One of the initial planned outcomes of the NACOMA White Paper (WP) development process is to define "coastal zone"+é-Øin the context of developing a Namibian coastal policy. Why is this important? Although there is no single definition of the coastal zone, it is important for the relevant parties to agree on the geographic are that the policy will address. Of course, influences on the coast can originate way beyond the coastal zone, and therefore the policy may not be restricted to the costal zone itself. However, it is nonetheless a good idea to agree on what is meant by "the coastal zone".