Coastal zones are vital ecosystems and human habitats, yet also increasingly threatened by human activity and climate change. Since  the introduction of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) at the 1992 UN Rio Conference, countries throughout Europe and Asia have sought to balance their environmental, social, and economic goals. This book offers the first systematic, comparative analysis of coastal protection strategies across these two regions, integrating insights from the natural and social sciences. Originating from a 2025 symposium in Hue, Vietnam, it offers academics and policymakers a comprehensive overview of the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned over the past three decades.

Dr. Detlef Briesen is a social scientist at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen (Germany). His research chiefly focuses on South and Southeast Asia, and he has served as DAAD University Advisor in Vietnam since 2010. He has organized numerous research projects and conferences and has authored over 100 publications in German, English and French.

Dr. Sarada Prasanna Das is a Fellow at the Sustainable Futures Collaborative (SFC), New Delhi. His research interests include the sociology and politics of electricity governance, environmental governance, and the water-energy-food nexus in the context of India.

Dr. Hoang Cong is an Associate Professor of Environmental Biology and currently a Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Science at the University of Sciences, Hue University (Vietnam). His research focuses on marine ecology and the application of remote sensing and GIS to support the management of coastal and marine resources. He has successfully led numerous projects on the sustainable use of coastal natural resources, as well as carbon sequestration and storage in coastal ecosystems.