Legal Frameworks for Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management in Canada and the European Union: Some Insights from Comparative Analysis

Abstract

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Marine Spatial Planning: Exploring the Role of Planning Practice and Research

“…For example, in the United States, researchers have called for a federal law to assure interstate and intergovernmental cooperation and consistency in MSP planning and implementation (Rolleri 2010). Researchers in other countries have come to similar conclusions within their regulatory context (Chircop and O’Leary 2012).…”

“…For example, areas with existing MPA may have existing institutional structures in place to move on to more holistic MSP processes (Qiu et al 2009). However, some institutional structures are inadequate and ambiguous and are often seen as a limitation to MSP (Alvarez-Romero et al 2011; Calado et al 2012; Chircop and O’Leary 2012; Clarke and Harvey 2013; Freire-Gibb et al 2014).…”

“…Much of the research in various contexts recommends that new institutional structures should broadly define frameworks and goals for MSP, while allowing smaller jurisdictions to more precisely define management actions. For example, researchers note that the diverse ocean environments in both Canada and Europe could benefit from an approach that allows less centralized decision-making for some issues (Chirop and O’Learty 2012). Ruhl et al, in their proposal for a new institutional for watershed planning, propose a multitiered governance structure that carefully distributes planning and implementation responsibilities through a multitiered governance structure involving federal, state, and local governments (Ruhl et al 2003).…”

“…For example, the multinational agreement for the North Sea specified overall goals but not the means to achieve those goals (Olsen, Olsen, and Schaefer 2011). Likewise, researchers comparing Canada and the European Union have concluded that diverse regional geography in both places makes it difficult to develop standards and frameworks for ocean governance at a sufficient level of detail to give practical guidance to states and regions (Chircop and O’Leary 2012). Additionally, issues become more politicized when viewed from the lens of larger scales, because they may have larger economic, societal, and demographic effects (Olsen, Kleiven, and Skjoldal 2011).…”