Marine Spatial Planning under a changing climate (OCEANPLAN)

OCEANPLAN project investigates how marine spatial planning (MSP) can both be affected by, and adapt to global climate change.

MSP is being developed and implemented worldwide as a way to foster sustainability in ocean management and use. It deals with the spatial and temporal distribution of human uses in marine areas, striving to minimize conflicts and foster compatibilities among such uses, as well as between uses and the environment. On top of the many challenges (political, socioeconomic, environmental) MSP already faces, in the near-future it will need to deal with a changing climate. Properly incorporating climate change into the MSP framework will allow for better preparedness, improved response capacity and, ultimately, a reduced vulnerability of marine socio-ecological systems.

The OCEANPLAN project will address this important scientific and societal topic, by developing an index to assess MSP vulnerability to climate change (Work Package 1); applying the index to selected case studies around the world (WP2); investigating operational approaches for adapting to change and uncertainty (WP3); analysing how specific MSP processes and policies have been integrating, and dealing with climate change (WP4); and developing guidelines for MSP under a changing climate (WP5).