In 1986, with the advent of the ?era of renovation? (doi moi), Vietnam began to experience significant economic growth which has continued up to the present. Geographically, it is particularly the coastal zone of Vietnam which is of paramount importance for assuring the country's ongoing development. However, the coastal zone of Vietnam is a region strongly under stress. Therefore, initiatives have been undertaken since a number of years now in order to establish strategies for the sustainable management of the country's shoreline. For this, good governance will be crucial in order to guarantee successful management strategies and institutions. The present study, which is my Diploma thesis, provides an examination of challenges and opportunities regarding good governance in the coastal zone of Vietnam. The overall goal is to assess the relation between governance and coastal management and to present reasons why Vietnam is in such a strong need of developing an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). To this end, a case study will be presented from Nam Dinh province in the Red River delta of Vietnam.