In 1974 a group of experts on coastal development assembled for a meeting at the United Nations Headquarters. The result of this meeting was the initiation of a program on coastal area development and management to be directed by the UN/ Ocean Economics and Technology Branch (OETB). The program consisted of a number of interregional, regional, and subregional activities to be implemented in four coastal regions. One program component was a national seminar on coastal management convened in 1981 at Guayaquil at the request of the government of Ecuador. The seminar was jointly organized by the government of Ecuador and the United Nations with the Department of Technical Cooperation for Development (DTCD) as the lead agency and the UNOETB providing substantive support. The national counterpart was the Ecuadorian Navy. This article provides a chronology and the highlights of the Ecuadorian project. The success of this initiative should be of value to those countries and international assistance organizations that are considering the initiation of similar types of exercises.