Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning at the Interface of Research and Practice

Abstract

Marine/maritime spatial planning (MSP) is about managing the distribution of human activities in space and time to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives and outcomes. It is a political and social process informed by both the natural and social sciences. Over the last 20 years, MSP has matured from a concept to a practical approach to moving towards sustainable development in the oceans. Integrated marine spatial plans have been implemented by about 20 countries, and it is expected that by 2030, at least a third of the surface area of the world's exclusive economic zones will have governmentapproved marine spatial plans (Ehler 2017). Academic interest in MSP has grown exponentially over the past decade. A November 2017 search of the "Web of Knowledge" of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) found over 900 scientific papers on MSP pub-C. Ehler (*) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),

A place-based perspective on marine and coastal space

“…As a result, MSP creates a patchwork of spaces that may embody differing perceptions and values associated with the sea but which are nevertheless enfolded in the particular MSP way of conversing about and relating to the sea. The fact that a third of the world's exclusive economic zones are likely to have government-approved marine spatial plans by 2030 (Ehler, Zaucha & Gee, 2019) indicates that the spatial language of MSP is likely to become an even stronger cultural and political force in future.…”

“…Given the increasing value of space as a resource, the desire to resolve conflicts of use and enable efficient use of the sea have been the central drivers for MSP. This is the case in northern Europe but also in other countries that are developing marine spatial plans (Ehler et al, 2019). MSP is commonly defined as the "public process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives" (Ehler & Douvere, 2009, p.18).…”

New horizons: Beyond territorialism

“…With Zaucha having invited me to look at maritime spatial planning, when preparing my keynote at the conference on "Shaping Marine and Coastal Space" at Sopot (Poland) on 23-24 September 2019, I could have done worse than reading Zaucha and Gee (2019) on "Maritime Spatial Planning: Past, Present, Future". Discussions there were lively.…”

Editorial: Sea dragons

“…Jerzak et al (2019) open the proceedings here, providing a definition of maritime space and offering certain new, if mutually compatible perspectives in respect of relevant research and the understanding of the role played. This should be seen as complementing the existing interdisciplinary monograph edited by Zaucha and Gee (2019), whose main focuses are on the spatial, social and ecological sciences. Jerzak et al (2019) add two new dimensions, of which the first is literature research in which the sea is analysed from the perspective of human existence, human wonders, and emotions relating to maritime space.…”

“…The origin and history of both of these is well described in the literature (e.g. Ehler, Zaucha, & Gee, 2019;Kidd, Shaw, & Janssen, 2019). The two distinctive features in each case are a focus on an integrated approach and an origin in market failure 2 .…”