Implementation of a marine spatial planning approach in Pakistan: An analysis of the benefits of an integrated approach to coastal and marine management

Abstract

Many maritime countries have implemented the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) approach in their respective regions to rationally exploit and conserve their biological and non-biological resources. Australia was the first to implement the MSP approach to govern its territorial waters (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef). Following the Australian example, various maritime countries have adopted the MSP approach to ensure safety, healthy and productive marine environment. Therefore, this study outlines the considerations of the MSP approach to purse its progress in developed and developing countries that would help to establish a planning framework for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) coastal and marine areas of Pakistan. The newly launched CPEC project is expected to greatly contribute to the industrialization and urbanization of the coastal and marine areas of Pakistan. Therefore, various special economic zones have been established along the CPEC coastal and marine areas. However, marine environmental safety policies that govern the protection of these coastal and marine areas are either limited or completely missing. Therefore, this study evaluates the MSP approach through SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis in order to determine the extent to which its implementation supports the sustainable development along CPEC coastal and marine areas of Pakistan. The implementation of the MSP approach along the CPEC coastal and marine areas is also expected to induce a sustainable socio-economic development, and simultaneously improve available ecosystem services in the study areas. This study also provides a baseline for CPEC policy makers, planners and developers in the country to follow the MSP (social, economic and ecological) framework in order to minimize the conflicts amongst users and between users and the environment.