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The growing human-induced pressures on the marine environment around the world are calling for sustainable management of coastal and marine spaces. Globally, the intensification of maritime activities and the use of marine and coastal resources under the framework of the “blue economy” became key political elements. Unfortunately, the constantly growing exploitation of the marine resources has resulted in strong environmental degradation states, which are irreversibly compromising the good state of marine and coastal ecosystems undermining their ability to provide ecosystem services and benefits and to underpin environmental resilience to climate changes. In this context, Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), is recognized as a horizontal tool for the practical implementation of “sustainable blue development” and for the conservation of our oceans and coasts.
MSP can be defined as a “public process of analysing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives that usually have been specified through a political process” (Ehler and Douvere, 2007).
The ocean covers approximately the 70% of the planet surface. We have only one ocean and the Earth’s highest peaks, deepest valleys and flattest plains are all in this ocean.
In order to assure to the future generations a healthy ocean environment numerous initiatives around the world are taking place. Educational activities, awareness campaigns and capacity building can be seen as the basic building blocks to achieve ocean sustainability worldwide.
Knowledge is power!
Knowing the ocean is a multifaceted and hard task which requires a strong interdisciplinary approach. Thus the need of having “on-board” a variety of expertise such as social and natural sciences, together with communication and IT experts. To facilitate awareness and change in our relationship with the ocean, the engagement and empowerment of communities and individuals around the world through Ocean Literacy activities results essential. This can also help to ensure positive results of higher level political decisions.
Ocean literacy is a way not only to increase the awareness of the public about the ocean, but it is as an approach to encourage all citizens and stakeholders to have a more responsible and informed behaviour towards the ocean and its resources. The ultimate scope is to raise awareness globally on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of our ocean and its resources, and build an improved public knowledge base.
Ocean literacy can be defined broadly as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you, and your influence on the ocean.
Marine conservation is the entirety of best practices, initiatives, measures that aim at protecting and preserving the existent ecosystems in our oceans and their functioning, including all their marine species and habitats, from the destructing practices of anthropogenic origin. Thus, marine conservation is focused on limiting the environmental impacts caused by human uses, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems. Marine conservation initiatives is mainly focused on vulnerable marine species and habitats, but they do consider all the ecological processes that ensure marine ecosystems’ functioning beyond the protection of single habitats and species.
Marine conservation practices are key to support ocean ecosystems protection and resilience in the face of both increasing anthropogenic pressures and climates change effects. Through conservation and restoration initiatives, marine conservation is supporting the preservation of marine ecosystem functioning and the long-lasting delivery of marine ecosystem services for future generations.
Adaptation to a changing climate is a fundamental requirement for any place, ecosystem, activity, business or community. The slow on-setting pressures and the fast disruptive shocks derived from a changing climate can have negative effects on local systems and affects all kind of assets. Adaptation action aims to adjust these systems to actual or expected climate and its effects in order to reduce or avoid harm or exploit positive opportunities. In some natural systems, human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects. (IPCC 2014)
Climate change adaptation is defined by the Paris Agreement (2016) as “increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, (…)”
Ocean governance aims to manage and use the world’s seas ocean and its resources in a healthy, productive, safe, secure and resilient way. To achieve this, cooperation and shared international responsibility are needed, especially for areas of the ocean outside the boarders of national jurisdiction.
Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions and affairs regarding the world’s oceans. Within governance, it incorporates the influence of non-state actors, i.e. stakeholders, NGOs and so forth, therefore the state is not the only acting power in policy making.
Land-sea interaction is a complex phenomenon, involving both natural processes and anthropic activities across the coastal zone. Historically coastal areas have been the most attractive places to develop settlements and communities due to the richness of the biodiversity, the extraordinary natural resources and offering a strategic territory. Therefore, the most important developed cities and megacities in the world are placed in coastal areas. Inevitably, coastal and marine resources and biodiversity are subject to unsustainable strains and pressures. Coastal cities are rapidly growing, reclaiming land for expansion and increasing economic sectors such as coastal tourism and maritime transportation. An important aspect is that the interface between land and sea, so-called ecotone, is where terrestrial and marine components reach each other and make it an area of transition between two biomes (diverse ecosystems), that makes it a very rich and biodiverse area but at the same time very exposed to anthropic pressures and climate change events and so vulnerable. In order to keep the natural resources and biodiversity in good condition, is necessary to have a clear framework of the coastal zone. At this point, land-sea interaction results fundamental to unfold and understand complex dynamics, interrelations, synergies and conflict to support the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process to build a sustainable use of the land and marine environment.
The ocean includes a priceless richness of living species and ecosystems that provide resources and services which are key to our society and economy and fundamental to sustain our livelihood. However, human activities depending on the ocean and its resources are also threatening the well being of its natural systems. Pressures on the marine environment caused by anthropic activities (e.g. overfishing, pollution, underwater noise) are reducing the ability of marine ecosystems to function efficiently undermining their integrity and depleting the availability of natural resources. To prevent coastal and marine ecosystems to further degrade, to allow their recovery and maintain their natural integrity and beauty, conservation actions are strongly needed. Among such actions, the implementation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is considered as one of the most effective. Indeed, the planning and management of operative MPAs is crucial for the future of our ocean and coasts, to preserve healthy ecosystems and the services they provide.
“A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (IUCN WCPA, 2018)
Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is a framework that aims at sustainably managing natural resources and space, incorporating ecological information in environmental management practices and balancing resources exploitation and nature conservation priorities. EBM recognizes humans as part of the nature and their dependence on natural resources and benefits for their socio-economic needs. Thus, EBM orients best practices to ensure a sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystems’ protection.
EBM is an integrated, holistic and long-lasting approach to management the use of natural resources that includes adaptive processes and strategies and ecological information to boost the sustainable socio-economic development by preserving environmental health conditions.
The growing human-induced pressures on the marine environment around the world are calling for sustainable management of coastal and marine spaces. Globally, the intensification of maritime activities and the use of marine and coastal resources under the framework of the “blue economy” became key political elements. Unfortunately, the constantly growing exploitation of the marine resources has resulted in strong environmental degradation states, which are irreversibly compromising the good state of marine and coastal ecosystems undermining their ability to provide ecosystem services and benefits and to underpin environmental resilience to climate changes. In this context, Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), is recognized as a horizontal tool for the practical implementation of “sustainable blue development” and for the conservation of our oceans and coasts.
MSP can be defined as a “public process of analysing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives that usually have been specified through a political process” (Ehler and Douvere, 2007).
The ocean covers approximately the 70% of the planet surface. We have only one ocean and the Earth’s highest peaks, deepest valleys and flattest plains are all in this ocean.
In order to assure to the future generations a healthy ocean environment numerous initiatives around the world are taking place. Educational activities, awareness campaigns and capacity building can be seen as the basic building blocks to achieve ocean sustainability worldwide.
Knowledge is power!
Knowing the ocean is a multifaceted and hard task which requires a strong interdisciplinary approach. Thus the need of having “on-board” a variety of expertise such as social and natural sciences, together with communication and IT experts. To facilitate awareness and change in our relationship with the ocean, the engagement and empowerment of communities and individuals around the world through Ocean Literacy activities results essential. This can also help to ensure positive results of higher level political decisions.
Ocean literacy is a way not only to increase the awareness of the public about the ocean, but it is as an approach to encourage all citizens and stakeholders to have a more responsible and informed behaviour towards the ocean and its resources. The ultimate scope is to raise awareness globally on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of our ocean and its resources, and build an improved public knowledge base.
Ocean literacy can be defined broadly as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you, and your influence on the ocean.
Marine conservation is the entirety of best practices, initiatives, measures that aim at protecting and preserving the existent ecosystems in our oceans and their functioning, including all their marine species and habitats, from the destructing practices of anthropogenic origin. Thus, marine conservation is focused on limiting the environmental impacts caused by human uses, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems. Marine conservation initiatives is mainly focused on vulnerable marine species and habitats, but they do consider all the ecological processes that ensure marine ecosystems’ functioning beyond the protection of single habitats and species.
Marine conservation practices are key to support ocean ecosystems protection and resilience in the face of both increasing anthropogenic pressures and climates change effects. Through conservation and restoration initiatives, marine conservation is supporting the preservation of marine ecosystem functioning and the long-lasting delivery of marine ecosystem services for future generations.
Adaptation to a changing climate is a fundamental requirement for any place, ecosystem, activity, business or community. The slow on-setting pressures and the fast disruptive shocks derived from a changing climate can have negative effects on local systems and affects all kind of assets. Adaptation action aims to adjust these systems to actual or expected climate and its effects in order to reduce or avoid harm or exploit positive opportunities. In some natural systems, human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects. (IPCC 2014)
Climate change adaptation is defined by the Paris Agreement (2016) as “increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, (…)”
Ocean governance aims to manage and use the world’s seas ocean and its resources in a healthy, productive, safe, secure and resilient way. To achieve this, cooperation and shared international responsibility are needed, especially for areas of the ocean outside the boarders of national jurisdiction.
Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions and affairs regarding the world’s oceans. Within governance, it incorporates the influence of non-state actors, i.e. stakeholders, NGOs and so forth, therefore the state is not the only acting power in policy making.
Land-sea interaction is a complex phenomenon, involving both natural processes and anthropic activities across the coastal zone. Historically coastal areas have been the most attractive places to develop settlements and communities due to the richness of the biodiversity, the extraordinary natural resources and offering a strategic territory. Therefore, the most important developed cities and megacities in the world are placed in coastal areas. Inevitably, coastal and marine resources and biodiversity are subject to unsustainable strains and pressures. Coastal cities are rapidly growing, reclaiming land for expansion and increasing economic sectors such as coastal tourism and maritime transportation. An important aspect is that the interface between land and sea, so-called ecotone, is where terrestrial and marine components reach each other and make it an area of transition between two biomes (diverse ecosystems), that makes it a very rich and biodiverse area but at the same time very exposed to anthropic pressures and climate change events and so vulnerable. In order to keep the natural resources and biodiversity in good condition, is necessary to have a clear framework of the coastal zone. At this point, land-sea interaction results fundamental to unfold and understand complex dynamics, interrelations, synergies and conflict to support the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process to build a sustainable use of the land and marine environment.
The ocean includes a priceless richness of living species and ecosystems that provide resources and services which are key to our society and economy and fundamental to sustain our livelihood. However, human activities depending on the ocean and its resources are also threatening the well being of its natural systems. Pressures on the marine environment caused by anthropic activities (e.g. overfishing, pollution, underwater noise) are reducing the ability of marine ecosystems to function efficiently undermining their integrity and depleting the availability of natural resources. To prevent coastal and marine ecosystems to further degrade, to allow their recovery and maintain their natural integrity and beauty, conservation actions are strongly needed. Among such actions, the implementation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is considered as one of the most effective. Indeed, the planning and management of operative MPAs is crucial for the future of our ocean and coasts, to preserve healthy ecosystems and the services they provide.
“A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (IUCN WCPA, 2018)
Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is a framework that aims at sustainably managing natural resources and space, incorporating ecological information in environmental management practices and balancing resources exploitation and nature conservation priorities. EBM recognizes humans as part of the nature and their dependence on natural resources and benefits for their socio-economic needs. Thus, EBM orients best practices to ensure a sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystems’ protection.
EBM is an integrated, holistic and long-lasting approach to management the use of natural resources that includes adaptive processes and strategies and ecological information to boost the sustainable socio-economic development by preserving environmental health conditions.
The Marine Planners group is continuously growing in number and we invite who is interested in contacting us for more information on how to join us! Our members come from all around the globe having a highly heterogeneous cultural, geographic, gender and religious content.
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