Background Increasingly, new tourist harbours and golf courses are being developed throughout north-western Mediterranean coastal zones (France, Spain, Portugal and Italy). Although they attract many tourists and are a financial boon for the region, they also have a considerably negative impact on the environment, particularly in a territory as ecologically fragile as Liguria. However, there is a range of tools that exists to help minimise the environmental impact of such development: Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Local Agenda 21 and other good practice guidelines. Unfortunately in the Liguria Region, effective integration of these tools was lacking. Objectives The PHAROS project intended to test and implement new integrated coastal zone management tools that would improve the environmental management of high-impact developments such as golf clubs and tourist harbours. Specifically, the project was to test the adoption of EMAS II (Eco-management and audit system) by golf clubs and harbours, covering at least two tourist structures. Additionally, the project was to define guidelines for adoption of EMS in the management of golf clubs and harbours, and integrate EMS and local and regional policies in the context of 'Mediterranean coastline governance'. Finally, the project was to reinforce the regional planning and programming strategy by means of specific guidelines. Results The project tested and implemented integrated coastal zone management tools that should improve the environmental management of high-impact activities such as golf clubs and harbours. Best practices for harbours and golf courses operators have been developed. For tourist harbours, this involved the issues of quality of water, waste management, and energy savings. For golf courses, the issues were management of greens, water and energy savings, waste management and protection of biodiversity. The EMAS registration process of the project’s participating partners is still ongoing. At the time of the last evaluation, the project had not yet reached the aimed-for EMAS registration of its two partners. These partners, the LaFilanda Golf Club and Marina Aregai, a tourist harbour, had however sent all the needed documentation to the Italian EMAS Committee. This delay is mainly due to the fact that the Italian EMAS Committee was inactive from July to mid-December 2006. This is the only negative aspect of the project, although participants seem not to be responsible for it. The partners achieved ISO14000 certification and the environmental statements are available and were validated. The project also developed the guidelines for the implementation of EMS, according to the EMAS II regulation requirements, at large-scale tourist structures such as tourist harbours and golf courses. This was done in a way that integrating EMS and local and regional policies in the context of ‘Mediterranean coastline governance' and reinforcing the regional planning and programming strategy. Ultimately, the project developed new governance links between tourism facilities and local bodies, in order to build a new model for sustainable territory development based on regional and local interests. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).