The aim of the study to provide general guidance to planners, decision makers and stakeholders in improving the competitiveness and effectiveness of maritime planning activities existing within the national marine jurisdiction, while at the same time maintaining and improving marine ecosystems resilience, conserving biodiversity and restoring degraded habitats, to achieve the MSP related environmental policy objectives.
Questions this practice may help answer:
- How is environmental management incorporated into MSP?
- How can MSP support ecosystem resilience?
Implementation Context:
As part of the Plan4Blue project, this study was developed to provide guidance to planners, decision makers and stakeholders to improve the competitiveness and effectiveness of maritime spatial planning activities within national marine jurisdictions and maintaining marine ecosystem resilience.
Aspects / Objectives:
The aim of the study was to outline the “Environmental management strategy for MSP” with aim to provide generalguidance to planners, decision makers and stakeholders in improving the competitiveness and effectiveness of maritime planning activities existing within the national marine jurisdiction while at the same time maintaining and improving marine ecosystems resilience, conserving biodiversity and restoring degraded habitats to achieve the MSP related environmental policy objectives.
Method:
This study was developed through a literature review and incorporated the conceptual methodology of ISO 31000 2018 (ISO 2018) for risk management.
Main Outputs / Results:
An “Environmental management strategy for MSP” was defined through eight sequential and interdependent Strategic Priorities:
Strategic Priority 1: Abide to legislation and regulatory requirements
Potential planning options have to abide to legislation and regulatory requirements for the planning area provided that there are regional, national or in- ternational agreements, which enable and/or enforce the environmental management measures to be performed.
Strategic Priority 2:Provide knowledge to promote adaptive and sustainable Maritime Spatial Planning
Strategic objective for data and information management is to produce knowledge products and information tools to facilitate knowledge and understanding of economic potential, the natural functioning of ecosystems, human impact on the marine environment with aim to promote the sustainable Maritime Spatial Planning activities.
Strategic Priority 3: Implement the ecosystem risk management framework for Maritime Spatial Planning
The aim of managing the ecosystem risks in the MSP context is to reduce the uncertainties of achieving environmental, social and economic objectives once implemented in ecosystem risk management, the spatial and temporal allocations of a marine spatial plan should reduce the uncertainties of achieving development and conservation objectives. The risk management concept is illustrated in the figure below:
Strategic Priority 4:Promote risk management to achieve and maintain good environmental status
The risk management to achieve and maintain good environmental status is based on the implementation of operational controls that actually reduces the uncertainties of achieving objectives, and it is the programme of measures that reduces the uncertainties of achieving and maintaining good environmental status.
Strategic Priority 5: Facilitate adherence with unifying framework for marine environmental management
The practical implementation of unifying framework for marine environmental management enables scoping, identification and analysis of the Drivers leading to the main events (through Activities and Pressures), anticipatory prevention measures (management Responses as Measures), including those limiting the severity of the main event, the consequences of the events (State changes and Impacts on Welfare), and mitigation and compensation measures (management Responses as Measures) aimed at minimising those consequences.
The Bow-tie as a diagrammatic representation of the complex relations between the risks and management is leading to better communication and understanding of the risks with third parties, and is facilitating regulatory discussions with industry because the Bow-tie is an ISO standard method. It is shown in the figure below:
Strategic Priority 6: Enhance common understanding and language for evaluating ecosystem risk management measures in MSP
The use of international standards, such as the ones available under ISO, enable to avoid the need to develop a framework and debate definitions while the updated ISO 31000 2018 provides definitions, performance criteria and a common overarching process for identifying, analysing, evaluating and managing risks within a policy context initiative.
Strategic Priority 7: Establish horizontal integration of stakeholders across levels of governance
Successful integrated marine management requires the coordination of many aspects - an assessment of the source, causes, and consequences of problems, the delivery of ecosystem services and societal benefits, the incorporation of governance from the local to the global, and implementing the ecosystem approach and the success of each of these requires the input from and often agreement with the stakeholders. The horizontal integration of stakeholders, linked to the DAPSI(W)R(M) framework, that is composed of Regulators, Extractors, Inputters, Affectees, Influencers and Beneficiaries enables to incorporate all stakeholders in the framework designed to ensure that sector activities and their pressures are managed effectively to reach the broader policy goals and objectives.
Strategic Priority 8: Assure the quality of the Maritime Spatial Plan
The 10-tenets of adaptive environmental management and sustainability for the successful and sustainable development provide for comprehensive quality considerations for the maritime spatial plan. Environmental management should be: 1) Environmentally / ecologically sustainable, 2) Technologically feasible, 3) Economically viable, 4) Socially desirable/tolerable, 5) Legally permissible, 6) Administratively achievable, 7) Politically expedient, 8) Ethically defensible, 9) Culturally inclusive, and 10) Effectively communicable. The environmental management Quality Objectives are addressed by the Maritime Spatial Planning process in consultation with competent authorities, industry stakeholders and communities of interest with aim to ensure the adequate integration of the ecological and socio-economic objectives and legislative requirements.
TRANSFERABILITY
This study provides a guidance for the incorporation of environmental management into MSP and can be used in different sea basins.
Responsible Entity:
SKYE
Costs / Funding Source:
EU / ERDF / Interreg Central Baltic
Contact person:
Robert Aps
University of Tartu
robert.aps
ut.ee (robert[dot]aps[at]ut[dot]ee)