Marine Planning Research Articles

Expanding the role of participatory mapping to assess ecosystem service provision in local coastal environments

There has been increasing international effort to better understand the diversity and quality of marine natural capital, ecosystem services and their associated societal benefits. However, there is an evidence gap as to how these benefits are identified at the local scale, where benefits are provided and to whom, trade-offs in development decisions, and understanding how benefits support well-being. Often the benefits of conservation are poorly understood at the local scale, are not effectively integrated into policy and are rarely included meaningfully in public discourse. This paper addresses this disjuncture and responds to the demand for improving dialogue with local communities and stakeholders. Participatory GIS mapping is used as a direct means of co-producing knowledge with stakeholder and community interests. This paper drives a shift from development of participatory approaches to adaptive applications in real-world case studies of local, national and international policy relevance. The results from four sites along the UK North Sea coast are presented. This paper showcases a robust stakeholder-driven approach that can be used to inform marine planning, conservation management and coastal development. Although the demonstration sites are UK-focused, the methodology presented is of global significance and can be applied across spatial and temporal scales.

A fulfilled human life: Eliciting sense of place and cultural identity in two UK marine environments through the Community Voice Method

Human impacts on the marine environment threaten the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people. Marine environments are a common-pool resource (CPR) and one of their major management challenges is how to incorporate the value of ecosystem services to society in decision-making. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) relate to the often intangible benefits people receive from their interactions with the natural environment and contribute to individual and collective human wellbeing. Priority knowledge gaps include the need to better understand shared values regarding CES, and how to effectively integrate these values into decision-making. We filmed 40 Community Voice Method interviews with marine stakeholders in two areas of the UK to improve on the valuation of coastal and marine CES. Results show that cultural benefits including sense of place, aesthetic pleasure and cultural identity were bi-directional, contributed directly to a ‘fulfilled human life’ and were associated with charismatic marine life and biodiversity. Other-regarding self-transcendence values were salient underscoring a desire for sustainable marine management. We critically reflect on our analytical framework that integrates aspects of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES conceptual frameworks. The thematic codebook developed for this study could prove useful for future comparative studies in other marine CES contexts. We propose that values-led management could increase the efficacy of marine planning strategies.

Property, power and planning: Attitudes to spatial enclosure in Scottish seas

This research reveals attitudes towards enclosure and privatisation of ocean space. The development of spatially distributed industries like marine renewables and aquaculture, the need for marine conservation, and the ongoing emphasis on spatial aspects of marine planning, have resulted in increasing encroachment into the marine environment. The study, situated in Scotland, investigates the attitudes of stakeholders who are affecting, or being affected by, these processes. The attitude analysis, done by Q methodology, highlights potentially conflicting priorities and processes. Five unique factors emerged. These are expressed as: free seas, the ‘greater good’, mitigating losses, local powers, and the status quo. The topography of views revealed demonstrates clear tensions between key players in Scotland's marine planning landscape, and calls into question the processes for effective collaborative working for sustainable and conflict-free development at sea. The paper concludes with an appeal for changes in rights to be accounted for in decision making processes, accompanied by better dissemination of information regarding rights at sea, governance and the future of the blue economy.

Designing the Global Observing System for Marine Life

Identifying the Backbone of a Global Observing System for Marine Life and Planning Its Implementation for the Next Decade; Santa Barbara, California, 5–7 March 2019

Rethinking spatial costs and benefits of fisheries in marine conservation

Fishing catch is often used as a cost in marine conservation planning to avoid areas of high fishing activity when identifying potential marine reserve locations. However, the theory of marine reserves indicates that reserves are more likely to benefit fisheries in areas of heavy fishing activity that would otherwise be overfished. Whether or not fishing catch is calculated as a cost depends on the balance of conservation and fisheries goals for a reserve, and thus is critical for policymakers to consider when designing marine reserve networks. This research shows the utility of running an inverted cost model of fishery catches during marine reserve spatial prioritization as a first step in a marine planning process oriented towards stabilizing local fisheries. This technique serves as a heuristic tool that may help conservation planners explore regions that would otherwise be overlooked if fisheries data were absent or integrated purely as a cost in the planning process. Drawing on data from Madagascar to illustrate our approach, this research demonstrates that the regions most frequently selected using the inverted cost model not only meet conservation targets, but are also those most accessible to community-based resource managers, the dominant management paradigm in Madagascar as well as in many developing countries.

Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari: addressing catchment and marine issues in an integrated marine spatial planning process

Abstract Marine spatial planning (MSP) has increasingly been applied around the world to better manage the pressures and conflicts arising from human use of the sea. More recently it has been conceived as an approach to implement an ecosystem‐based management approach to the marine environment. New Zealand was a late adopter of MSP, commencing its first MSP process in 2013 for the Hauraki Gulf (Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari), and completing the plan in late 2016. The planning process drew on international experience in MSP and collaborative processes but was adapted considerably to take account of the local context. Most particularly, the plan reflected concerns about the ecological decline of the Hauraki Gulf as well the strong and growing role of Māori in natural resource management in New Zealand. The Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari project was experimental and represents an innovation in MSP practice in a number of respects including: establishing a co‐governance structure for the project; tasking a group of Māori tribal and stakeholder representatives with producing the plan on a collaborative basis; addressing both catchment and marine issues and sectors in an integrated manner; and integrating indigenous knowledge with science. A number of valuable lessons from marine planning can be drawn from this project, including: MSP can support ecosystem‐based management; collaborative processes can be powerful in achieving shared outcomes for the community and can create a rich learning environment for scientists; indigenous knowledge can strengthen planning processes by providing more holistic knowledge; and scientists within a MSP project can help frame the planning process and act as a conduit between the scientific and layperson communities.

Bivalves boost biodiversity

Bivalves boost biodiversity

An ocean of concepts: Why choosing between ecosystem-based management, ecosystem-based approach and ecosystem approach makes a difference

The need for management approaches based on ecosystem perspectives that thoroughly incorporate ecosystem considerations into marine planning has become increasingly urgent. In response, concepts such as ecosystem-based management (EBM), ecosystem-based approach (EBA) and ecosystem approach (EA) are increasingly being applied in marine/maritime spatial planning (MSP). The purpose of this article is to clarify potential differences and similarities between the three concepts and potential consequences of choosing one over the others. From a questionnaire and literature analysis, the findings showed vast disagreements on how the concepts are related, however the main perception is that the concepts overlap. Respondents agreed that a lack of clear definitions and understandings of the three concepts causes confusion and expect negative consequences for planning outcomes. Eleven principles for how the concepts are ideally performed were found, including; acknowledge interlinkages, see humans as a part of the ecosystem and consider cumulative impacts. While a complete overlap between EBM and EA principles were found, the weighting of each principle was different for each concept. Differences were also found in objectives of the concepts, where definitions of EBM were the only ones to include the objective of co-existence and definitions of EBA the only to include objectives of impact management and good environmental status. As this could have consequences in planning processes and thus in the outcomes, it is crucial that MSP practitioners and stakeholders are aware of different perceptions so that choosing between concepts does not lead to less ambitious or inadequate outcomes.

The Marine Plan Partnership: Indigenous community-based marine spatial planning

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is occurring throughout the world, as communities and nation-states seek to resolve spatial conflicts and competition in coastal areas and reduce the impacts of human uses on marine biodiversity. The Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) in British Columbia, Canada, is a successful example of collaborative marine planning between First Nations governments and the British Columbia provincial government, achieving the protection of ecological and cultural values, while supporting sustainable economic activities. The collaborative planning process was pre-dated by territorial marine planning by each participating First Nation, which allowed for the protection of First Nations governance and economy, cultural values and activities, and resource management priorities.

International good practices for facilitating transboundary collaboration in Marine Spatial Planning

The “Joint Roadmap to Accelerate Marine Spatial Planning Processes Worldwide”, adopted by IOC-UNESCO and the European Commission (DG-MARE) in 2017, highlights the growing commitment of policy and decision-makers in developing transboundary collaboration relevant to Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) as a mechanism for promoting sustainable sea use. While collaboration across borders represents positive progress towards global environmental stewardship and international cooperation, transboundary MSP can present challenges and obstacles as it can be a complex process involving different parties and stakeholders across multiple levels of governance. In this article, we examine the different enabling factors and good practices that emerge from two different DG-MARE-funded knowledge exchange projects on transboundary MSP, whose findings led to the development of the Joint Roadmap: the Baltic SCOPE Project, and the Study on International Best Practices for Cross-Border MSP. Recognising that MSP processes are specific to their respective contexts, we aim to provide guidance and support towards the development of effective collaboration in future transboundary MSP initiatives by offering inspiration in the approaches and tools used elsewhere. We hope this will enable others to reflect on the benefits of adopting a strategic approach to transboundary collaboration designed to align marine plans across different jurisdictions.

Synergies on the coast: Challenges facing shellfish aquaculture development on the central and north coast of British Columbia

The rise in global demand for seafood has led many people to view shellfish aquaculture as an economically and ecologically viable source of seafood. However, interactions with the environment, existing industry, and societal values must be considered to ensure sustainability of this industry. Shellfish aquaculture in British Columbia (BC), Canada, showcases many of these issues. This review explores key socio-economic and ecological considerations for future growth of shellfish aquaculture on the central and north coast of BC, with implications for the continuing global expansion of the industry. Interactions among shellfish aquaculture, coastal groups, existing industries, and First Nations, as well as considerations under changing oceanic conditions are investigated. Expansion of shellfish aquaculture on the central and north coast of BC will need to be socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. The results of this review strongly indicate that shellfish aquaculture should be incorporated in marine planning initiatives and developed in consideration of local ecological, environmental, economic, and social context.

Civil society participation in the Scottish marine planning process and the role of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations

Sustainable development principles are based on the fundamental recognition of humans as an integral part of the ecosystem. Participation of civil society should therefore be central to marine planning processes and enabling ecosystem-based management, and development of mechanisms for effective participation is critical. To date, little attention has been given to the role of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (ENGOs) in public participation. In this paper, the results of two workshops, which involved various stakeholders and addressed public participation in marine planning, are reported and discussed in the context of the Scottish marine planning process. ENGOs’ role in communicating complex policies, representing members’ interests and contributing towards participatory governance in marine planning is highlighted. Innovative outreach methods are still required by decision-makers to translate technical information, integrate local knowledge, improve public representation and conserve resources. This could include collaboration with ENGOs to help promote public participation in decision-making processes.

Sewing a blue patchwork: An analysis of marine policies implementation in the Southeast of Brazil

The lack of a strategic planning to order a defined marine territory may result in a patchwork of overlapping policies, sometimes reinforcing the legislation, but sometimes contradicting it. In Brazil, Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) policies have been implemented to marine management, however, in an independent way. This article presents the patchwork of marine policies in the State of São Paulo (Southeast of Brazil) and analyses their implementation process, symmetry and the integration between them. The policies analysed were the State Plan for Coastal Zone Management and the Marine Protected Areas of São Paulo Coast. Four main procedures were conducted: 1) a historical survey of marine policies legal establishment; 2) the analysis of criteria used to determine the marine zonings, 3) the production of maps to identify policies and marine zonings overlaps and; 4) the analysis of the implementation stage of policies by comparing the procedures accomplished by the policies analysed with the procedures proposed by the marine planning, management and conservation (MPMC) frameworks. It was observed that the policies analysed have not fully implemented the management procedures yet, such as the plans of management and monitoring programs, accomplishing only the basic procedures recommended by the MPMC frameworks. Marine zonings' criteria were mainly derived from political-economic interests at the expense of ecological features. Asymmetry and little integration between policies were verified. It resulted in the MPAs being ruled in part by the ICZM policy. A wider Ecosystem-based Marine Spatial Planning strategy (EBM-MSP), supported by a committee of integration, could sew this “blue patchwork”, considering the multiple uses in the territory and fostering policies full implementation. To achieve coherence on this decision-making process, MPMC policies' instruments should be founded on ecosystem-based management and on governance mechanisms with representatives' parity. Future studies should advance in investigating marine policies' symmetry and integration, stakeholders' dynamics and zoning criteria towards the sustainability of ecosystems services.

Maximising community wellbeing: Assessing the threats to the benefits communities derive from the marine estate

The coastal and marine environment is often managed according to the principles of sustainable development, which include environmental, economic, and social dimensions. While each are equally important, social sustainability receives a lower priority in both policy and research. Methodologies for assessing social sustainability are less developed than for environmental and economic sustainability, and there is a lack of data on the social aspects of sustainable development (such as social equity), which constitutes a barrier to understanding social considerations and integrating them into natural resource management. This paper explores a threat and risk assessment to the marine estate in New South Wales, Australia, which identified and categorised both the benefits that communities gain from the marine estate and the threats to those benefits. A broad range of benefits were identified including participation (e.g., socialising and sense of community), enjoyment (e.g., enjoying the biodiversity and beauty), cultural heritage and use, intrinsic and bequest values, the viability of businesses, and direct economic values. Threats to community benefits were categorised as resource use conflict, environmental, governance, public safety, critical knowledge gaps and lack of access. An integrated threat and risk assessment approach found that the priority threats to community benefits were environmental threats (e.g., water pollution), critical knowledge gaps (e.g., inadequate social and economic information), governance (e.g., lack of compliance), resource-use conflict (e.g., anti-social behaviour), and lack of access (e.g., loss of fishing access). Threat and risk assessment is an evidence-based tool that is useful for marine planning because it provides a structured approach to incorporating multiple types of knowledge and enables limited resources to be targeted to the threats identified as being most important to address.

From ocean sprawl to blue-green infrastructure – A UK perspective on an issue of global significance

Artificial structures are proliferating in the marine environment, resulting in ‘ocean sprawl’. In light of the potential environmental impacts of this, such as habitat loss and alteration, it is becoming increasingly important to incorporate ecologically-sensitive design into artificial marine structures. The principles of eco-engineering and green infrastructure are embedded in urban planning practice for terrestrial and freshwater development projects. In marine planning, however, eco-engineering of blue-green infrastructure remains an emerging concept. This note provides a UK perspective on the progress towards uptake of eco-engineering approaches for enhancing biodiversity on artificial marine structures. We emphasise that, despite a clear ‘policy pull’ to incorporate biodiversity enhancements in marine structures, a range of proof-of-concept evidence that it is possible to achieve, and strong cross-sectoral stakeholder support, there are still few examples of truly and purposefully-designed blue-green artificial structures in the UK. We discuss the barriers that remain and propose a strategy towards effective implementation. Our strategy outlines a step-wise approach to: (1) strengthening the evidence base for what enhancements can be achieved in different scenarios; (2) improving clarity on the predicted benefits and associated costs of enhancements; (3) packaging the evidence in a useful form to support planning and decision-making; and (4) encouraging implementation as routine practice. Given that ocean sprawl is a growing problem globally, the perspective presented here provides valuable insight and lessons for other nations at their various states of progress towards this same goal.

Should phytoplankton be a key consideration for marine management?

Phytoplankton are an extremely important component of the functioning of ecosystems and climate regulation. Because concentrations of phytoplankton are highly patchy in both space and time, it is proposed that more consideration concerning the potential impact from human developments and activities on the service provision afforded by phytoplankton should be accounted for in marine management processes. The multiple species of primary producers provide important provisioning and regulating ecosystem services (ES) and form the basis of marine food-webs, supporting production of higher trophic levels (a provisioning ES), and act as a sink of CO2 (a climate regulation ES). Spatial and temporal patchiness in the production of phytoplankton can be related to patchiness in the provision of these ES. Patches of naturally high phytoplankton productivity should be afforded consideration within processes to assess environmental status, within marine spatial planning (including marine protected areas) and within sectoral licensing, with marine planning and licensing acting at scales most in harmony with scales of phytoplankton heterogeneity (meters to tens of kilometres). In this study, consideration of phytoplankton in marine management decision making has been reviewed. This paper suggests that potential impacts of maritime developments and activities on the natural patchiness of phytoplankton communities be included in management deliberations, and mitigation be considered. This affords opportunities for researchers to engage with management authorities to support ecosystems-based management. Doing so will assist in maintaining or achieving good environmental status and support further, reliant, ES.

Identifying conservation priority areas to inform maritime spatial planning: A new approach

Accommodating sea uses while protecting the ecosystems is a challenge of the marine planning and management process. The European Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning calls for Maritime Spatial Plans until 2021 developed within an Ecosystem Based Management approach. The main goal of this study is to support the Maritime Spatial Planning process with ecological meaningful information, namely identifying priority areas for conservation that are facing less anthropogenic impacts. We developed a new approach for selection of high priority areas for conservation using Marxan software and Cumulative Impacts decision support tools. We identified four main areas prone to conservation in Portuguese mainland subdivision, namely the areas of Figueira da Foz/Peniche, south Cabo Espichel/Sines, Cabo Sardão/Faro and Lagos/Faro. The outputs from this study show the valuable input when allocating space to activities and uses in the marine realm supporting the planning process in the development of management alternatives. This case study also illustrates how ecological goals can be better included to contribute to the Maritime Planning process in Portugal. Systematic planning can be applied to support the connection between Marine Strategy Framework and Maritime Spatial Planning European Directives. This is highly relevant in the time being for Portugal, as the 2nd cycles of both directives are ongoing.

Expert Based Ecosystem Service Assessment in Coastal and Marine Planning and Management: A Baltic Lagoon Case Study

The assessment of ecosystem services, the benefits humans obtain from ecosystems, is a worldwide topic of growing interest, but examples addressing coastal and marine water are still a small minority. In this study, we carry out an expert based ecosystem service assessment for a concrete case study, the Szczecin (Oder) Lagoon located at the German/Polish border in the Baltic Sea region. We analyze to what extent, in which step and how it can be applied for supporting Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), the ecological-social-economic assessment within System Approach Frameworks (SAF) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). The large, shallow Szczecin Lagoon is heavily eutrophied. Therefore, several alternative measures (scenarios) are under discussion to improve its water quality and its ecological status. Scenarios include a large-scale mussel farm; the establishment of a local mussel farm that removes nutrients via harvest and increases water transparency; artificial mussel beds; groynes to reduce coastal current velocities, favor sediment accumulation, and promote the enlargement of macrophyte beds and other measures to enlarge macrophyte belts and coverage. We adapt and apply a computer aided ecosystem service assessment and visualization tool (ESAT). Eight experts and two student groups apply this tool and carry out an assessment of each scenario compared to the present state of the lagoon. The results show that the scenario assuming measures to enlarge macrophyte belts is perceived as the one that generates the highest additional ecosystem service output. However, more importantly our approach can serve as tool to catch the views of experts, can extract disagreements between experts and misunderstandings in the setup of scenarios as well as services that have highest priority for further consideration. Further, the results are useful for preparing stakeholder discussions and workshops. However, the expert assessments are influenced by the spatial scale of the assessed scenarios. As consequence, the assessment results itself cannot be regarded as a reliable basis for decision making. Today, Integrated Coastal Zone Management ideas and approaches are well reflected and integrated into Marine Spatial Planning and we show that a comparative ecosystem service assessment can be applied in different steps of each concept.

Recreational visits to marine and coastal environments in England: Where, what, who, why, and when?

Health and economic benefits may accrue from marine and coastal recreation. In England, few national-level descriptive analyses exist which examine predictors of recreation in these environments. Data from seven waves (2009–2016) of a representative survey of the English population (n = 326,756) were analysed to investigate how many recreational visits were made annually to coastal environments in England, which activities were undertaken on these visits, and which demographic, motivational, temporal, and regional factors predict them. Inland environments are presented for comparison. Approximately 271 million recreational visits were made to coastal environments in England annually, the majority involving land-based activities such as walking. Separately, there were around 59 million instances of water-based recreation undertaken on recreational visits (e.g. swimming, water sports). Visits to the coast involving walking were undertaken by a wide spectrum of the population: compared to woodland walks, for instance, coastal walks were more likely to be made by females, older adults, and individuals from lower socioeconomic classifications, suggesting the coast may support reducing activity inequalities. Motivational and temporal variables showed distinct patterns between visits to coastal and inland comparator environments. Regional variations existed too with more visits to coastal environments made by people living in the south-west and north-east compared to London, where more visits were made to urban open spaces. The results provide a reference for current patterns of coastal recreation in England, and could be considered when making policy-level decisions with regard to coastal accessibility and marine plans. Implications for future public health and marine plans are discussed.

Coastal use synergies and conflicts evaluation in the framework of spatial, development and sectoral policies

Coastal zones are submitted to pressures, due to population growth and continuous expansion of human activities, which become more intense by the effects of climate change. These pressures lead coastal administrators and stakeholders into taking actions to protect and further develop the coastal zones. Those actions are not always within the framework of spatial plans. Land-Sea interaction is an important factor that should be taken into account during the implementation of Spatial Plans. To this end, assuring the coherence between coastal terrestrial and marine planning is a prerequisite, as the coastal zone is the link between marine and terrestrial space. This paper aims to identify the land and sea uses interactions that result from a series of projects. As case study, the wider area of Heraklion, Crete Island, is considered. In Heraklion area, a series of projects in coastal zone are proposed to be implemented, by different stakeholders operating in the area. The methodology follows, a holistic decision making procedure that include the analysis of alternatives, categorisation and quantification of the consequences and implementation of trade-offs, aiming to introduce a method to assess the interactions between future land and sea uses, identify the land and sea uses interactions by quantifying the consequences of each intervention.