Marine Spatial Planning in Iceland : the importance of stakeholder engagement during a Marine Spatial Planning process

Abstract

By the European Union (EU) law (Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning, 2014) all European countries were asked to develop a Marine Spatial Plan (MSP). Iceland is not a member of the EU, but it is part of the Nordic Council and therefore subject to European law. That is why Iceland is currently developing its first Marine Spatial Plan for the Westfjords and Eastfjords. As Iceland still has little experience with MSP, this thesis on stakeholder engagement is intended to give a small overview of why stakeholders are so important for MSP and how they can best be included in the process. To address this aim, a literature analysis was conducted where the MSP plans of Sweden and the Shetland Island and Clyde Regions of Scotland were analyzed to determine how these countries involved stakeholders in the MSP process. Potential stakeholders of the first MSP were also asked how they felt about MSP and whether they already had similar experience with public engagement. This was done in the form of a survey with open questions. Through the literature analysis it was found that of the three Marine Spatial Plans studied only two provided an overview on how they have successfully involved their stakeholders. Through the survey it turned out most of the respondents already have overall experience even if it is not directly MSP related and many are interested in helping to build a successful MSP.

Samkvæmt lögum Evrópusambandsins (Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23. July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning, 2014) voru öll lönd í Evrópu beðin um að þróa áætlun um staðbundin haflög. Ísland er ekki meðlimur að Evrópusambandinu, en er hins vegar hluti af Norðulandaráðinu og lýtur þar af leiðandi lögum Evrópusambandsins. Þess vegna er Ísland að þróa fyrstu áætlun um haflög í á Vestfjörðum og Austfjörðum. Þar sem Ísland hefur litla reynslu af lögum af þessu tagi, er markmið þessarar ritgerðar að sýna fram á hversu mikilvægt er að hafa hagsmunaaðila í þessum áætlum og hvernig heppilegast er að nálgast þá. Til að sýnafram á þetta var rýnt í áætlanir frá Svíðþjóð, Hjaltlandseyjum og Clyde-svæðinu og skoðað hvernig hagsmunaaðilar komu þar að. Hagsmunaaðilar á Vestfjörðum voru einnig spurðir álits á fyrirhuguðu skipulagi og hvort þeir hefðu reynslu af slíku skipulagsverkefni. Þetta var gert með einfaldri spurningakönnun. Áætlanirnar gáfu misgóðar upplýsingar umaðkomu hagsmunaaðila. Spurningakönnunin leiddi í ljós að flestir af svarenda höfðu fyrri reynslu af svipuðu verkefni og höfðu margir áhuga á að hjálpa til við gerð haf- og strandsvæðaskipulags.