About the guide
What is the purpose of the guide?
During recent years, marine spatial planning has been the focus of considerable interest throughout the world, particularly in heavily used marine areas. Marine spatial planning offers countries a strategy to maintain the value of their biodiversity while at the same time allowing sustainable use of the economic potential of their oceans. Marine spatial planning is a practical way to achieve ecosystem-based management in marine areas.
Numerous attempts have been made to define both the scope and nature of marine spatial planning. Relatively few initiative discuss how to put it into practice. This guide aims at answering questions about how to make marine spatial planning operational.
The guide uses a clear, straightforward step-by-step approach that shows how marine spatial planning can be developed and implemented. Most steps are illustrated with relevant examples from the real world. Throughout the text references are made to other resources and further readings.
Who is the target audience for the guide?
The guide is primarily intended for professionals responsible for the management (including planning) of marine areas and their resources. Most professionals responsible for the management of marine areas and their resources have strong scientific or technical backgrounds in areas such as ecology, biology, oceanography, or engineering. Few have been trained as professional planners or managers. Many new marine managers wind up "learning on the job" - a sometimes effective, but often expensive, way of doing business.
The guide attempts to fill this gap by using a step-by-step approach for developing and implementing marine spatial planning. It gives an understanding of the different tasks, skills and expertise needed to develop and maintain marine spatial planning efforts. It also discusses issues such as obtaining financial resources, organizing stakeholders, or monitoring and evaluating performance. These are important, albeit often neglected, steps of the marine spatial planning process.
Last updated: 28 January 2010