54. Marine Spatial Planning

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is considered a key instrument for managing the conflicts resulting from the increasing utilization and industrialization of the world’s seas and oceans. MSP is a public process by which the relevant authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. Even though environmental interests do not generally enjoy priority over economic and social interests, it must not be overlooked that MSP is a tool which substantially contributes to the protection of marine ecosystems. From the beginning of its evolution, MSP has been intrinsically tied to the concept of ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based MSP is promoted by the EU MSP Framework Directive (2014) which can be considered an important initial step towards an EU-wide harmonized and consistent comprehensive spatial planning approach for the European maritime waters.