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Marine spatial planning (MSP) was developed as a place-based, integrated marine governance approach to address sectoral and fragmented management issues and has seen significant evolvement over the past two decades. MSP has rapidly become the most commonly endorsed management regime for sustainable development in the marine environment, with initiatives being implemented across multiple regions of the globe. Despite its broad and growing acceptance and use, there are several key challenges that remain, both conceptual and practical, that are negatively impacting the realization of MSP’s potential. These include institutional shortcomings, the exclusion of stakeholders, a failure to account for the human and social dimensions of marine regions, the marginalization of different types of knowledge, and the growing need to adapt to global environmental change. Although studies have examined the emergence of MSP in different geographical and institutional contexts, there is a lack of comparative analysis of how initiatives are progressing and if the foundational aims of MSP are being achieved. There is a need to analyze the degree to which MSP initiatives are responding to the environmental challenges that they have been set up to tackle and, as marine plans are setting out long-term visions for marine management, to understand if current initiatives are fit for purpose. This article responds to these concerns and reviews the evolution of MSP within 12 regional ocean areas. We utilize the term regional ocean areas to illustrate the geographical spread of MSP, with examinations conducted of the approach to MSP that specific nations within each of the 12 chosen clusters have followed. By critically assessing how MSP is progressing, it is possible to shed light on the opportunities and challenges that are facing current initiatives. This can help to reveal learning lessons that can inform future MSP systems and guide initiatives along more sustainable pathways.

With a focus on the ocean, we collaborated across social, ecological and legal disciplines to respond to the United Nations call for transformation in the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ by developing a set of 13 principles for transformative ocean governance. These principles can be used to help chart a course of action that responds to the many calls to reform current ocean-use practices based on economic growth models that have perpetuated inequities and fuelled conflict and environmental decline. We use a rigorous, iterative and transparent consensus building approach to define the principles, which we recommend are applied as a comprehensive set to transform unsustainable ocean governance practices and guide future initiatives. We show that the relationships between the principles can be supporting, neutral or sometimes conflicting, and discuss how best to manage these relationships in the pursuit of meaningful transformation.

As marine spatial planning (MSP) continues to gain global prominence as an approach to ocean governance, planners and other stakeholders are eager to evaluate its social and ecological outcomes and to better understand whether plans are achieving their intended results in an equitable and cost-efficient manner. While a plan’s outcomes for marine environments and coastal communities may be of particular interest, these results cannot be separated from planning processes. The field has yet to fully develop the guidance necessary for this critical consideration of how features of an MSP process and external factors interact with plan performance and outcomes. To fill this gap we used a literature review and expert discussions to identify 19 enabling or disabling conditions of MSP within four major categories: Plan Attributes, Legal Context, Plan Development and Social Context, and Integration. We propose semi-quantitative scoring and the development of narratives to operationalize the framework as part of a comprehensive methodology for MSP outcome evaluation. Applying the framework can add depth to quantitative MSP evaluation, shed light on questions of outcome attribution, and inform plan adaptation. Evaluating MSP outcomes in the explicit context of the enabling or disabling conditions identified here can stimulate discussion around what works in MSP and provide a path forward for assessing the benefits and costs of MSP worldwide. By identifying conditions instrumental to effective MSP, and alternatively, conditions hindering a plan, the framework can be used to guide plan adaptation and promote learning across the wider MSP community.

Coastal and maritime cultural heritage (CMCH) is a relative newcomer on spatial development policy agendas and in spatial planning activities. Cultural heritage (CH) may assist in reconstructing place narratives and identities in local and regional strategies and plans, and it may create stronger place attractiveness for outsiders. This article explores the challenges and opportunities of integrating CMCH aspects in spatial development and planning activities at local and regional levels. It specifically investigates contemporary attempts at building planning and governance spaces concerned with CMCH, based on case studies in Scotland, France, Northern Ireland, and Denmark. Emphasis is on mandatory as well as non-mandatory spatial policy and planning activities for a more sustainable and resilient coastal development. The cases show how attempts at building planning spaces concerned with both CH and CMCH have sometimes led to, or contributed to, new types of planning collaborations and products, facilitated changes in existing ones, or illuminated a lack of community involvement to be dealt with in next generation planning. Together, the cases illustrate the importance and challenges of enabling a more place-sensitive planning and of ‘finding the right planning space’ for CH integration.

Community science has gained momentum as a participatory knowledge production approach that can transform governance into more transparent, socially relevant, and democratic endeavours. In the marine context, where the rationalisation of economic knowledge and the marginalisation of local communities are growing concerns, community science is advanced as a potential solution to environmental governance challenges. By increasing monitoring efforts and empowering members of the public to take political action to protect the oceans, community science has helped to transform marine management to address issues, such as, sea-level rise, overfishing, and ocean acidification. However, many community science projects do not realise their transformative potential and, instead, contribute toward reinforcing the status quo of governance, meaning that management challenges remain unsolved. To understand how the full potential of community science can be achieved, research must reframe what transformation is and assess why projects often fail to instigate change. Within community science research, there is an under-appreciation of how transformational change must involve actions that challenge prevailing power relations. We seek to address this gap by initiating a discussion on the political and power dimensions of community science. Drawing on the broader field of co-production, we argue that community science has been depoliticised to reinforce, as opposed to alleviate, unequal arrangements of power that inhibit societal transformation. To combat this, we suggest that community science must develop a more explicit comprehension of power and how it relates to the use and production of knowledge. Informed by the Foucauldian concept of power/knowledge, we argue for a politicised paradigm of community science that recognises how transformation requires pluralism, the contestation of knowledge, and learning amongst all community science actors. This review concludes by considering how transformative community science could introduce new ways of knowing to marine governance and facilitate more active community participation.

Many coastal nations have embraced marine spatial planning (MSP) as a solution to maintaining ecological integrity of marine environments, while ensuring continued provisioning of economic, social, and cultural benefits. However, evidence supporting the idea that plans achieve—or are likely to achieve—these goals is limited. One gap in our understanding stems from questions surrounding the metrics against which MSP success is measured. Evaluation can be based on explicitly stated objectives, or might include metrics corresponding to broad social–ecological goals. This paper compares aspirational MSP goals gleaned from a literature review to the objectives extracted from 50+ finalized and implemented plans to better understand: (1) how well these two groupings align, and (2) in what ways any misalignment may shape MSP evaluation. Findings show that plans prioritize the environment, economy, and governance, while often excluding objectives related to cultural heritage, human well-being, Indigenous rights, human safety, and climate change. Social and cultural objectives have become more prevalent over time, yet overall stated objectives remain distinct from theorized MSP goals. As international efforts aim to expand MSP, narrowing the gap between how it is perceived and how its outcomes are evaluated is critical to better understanding what it is likely to achieve.

The sustainable management of Blue Growth is an urgent issue for coastal states. Marine industries have rapidly expanded over the last two decades and this is projected to continue with the European Green Deal and post-COVID economic recovery policies. The intensification of Blue Growth could have adverse socio-ecological implications and must, therefore, be managed in terms of sustainability, natural resource boundaries, and coastal community well-being. Manging Blue Growth in a sustainable manner however, is challenging due to the longstanding inefficiencies and inertia of existing marine governance regimes. Adopting a transitions approach has been advanced as a way of steering regime change so that it is not inhibited by these persistent problems. This paper reports on four case studies that adopt transitions thinking and use the multi-level perspective as a broad analytical framework through which to understand institutional dynamics, drivers and responses within core marine sectors. Our case studies analysis reveals several significant pressures for regime change within key marine sectors. These pressures need to be addressed through the adoption of a transition management approach. By adopting this approach and engaging key stakeholders, national and EU marine governance authorities can develop sustainable Blue Growth pathways that minimise the impact of continued growth on communities and the marine environment, maximising the implementation of sustainable practices and addressing issues such as biodiversity loss and climate change.

The EU Atlantic Action Plan (AAP) has recently been updated and revised to support ‘blue growth’ along Europe’s western coastal regions. The revisions reflect recent challenges facing the Atlantic Arc maritime economies including the Covid-19 crisis, Brexit and the new requirements of the European Green Deal. This new revision, termed AAP 2.0, also addresses some of the weaknesses highlighted in the original Atlantic Action Plan particularly regarding identifying indicators that may be used to measure progress in the achievement of the Plan’s objectives. Using a database with comparable marine socio-economic data across the Atlantic regions, a number of indicators are identified that may be used to monitor progress of the AAP 2.0. Recent trends and spatial distributions across the Atlantic Arc region are shown for these indicators. The challenges in measuring progress are also highlighted, including where some AAP objectives and associated indicators may conflict with other EU policy aims and where the current monitoring framework can be bolstered with the inclusion of new indicators.

Coastal and Maritime Cultural Heritage (CMCH) is an important asset in coastal areas. However, this heritage has been exposed to several environmental and human-created threats. This paper presents three European coastal regions with relevant CMCH and important tourism destinations: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), the Small Isles (Scotland, UK) and Marsaxlokk (Malta). The paper draws attention to the challenges to CMCH they face, the dynamics between tourism and CMCH and provides recommendations for sustainable tourism exploitation of CMCH. A comparative case-study approach was undertaken, based on 41 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Findings unveil that, despite the different demographics, socioeconomics and importance of tourism in each location, CMCH is seen as an important element to consider as tourism destination. Stakeholders identified economic, sociocultural and environmental dynamics between tourism and CMCH with positive and negative impacts on the regions. This study provides guidelines and recommendations that can be used as a reference to define a joint policy response for sustainable exploitation of CMCH in a tourism context. published

Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) are spatial instruments for conservation and managing different forms of ocean use. A multitude of ABMTs exists in marine areas within and beyond national jurisdiction, ranging from tools for the regulation of specific human activities (e.g. fisheries, shipping, or mining) to cross-sectoral tools (e.g. such as marine protected areas, MPAs, and marine spatial planning, MSP). By applying expert elicitation and reviewing scientific and grey literature we evaluate the contribution of ABMTs to sustainable development goals (SDGs) as set out under the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including for SDG 14 that directly addresses the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. We find that fisheries-related and conservation-related ABMTs, and MSP offer the greatest potential contributions to SDG 14 and to SDGs in general. Moreover, there is high complementarity and synergy among different ABMTs for most SDG 14 targets and other SDGs, with the exception of SDG target 14.6 Prohibit fisheries subsidies and SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy. We find that some ABMTs contribute directly to goal attainment, while others contribute in more nuanced or even unexpected ways. Furthermore, context-specific factors that relate to political and legal factors, enforceability, transparency, governance structure, and inclusivity are crucial for unlocking the full potential of ABMTs of attaining multiple SDGs, as shown through examples. The major challenge to face in the next decade is ensuring durable and equitable outcomes from ABMT implementation by coordinating ABMT initiatives established by different organisations and responsible authorities. It is also critical that outcomes are monitored and evaluated across environmental, social, economic, governance, and health dimensions, with indicators addressing management effectiveness and not only ABMT area coverage., This research was conducted in the framework of COST action on “Ocean Governance for Sustainability - challenges, options and the role of science”, CA15217, within the Working Group 2 “Area Based Management” activities. We would like to thank COST for the funding that made the cooperation amongst the authors, and thus this article, possible. EG partially acknowledges also funding from PORTODIMARE “geoPORtal of TOols & Data for sustaInable Management of coAstal and maRine Environment” (2018–2020), Adriatic-Ionian Programme INTERREG V–B Transnational 2014–2020, grant no. 205, and funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 893614-4, reflecting only the author's view ; AQ partially acknowledges the Project SIMAtlantic (grant no. EASME/EMFF/2018/1.2.1.5); MLF partially acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), with a Do*Mar programme PhD grant (PD/BD/113485/2015); MM partially acknowledges FCT, with a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/138422/2018). AQ, FA, MLF, LS, MM, CP partially acknowledge the financial support to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. CFS partially acknowledges funding from FCT research contract 2020.03704.CEECIND, research grant PTDC/CTA-AMB/30226/2017, and MARE strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019. NV partially acknowledges also funding from the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, grants no. CNCS-UEFISCDI PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-2491, PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1444, and the project T4BS (grant no. EASME/EMFF/2019/863621). The work of CP was supported by FCT research contract 2020.02510.CEECIND. The work of BN and SU was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through its Research for Sustainable Development program (FONA), and the Federal State of Brandenburg.

Governments are increasingly adopting Blue Growth strategies as a means of promoting economic development. Although Blue Growth offers development opportunities, from a local perspective it is often concentrated in inaccessible sectors or has negative impacts on coastal communities and landscapes. We argue that to be of use to local communities, tourist experiences of coastal landscapes need to be understood from a community-led, rather than market-led, perspective. Tourist market segmentation can help reveal such experiences but has predominately been used in a narrow, econometric way by the tourism industry, market researchers and policymakers. These approaches often fail to capture the innate experiential nature of coastal tourism and often result in the production of coastal tourism that is unsympathetic to community landscape perspectives and values. To address this gap, this paper adopts an experiential tourist segmentation approach based on community experiences of coastal landscapes. Applied to data collected from a tourist survey on the west coast of Ireland, we identify five landscape experiences: well-being experiences; conscientious travel experiences; nature experiences; coastal change experiences; and cultural experiences. Based on these experiences, four alternative tourist segments were identified, with significant alignment to communities around sustainable, ethical and locally sensitised forms of tourism, as follows: Blue Health Seekers; Nature Escapers; Pristine Seekers; and Heritage Explorers. The paper concludes by arguing that adopting more experiential and dialogical approaches to market segmentation will identify tourist and communities’ perspectives in ways that are compatible and will reveal opportunities for more inclusive and locally accessible forms of Blue Growth.

Coastal zones are historically rich with unique land/seascapes, tangible artifacts, and intangible cultural heritage. Coastal and maritime cultural heritage (CMCH) contends with various constraining conditions of the sea and shore—both geophysical and socially constructed—which we delineate to identify risks and threats to its sustainable management. In response to calls for the greater incorporation of CMCH in the name of regional development and blue growth, we propose a conceptual framework as a means to identify risks and sustainably manage CMCH. We develop the concepts of communities of meaning and communities of participation to address how CMCH is created and contested and identify key considerations for its management. Building on theories of space, place, and identity, the paper constructs communities of meaning in order to elaborate the various opportunities but also tensions in preserving CH and cultivating reliant enterprises as a part of wider regional development strategies. Working from this understanding of place and identity in degrees of inclusivity/exclusivity, the paper draws upon literature on deliberative and participatory governance, framed as communities of participation. These two concepts provide a vocabulary for managers to address calls for the promotion of CMCH and determine appropriate management strategies and governance based on policy objectives and the will of potentially multiple communities of meaning. Coastal zones are historically rich with unique land/seascapes, tangible artifacts, and intangible cultural heritage. Coastal and maritime cultural heritage (CMCH) contends with various constraining conditions of the sea and shore—both geophysical and socially constructed—which we delineate to identify risks and threats to its sustainable management. In response to calls for the greater incorporation of CMCH in the name of regional development and blue growth, we propose a conceptual framework as a means to identify risks and sustainably manage CMCH. We develop the concepts of communities of meaning and communities of participation to address how CMCH is created and contested and identify key considerations for its management. Building on theories of space, place, and identity, the paper constructs communities of meaning in order to elaborate the various opportunities but also tensions in preserving CH and cultivating reliant enterprises as a part of wider regional development strategies. Working from this understanding of place and identity in degrees of inclusivity/exclusivity, the paper draws upon literature on deliberative and participatory governance, framed as communities of participation. These two concepts provide a vocabulary for managers to address calls for the promotion of CMCH and determine appropriate management strategies and governance based on policy objectives and the will of potentially multiple communities of meaning.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has become the most adopted approach for sustainable marine governance. While MSP has transformative capacity, evaluations of its implementation illustrate large gaps between how it is conceptualised and how it is practiced. We argue that these gaps arise from MSP being implemented through post-political processes. Although MSP has been explored through post-political lenses, these evaluations are incomplete and do not provide sufficient detail about the complex nature of the post-political condition. Drawing on seminal literature, we conceptualise the post-political as consisting of highly interconnected modalities of depoliticisation, including: neoliberalism; choreographed participation; path dependency; technocratic-managerialism; and the illusion of progressive change. Using these modalities as an analytical framework, we evaluate English MSP and find that it focuses on entrenching neoliberal logic through: tokenistic participation; wholescale adoption of path-dependent solutions; obstructionist deployment of inactive technological solutions; and promising progressive change. We do not, however, view the post-political condition as unresolvable and we develop a suite of suggestions for the re-politicisation of MSP which, collectively, could form the basis for more radical forms of MSP.

This chapter critically explores the challenges and opportunities of adopting a mixed methods approach to coastal change. We reflect on our experiences of a study that involved a tourist survey and participant-led, photo-elicitation focus groups with two coastal communities in Ireland. The survey found that tourists display complex perceptions of coastal landscapes that resonate with local representations as narrated by focus group participants. Despite the contrasting epistemological roots underpinning the different methods adopted, the use of mixed methods offered a fruitful way to understand the nature of coastal change. There are, however, significant challenges when undertaking mixed methods research, relating to the complexity of data integration and balancing different methodological strands, that need to be critically evaluated prior to and during any study.

To achieve sustained participation, community science projects aim to satisfy the motivations and desired personal outcomes of their volunteers. Evaluating participation is, therefore, crucial, with projects seeking to assess volunteers’ motivations for engagement and the complex outcomes that they achieve through their participation. Many assessments have, however, ineffectively examined the relationship between volunteers’ motivations and how they relate to the personal outcomes that they wish to pursue. Evaluations of the personal outcomes achieved by volunteers often fail to consider whether these outcomes were desired or if they aligned with volunteers’ motivations, and tend to narrowly focus on general outcomes, such as developing scientific or environmental literacy. Failing to link motivations and outcomes can mean that participation becomes unfulfilling for volunteers, as their desires may not be achieved, lessening the likelihood of sustained engagement. If the satisfaction of volunteers is to be accurately understood, assessing the full scope of their motivations in conjunction with their desired outcomes is crucial. We address this research gap by conducting a survey (n = 308) with the participants of 8 marine community science projects in Ireland and the UK, critically assessing volunteers’ roles, motivations, outcomes and experiences of participation through an exploratory factor analysis. We find a range of patterns amongst respondents and identify 4 types of volunteer profiles: Activists, Conservationists, Professionals and Hobbyists. We discuss how categorising volunteers in this manner can better reflect the motivations and desires of volunteers and highlight the factors that support or inhibit the realisation of these intentions within specific projects. We conclude by suggesting that projects seeking to better understand participation should broaden their evaluative scope to embrace a wider range of volunteer motivational pathways, discussing how this can improve both a project’s management of volunteers and its capacity to realise both project and volunteer outcomes.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advanced by its champions as an impartial and rational process that can address complex management issues. We argue that MSP is not innately rational and that it problematises marine issues in specific ways, often reflecting hegemonic agendas. The illusion of impartial rationality in MSP is derived from governmentalities that appear progressive but serve elite interests. By understanding the creation of governmentalities, we can design more equitable planning processes. We conceptualise governmentalities as consisting of problematisations, rationalities and governance technologies, and assess England’s first marine plans to understand how specific governmentalities de-radicalise MSP. We find that progressive framings of MSP outcomes, such as enhanced well-being, are deployed by the government to garner early support for MSP. These elements, however, become regressively problematised in later planning phases, where they are framed by the government as being difficult to achieve and are pushed into future iterations of the process. Eviscerating progressive elements from the planning process clears the way for the government to focus on implementing a neoliberal form of MSP. Efforts to foster radical MSP must pay attention to the emergence of governmentalities, how they travel through time/space and be cognisant of where difference can be inserted into planning processes. Achieving progressive MSP will require the creation of a political frontier early in the process, which cannot be passed until pathways for progressive socio-environmental outcomes have been established; advocacy for disenfranchised groups; broadening MSP evaluations to account for unintended impacts; and the monitoring of progressive objectives.

Coastal states are increasingly urged to transform their sectoral and fragmented marine governance regimes, and to implement integrated and holistic management approaches. However, to be successful, integrated governance mechanisms, such as marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management, will involve transformative change of institutions, values and practices. Although ‘integration’ is commonly championed as an important normative attribute of marine management by academics, policymakers and environmental groups, it is often done so with little consideration of the complexity of institutional context in which a shift to new management approaches takes place. This paper reviews the most cited academic papers in the field of marine governance, showing that most overlook many of the key institutional challenges to integration, often derived from issues such as incumbency, path dependency, policy layering and other pragmatic strategies. While integrated management approaches have a normative capacity to fundamentally transform marine governance, the failure to understand the institutional dynamics that may impede effective implementation, leaves much of the research in this field naively impotent. There is a need, therefore, to develop a more realistic understanding of the context in which transformative change takes place. It is argued that Transition Management has the potential to both conceptualise and operationalise strategies to address these barriers based on a long term perspective using a participatory process of visioning and experimentation.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has been lauded as a remedy to unsuitable marine management. There is, however, growing MSP research illustrating that it is failing to foster paradigm shifts towards sustainable governance. The gap between MSP theory and practice is due to its asocial and apolitical implementation. This narrow version of MSP has been advanced through post-political planning and uncritical rationalities. The result is a choreographed form of MSP, with clearly defined outcomes that serve the needs of elite actors rather than the public interest. This chapter argues that to recapture its democratising potential, MSP requires explicit engagement with politics and power. We highlight the use of the boundary object lens and citizen science as two potential avenues to facilitate this engagement.

Coastal states are increasingly urged to transform their sectoral and fragmented marine governance regimes, and to implement integrated and holistic management approaches. However, to be successful, integrated governance mechanisms, such as marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management, will involve transformative change of institutions, values and practices. Although ‘integration’ is commonly championed as an important normative attribute of marine management by academics, policymakers and environmental groups, it is often done so with little consideration of the complexity of institutional context in which a shift to new management approaches takes place. This paper reviews the most cited academic papers in the field of marine governance, showing that most overlook many of the key institutional challenges to integration, often derived from issues such as incumbency, path dependency, policy layering and other pragmatic strategies. While integrated management approaches have a normative capacity to fundamentally transform marine governance, the failure to understand the institutional dynamics that may impede effective implementation, leaves much of the research in this field naively impotent. There is a need, therefore, to develop a more realistic understanding of the context in which transformative change takes place. It is argued that Transition Management has the potential to both conceptualise and operationalise strategies to address these barriers based on a long term perspective using a participatory process of visioning and experimentation.

Transboundary cooperation is viewed as an essential element of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). While much of the MSP literature focuses on the need for, and benefits of, transboundary MSP, this paper explores the political and institutional factors that may facilitate the effective transition to such an approach. Drawing on transboundary planning theory and practice, key contextual factors that are likely to expedite the transition to transboundary MSP are reviewed. These include: policy convergence in neighbouring jurisdictions; prior experience of transboundary planning; and good working relations amongst key actors. Based on this review, an assessment of the conditions for transboundary MSP in the adjoining waters of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is undertaken. A number of recommendations are then advanced for transboundary MSP on the island of Ireland, including, the need to address the role of formal transboundary institutions and the lack of an agreed legal maritime boundary. The paper concludes with some commentary on the political realities of implementing transboundary MSP.

The introduction of the Floods Directive signals a move from flood protection towards flood risk management in the European Union. Public participation is highlighted in the Floods Directive as being instrumental to effective implementation of this new approach. This study utilised document analysis, non-participant observation, a questionnaire survey, and interviews to evaluate the discourse and practice of participation in the implementation of the Floods Directive in Belfast, United Kingdom. Flood risk management processes in Belfast are found to be high on participatory rhetoric but low on meaningful engagement. The participatory process is lacking in transparency, does not encourage the active participation of interested parties and has not been clearly communicated to key publics. Opportunities to increase meaningful public participation in the process remain underutilised, and the establishment of local flood forums has provided little opportunity for meaningful engagement. Some actions of governance agencies could be best characterised as facilitating the responsibilisation of risk and are designed to manage risk to agencies rather than address flooding issues.

Stakeholder participation is advanced as a key element of marine spatial planning (MSP) by the U.S. Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. It provides little guidance, however, regarding stakeholder participation. We argue that much can be learned from existing ecosystem-based marine management initiatives. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, which utilizes an advisory council to facilitate stakeholder participation, is evaluated in this article with a view to identifying key lessons for new MSP initiatives. A set of criteria, derived from collaborative planning theory, is employed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. The advisory council meets some criteria for effective stakeholder participation but is found to be lacking in key elements, including shared purpose and interdependency. Benefits associated with stakeholder participation are constrained accordingly. Deficiencies in the design of the council and its decision-making procedures, requiring attention in order to facilitate mo...

Stakeholder participation is viewed as a key element of ecosystem-based marine spatial planning (MSP). There is much debate over the effectiveness of stakeholder participation in ecosystem-based management (EBM) in general and over the form it should take. Particular challenges relating to participation in the marine environment are highlighted. A study of the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management initiative, which uses a collaborative planning model to implement EBM, is presented in order to explore these issues further. Criteria derived from a review of collaborative planning literature are employed to evaluate the effectiveness of this model, which is found to be a useful consensus-building tool. Although a strategic-level plan has been adopted, the initiative has encountered difficulties transitioning from plan development to plan implementation. These are attributable in large measure to deficiencies in the design of the collaborative model. Useful lessons relating mainly to stakeholder engagem...

The European Commission has developed a set of common principles for marine spatial planning in the European Union. A critical examination of these principles in practice is undertaken through an evaluation of the Clyde Marine Spatial Planning Pilot Project. The principles are found to be lacking in specificity and somewhat inconsistent with the ecosystem based approach, which they advocate. Lessons for new marine spatial planning initiatives, relating particularly to stakeholder participation, governance, data requirements, objective setting, and skills and knowledge needs, are derived from the Clyde Pilot.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advocated as a means of managing human uses of the sea in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of the ecological goods and services of the marine environment. The adoption of a system of MSP is seen as urgent in the face of ever-increasing demands on marine resources. This is particularly so in Ireland with its extensive seas, belatedly being recognised as a significant development resource. MSP is promoted by the European Commission (EC) in a recent Green Paper to which Member States of the Union, including Ireland, generally have responded positively. Arising from this consultative process, the EC has published the ‘Blue Book’ that commits support for MSP. It has also issued guidelines for an integrated approach to maritime policy. The recently adopted EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive strengthens the case for implementing MSP as it requires each Member State to develop a strategy for its marine resources. There is evidence that a diverse range of stakeholders at national and local levels in Ireland are positively disposed toward MSP but no practical manifestation of the concept is in place, though some preparatory work is

The vulnerability of coastal areas to associated hazards is increasing due to population growth, development pressure and climate change. It is incumbent on coastal governance regimes to address the vulnerability of coastal inhabitants to these hazards. This is especially so at the local level where development planning and control has a direct impact on the vulnerability of coastal communities. To reduce the vulnerability of coastal populations, risk mitigation and adaptation strategies need to be built into local spatial planning processes. Local government, however, operates within a complex hierarchal governance framework which may promote or limit particular actions. It is important, therefore, to understand how local coastal planning practices are shaped by national and supranational entities. Local governments also have to respond to the demands of local populations. Consequently, it is important to understand local populations' perceptions of coastal risk and its management. Adopting an in-depth study of coastal planning in County Mayo, Ireland, this paper evaluates: (a) how European and national policies and legislation shape coastal risk management at local level; (b) the incorporation of risk management strategies into local plans; and (c) local perception of coastal risks and risk management. Despite a strong steer from supranational and national legislation and policy, statutory local plans are found to be lacking in appropriate risk mitigation or adaptation strategies. Local residents appear to be lulled into a sense of complacency towards these risks because of the low level of attention afforded to them by the local planning authorities. To avoid potentially disastrous consequences for local residents and businesses, it is imperative that this situation is redressed urgently. Based on our analysis, we recommend: the development and implementation of a national ICZM strategy, supported by detailed local ICZM plans; and obliging local government to address known risks in their plans rather than defer them to project level decision making. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Support through the INTERREG IVB project ANCORIM (2009–2012) is gratefully acknowledged. peer-reviewed 2017-11-29

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advocated as a means of managing human uses of the sea in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of the ecological goods and services of the marine environment. Support for the process is evident at international and national levels but the degree to which it is acceptable to local level stakeholders is not clear. An Daingean (formely Dingle) is a small sea-oriented town situated on the southwest coast of Ireland in which marine-based tourism and other relatively new uses of the sea are pursued along side traditional fishing activities. Stakeholders in An Daingean are found to be positively disposed to a local process of MSP that incorporates meaningful local involvement. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.