Challenges and opportunities of marine spatial planning : a case study of the marine planning partnership in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Coastal and marine managers are seeking out innovative planning tools in the face of rapid ocean development and changing environmental conditions. Marine spatial planning (MSP) offers a collaborative governance approach to apply ecosystem based management to ocean and coastal regions worldwide. However, merging the theoretical basis of MSP with its real world application has been limited to date. By assessing emerging practitioner experience and academic literature on the tool, this research explores and identifies twelve challenges to MSP in a comprehensive analytical framework. The proposed analytical framework provides a directed approach for identifying the ability of an MSP to overcome the commonly identified challenges and has been applied to a case study called the Marine Planning Partnership (MaPP) in the North Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Interviews and in depth review of the developed marine plans found that MaPP has tackled numerous social, political and ecological complexities. Through a unique co-management structure between local First Nations and the Provincial Government, MaPP has in many ways succeeded in addressing the twelve challenges to MSP. However, it is clear the project still has weaknesses and faces many challenges ahead. To address these limitations, eight recommendations have been identified to assist MaPP as it moves through implementation. In addition, to bridge the theoretical practice of MSP with reality and improve the field of ocean and coastal management, lessons learned from this case study have been included to inform MSP practitioners.