The general goal of this Programme is to alleviate global problems concerning human survival, development, and welfare through research, training, and the dissemination of information on the use and management of natural resources. It is complementary to the existing University project on landwater interactive systems, initiated in a programmatic workshop in Bogor in September 1978, which is concerned with environmental changes in the hinterland. The coastal resources management project will deal mainly with shore and marine environments, initially along the deltaic shoreline of North Java.
Coastal areas are among the world's most productive and scientifically interesting regions.
Moreover, these regions serve diverse human needs for food, energy, transport, and recreation, and provide sites for urban development, industry, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and trade. Coastal resources exist in environments comprising complex dynamic geomorphological and ecological systems that are extremely sensitive to misuse by man. The use and management of such resources must be based on scientific knowledge of the interacting features and processes characteristic of coastal areas. There is widespread evidence of damage and impoverishment of coastal resources where this knowledge is unavailable, or has not been applied to the solution of coastal problems. The United Nations University seeks by way of its coastal resources management project to develop the capability and techniques necessary for effective management of coastal environments and their natural resources.