ABSTRACT:In metropolitan areas, the rapid urbanization has been causing major probrems at coastal zones, such as water pollution, the loss of public accessibility to the sea shoreline, and destruction of natural environment. As a result, there is a growing public concern for purification of water, promotion of public access to the shoreline, and protection of the ecological system.

This study aims to illustrate the perspectives on policies and practices for environmentally sound coastal management in Asian countries. We focused on Korea, Singapore and Thailand as our sample regions to investigate. We obtained the following conclusion as a result of our research trip, including hearings from governmental agencies and research institutions. 1) All these governments have advanced many of ocean reclamation projects. In Korea, some of the people criticize the large scale reclamation project, which end up with the emission of water pollution and loss of wetland. 2) Due to the insufficient treatment of both industrial and household , water pollution is becoming serious environmental problem, especially in built-up area which is not serviced sewerage system. 3) The national government has strong initiative for the environmental management in these countries. 4) Each of those countries has its own system of environmental management. For instance, in Singapore, the national government steadily and surely carries out the national land development plan. In Korea, the national government is now preparing "The Law of Coastal Management" for comprehensive management of coastal zone.

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