Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), also called Maritime Spatial Planning, is a tool used to help leaders and groups who care about the ocean organize sea areas under a country's control. This is done based on social, ecological, and economic goals to make smart and teamwork-based choices about how to use ocean resources in a way that lasts. MSP often uses maps to show a clearer view of a marine area, including where and how the ocean is used and what natural resources and habitats are present. It works like land-use planning but is used for ocean areas instead.

During the planning and mapping process, planners look at the total impact of ocean industries on the sea. They try to make these industries more sustainable and find ways to reduce conflicts between different industries that want to use the same ocean space. The goal of MSP is to help people use the ocean in a more organized and lasting way. This means using ocean resources and services, but only within limits that protect the environment and keep marine ecosystems and their diversity healthy.

Definition and concept

The most commonly used definition of marine spatial planning was created by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

Marine spatial planning includes a connected system of plans, policies, and rules. It also includes parts of environmental management systems, such as setting goals, doing an initial assessment, carrying out actions, monitoring progress, checking results, and reviewing plans. It also uses tools already used for planning how land is used. No matter what parts are used, the most important idea is that these parts must work together across different areas and provide a geographic context for making decisions about using resources, developing areas, protecting the environment, and managing activities in the ocean.

Effective marine spatial planning has important features:

• Balances different goals. It should consider ecological, social, economic, and governance goals, but the most important goal is to increase sustainability.
• Focuses on specific areas. The ocean area being managed must be clearly defined, ideally at the level of an ecosystem, and large enough to include important natural processes.
• Combines different parts. The planning process must consider how all parts of the ocean and human activities are connected within the area being managed.

The IOC-UNESCO Marine Spatial Planning Programme helps countries use ecosystem-based management by finding space for biodiversity, conservation, and sustainable economic development in the ocean. IOC-UNESCO has created several guides, including a 10-step guide for starting a marine spatial plan called "Step-by-Step Approach for Marine Spatial Planning toward Ecosystem-Based Management." IOC-UNESCO has also created a global list of marine spatial planning activities.

For a marine spatial planning program to be successful, it is important to get cooperation between different groups and within groups that have different goals, such as social, ecological, and economic goals. This cooperation helps ensure that all goals are met in the ocean.

Evaluation of Spatially managed marine areas

The EU FP7 project MESMA (2009–2013) created a step-by-step method to assess how well marine spatial plans work. This method helps choose, map, and evaluate parts of the ecosystem and human activities that affect them. It also looks at how well management plans are working and how they might be changed. The method includes advice on using tools that show information on maps to help with tasks like studying the combined effects of human activities or how these activities affect the environment. A separate analysis of how decisions are made (governance) can be done alongside the method and helps guide its steps. To support managers, MESMA created a website with tools for use.

Tools

There are many helpful tools that managers can use to plan ocean areas effectively. These tools include:

• USA MarineCadastre.gov
• Australia's Marxan Software
• SeaSketch, a tool that helps people work together on ocean planning (MSP)
• UCSB's Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems
• Duke University's Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools
• Center for Ocean Solutions' Collaborative Geospatial Information and Tools
• MESMA Tools for monitoring and evaluation of marine spatial planning
• Scotland's National Marine Plan Interactive and Marine Scotland Information Portal
• Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal
• New England's Northeast Ocean Data Portal

Marine Spatial Planning in the European Union

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is a key part of the European Union's efforts to manage activities in the sea. The idea of MSP first appeared in a European Commission report from 2002 called "Towards a Strategy to Protect and Conserve the Marine Environment." This report said that planning activities in the sea was needed to understand their effects on the environment and protect it. Ideas from a 2002 meeting of Baltic Sea ministers about working together across borders may have influenced this approach. MSP became a central part of the European Commission's policies in 2007 with the release of the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP). In 2008, the Commission created a roadmap to guide MSP, and in 2012, it introduced a plan called "Blue Growth" to support sustainable use of the sea. In 2014, the European Union passed the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (2014/89/EU), which required all coastal member states to create and implement their own MSP strategies by 2021.

MSP is an important tool for the IMP because it helps achieve Good Environmental Status (GES), which means keeping the seas clean, healthy, and productive. The directive aims to organize activities like fishing, shipping, and renewable energy in the sea while reducing conflicts between countries, improving cooperation, and protecting the marine environment.

The main reasons the EU supports MSP include laws to protect the environment, rules for renewable energy, fishing regulations, and systems to manage different activities together. MSP works by dividing sea areas into zones for specific uses, such as energy production or conservation. This helps balance needs like energy development with protecting nature.

However, the MSP Directive has some challenges. It gives member states a lot of freedom to decide how to plan their areas, which can lead to differences in how MSP is done across the EU. Some laws that protect nature, like the Habitats and Birds Directives, allow exceptions but do not require member states to use them, which can create problems when planning for renewable energy.

The effects of offshore renewable energy projects, like wind farms, are not always clear because environmental studies are often done separately and do not fully show the impacts. The MSP Directive says member states should take "preventative measures" if studies are unclear, but it does not provide specific rules. Studies also show that small renewable energy projects are less likely to harm the environment, while large projects may cause more problems, such as noise pollution or harm to wildlife.

A major challenge for the EU is that data collection and sharing between member states are not standardized, making it harder to understand the full environmental impact of activities in shared sea areas. Improving this could help planners make better decisions.

To strengthen MSP, the EU needs better tools to assess the environmental effects of activities. Projects like SUMES are developing tools that combine life cycle assessments and ecosystem studies to help policymakers compare the trade-offs between different uses of the sea.

Most research on MSP focuses on individual countries because member states have a lot of freedom in how they plan. Belgium and the Netherlands are examples of countries that started planning their own MSP strategies before EU rules required it. Belgium's GAURFE project from 2002 to 2005 created plans for using the North Sea, while the Netherlands included a marine section in its national planning document in 2005. In 2013, the Netherlands began planning for the North Sea's future, aiming to use renewable energy while protecting ecosystems. The Netherlands also faces challenges smaller coastal countries may have, such as having a shorter coastline.

Marine spatial planning in the United Kingdom

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 created a new system for managing the sea, including the use of marine spatial planning, across the UK. This system follows the principles of marine spatial planning set by the European Commission, but it is often called "marine planning" in the UK.

A goal of this new system is to manage coastal areas, the activities there, and the challenges they face in a unified and complete way. This will involve working closely with land planning rules and, in England and Wales, with the new system for major infrastructure projects in areas like energy and transport.

The main part of the UK marine planning system is the Marine Policy Statement (MPS). It outlines specific goals for different areas of activity in the sea, which the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government, and Northern Ireland Executive aim to achieve. These goals include making oceans and seas clean, healthy, safe, productive, and rich in life.

The MPS serves as the basis for creating Marine Plans and making decisions that affect the marine environment in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It will also guide new systems for approving activities in the sea in each region. A draft version of the MPS was discussed with the public in 2010 and was expected to become official government policy in 2011.

In England, a new organization called the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) was created in April 2010. The MMO will carry out UK marine policy goals for English waters through official Marine Plans and other actions. The first Marine Plans will begin being developed by the MMO once the MPS is officially adopted in 2011. A government document about marine planning in England provides more details on the scope, structure, and process for creating each Marine Plan.

In Scotland, the government authority called Marine Scotland will manage marine planning in Scottish waters under the Marine (Scotland) Act. A draft National Marine Plan was prepared in 2011, and the final version was released in March 2015.

Marine spatial planning in the United States

On June 12, 2009, President Obama formed a group of agencies called the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. This group was created to give suggestions about ocean policy, including marine spatial planning (MSP).

Some states have already started their own MSP efforts. For example, Massachusetts passed the Massachusetts Ocean Act in May 2008. This law requires the secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to create a detailed ocean management plan. This plan must be sent to NOAA, a federal agency, to be added to the state’s coastal zone management plan. The plan will be enforced through state laws, including the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and Chapter 91, which governs waterways.

The goal of these efforts is to manage ocean resources in a way that protects the environment and supports the economy. This includes balancing current ocean uses and planning for future needs. The plans will decide where certain ocean activities can happen and which activities are compatible with each other.

Rhode Island’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP) is a federally recognized tool for managing coastal resources. It was approved by the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC), Rhode Island’s coastal management agency, on October 19, 2010. NOAA officially accepted the plan on May 11, 2011. Scientists from the University of Rhode Island (URI) provided the scientific research used to create the Ocean SAMP. Before being approved, the plan was reviewed by the public.

In 1999, California’s legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act. This law required the state to evaluate and possibly redesign existing marine protected areas and create new ones to form a connected network. Marine protected areas in California include marine reserves, marine parks, and marine conservation areas. While this effort does not fully match the definition of marine spatial planning, it includes useful elements like stakeholder input and mapping methods that planners may use.

Two issues in Oregon led to a marine spatial planning effort: concerns by fishermen about marine reserves off the coast and proposals to build wave energy facilities in the ocean. An executive order directed the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development to work with stakeholders and scientists to create a plan for ocean energy development. This plan would become part of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan. The state formed an advisory committee and planned to adopt the plan by early 2010. The plan will include rules for state and federal agencies about where to place ocean energy facilities.

In March 2010, Washington State’s legislature passed the Marine Waters Planning and Management Act to address conflicts over ocean use. A report to the legislature with guidance was created in 2011, and in 2012, the legislature approved funding to start the MSP process along Washington’s coast. A state law required a team of agencies to advise the legislature on how to use marine spatial planning and integrate it into existing state plans. This team is led by the Governor’s office and managed by the Department of Ecology. Other members include the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Sea Grant, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

Marine spatial planning in Türkiye

A special group called the Coordination Board, created by a Presidential Circular, oversees marine spatial planning (MSP) throughout the country. DEHUKAM, which is Ankara University's National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law, carries out most of the academic research and legal work needed for this planning.

Most of the country's marine spatial planning is based on the Mavi Vatan (Blue Homeland) doctrine. This plan outlines Turkey's rights to control areas of the sea near its borders. In 2025, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) officially recorded Turkey's marine spatial plan. While this registration does not resolve disagreements over maritime boundaries, it adds Turkey's declared zones to an international record.

DEHUKAM manages an online database named DMPTürkiye. This tool helps the public and government agencies access information about the country's marine plans. The website includes interactive maps, legal documents, and data about shipping routes, energy projects, and protected areas. Although the portal does not have legal power, it helps shape policies and keeps people informed.

The national plan divides the sea into different areas, each with a specific purpose. These include:

• Energy projects, such as renewable energy and oil and gas extraction.
• Fishing and aquaculture activities.
• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
• Shipping routes.
• Underwater pipelines and cables.
• Tourist sites and research centers.

When Turkey submitted its plan to UNESCO, Greece responded with an official protest. Greek officials said some areas in the plan overlap with disputed waters in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish officials disagreed, stating that the Maritime Spatial Plan (MSP) is an internal tool for managing the economy and environment. They emphasized that the plan does not aim to change international borders.

External links and references

• A guide for Marine Spatial Planning created by the UNESCO International Ocean Council
• An information website about Marine Spatial Planning from NOAA
• Information about Marine Spatial Planning developed by the Plymouth Marine Institute
• A White House document that established an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
• A tool called the MESMA Toolbox used for monitoring and evaluating Marine Spatial Planning