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Soft vs. Hard Sustainability Approach in Marine Spatial Planning: Challenges and Solutions

Authors :
Fatemeh Rezaei
Pasquale Contestabile
Diego Vicinanza
Arianna Azzellino
Carlos V. C. Weiss
José Juanes
Source :
Water, Vol 16, Iss 10, p 1382 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Hitherto, over 50% of countries with marine waters have established MSPs or launched related legal actions. However, there are still conceptual and practical challenges to be overcome in the development of MSP. In this study, we investigate two main approaches in MSP (hard vs. soft sustainability) through reports, published manuscripts and meeting proceedings in seven pioneering countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada). We highlight the gaps, challenges, and solutions in each of these approaches. From our findings, there are four common challenges in both soft and hard sustainability approaches as follows: (i) the political framework and inconsistent support of MSP efforts, (ii) insufficient knowledge on social dimensions, (iii) insufficient stakeholder engagement in the diversity of stakeholder’s groups or in their contribution to the planning process from the initial steps, and (iv) finding a balance between environmental conservation and economic growth. We recommend that future studies should investigate how MSP can become more adaptive to long-term environmental and economic targets, how effective involving socioeconomic strata is in MSP, and how decision-making tools could help to cover the gaps in MSP. Furthermore, public forums are suggested to be developed to facilitate the systematic sharing of MSP experiences worldwide.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734441
Volume :
16
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Water
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.4327c3147b074835bba4b86436d940e3
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16101382