Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) is a core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP).

LOICZ is an international research project involving scientists from across the globe who have been investigating changes in the biology, chemistry and physics of the coastal zone since 1993. Since 2003, LOICZ has expanded its areas of research to include social, political and economic sciences in order to address the human dimensions of the coastal zone.

The research results are used to explore the role humans play in the coastal zone, their vulnerability to changing environments, and the options to protect coasts for future generations.

The main goal of LOICZ is “to provide the knowledge, understanding and prediction needed to allow coastal communities to assess, anticipate and respond to the interaction of global change and local pressures which determine coastal change.”