but only Emilia-Romagna has developed an integrated plan for the coastline to achieve integration across sectors.
In addition, Emilia-Romagna and Toscana Regions have been promoting a bottom-up participatory vision for the coastal governance through forums or other discursive platforms to facilitate local participation. These Regions are also extending coastal management into the maritime spatial planning, a strategy recognised by the European Commission as the best compelling way to facilitate sectoral and institutional coordination and fully implement ICZM in Europe.