David Pereksta (BOEM) and Jo Smith (TNC Canada) will be co-chairing the 3rd Marine Spatial Planning Session in Feb 2016 at the Pacific Seabird Group’s 43rd Annual Meeting. Invited and contributed papers will be featuring new science, tools, and techniques for incorporating spatially-explicit seabird data in marine spatial planning.
Pacific Seabird Group 43rd Annual Meeting 10-13 Feb 2016
Session Description
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) continues to be used to analyse existing and future human activities in the ocean and allocate space for multiple objectives – ecological, economic and socio-cultural. MSP is a public process specified through a political process, with decisions made by governments based on the best available science, expert and local knowledge, and stakeholder consultations. Globally, 10 countries have approved marine plans for waters under national jurisdiction, accounting for nearly 13 million square kilometres. By 2025, this number is likely to increase to more than 35 countries and 44.3 million square kilometres. In addition, MSP processes are underway to address planning needs at regional or local scales.
Building on the previous PSG Marine Spatial Planning Sessions in Turtle Bay, HI (2012) and Portland, OR (2013), the “3rd Marine Spatial Planning Special Paper Session” will highlight or share recent studies, techniques, tools and approaches that are contributing information about seabirds and their habitats to MSP processes and lessons learned, or that are developing spatial data layers in relation to a particular economic development. Contributed papers may focus on a particular sector (e.g., renewable energy or shipping), specific methodologies (e.g., Marxan, modeling), or innovative ideas for incorporating seabird population information into planning processes.
