Governance Framework for Climate-Resilient Coastal Management in Egypt

This paper analyzes the process of institutional diagnosis and redesign of Egypt's Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) framework, presenting it as a case study in developing a climate-resilient, participatory governance model. The study employs a qualitative, single-case study methodology, utilizing a comprehensive analysis of policy and legal documents, a thematic analysis of data from a series of multi-stakeholder workshops, and a detailed SWOT analysis developed during a national-level institutional assessment. The analysis reveals that Egypt's legacy ICZM framework, established in 1994, suffered from severe institutional fragmentation, weak horizontal coordination mechanisms, and a high dependency on external resources, which rendered it largely ineffective. In response, a new high-level governance architecture is proposed. This new model centralizes ultimate authority by being chaired by the Prime Minister, while simultaneously formalizing cross-sectoral and multi-level integration through a ministerial-level Executive Committee and a process-based "ICZM Regulating Mechanism" designed to embed stakeholder participation throughout the planning and implementation cycle. The Egyptian case provides a valuable blueprint for other developing nations grappling with the governance challenges of climate adaptation. It demonstrates a deliberate strategic shift from a siloed, ministry-led approach to a high-level, integrated governance model. This model prioritizes political authority to overcome institutional inertia and uses structured, formalized participation to build the adaptive capacity necessary for long-term coastal resilience.