Progress report for
Joint Roadmap to accelerate Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning worldwide
Achievement at a glance
The MSPglobal Initiative (co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund) was designed to support the implementation of the MSProadmap. It started in November 2018 and was launched at UNESCO HQ in February 2019 with the participation of more than 100 participants from 59 different countries. In October 2021, IOC-UNESCO and DG MARE organized the online MSPglobal Final Conference, which was attended by 535 viewers from 87 countries.Status of the deliverables of this OceanAction:
• Creation of an international forum for MSP: DG MARE and IOC-UNESCO organized together four MSPforums: Brussels (May 2018); La Reunion (March 2019); Vigo (May 2019); and Riga (November 2019; joint event with 3rd Baltic MSPforum).
• Launch of two pilot projects on transboundary MSP: MSPglobal developed two pilots: Western Mediterranean (Algeria, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia) and Southeast Pacific (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru). Capacity building activities on MSP and sustainable blue economy were organized at regional and national level. Technical reports on current conditions and potential scenarios were developed for the Western Mediterranean and the Gulf of Guayaquil.
• Developing guidance on MSP: The “MSPglobal International Guide on MSP” was developed with the support of experts from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. The guide was published in English in October 2021. Now also available in French, Spanish and Arabic.
• 3rd International Conference on MSP: Initially planned to be organized together with the MSPglobal Final Conference, this conference had to be postponed to 22-23 November 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During its implementation, the joint MSProadmap counted with the support of national and regional partners from beneficiary countries. Besides, the Government of The Netherlands donated the MSP Challenge board game as training material and the Government of Sweden co-funded additional activities in countries not covered by the two pilots.
Challenges faced in implementation
• Organization of planned face-to-face activities due to Covid-19 pandemic• Lack of support of a few beneficiary countries and regional partners during the implementation of the transboundary pilot projects
• Engagement of representatives of the private sector in the activities
For more details, see the publication “MSPglobal Initiative: Lessons learned”. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380140
Next Steps
Julian BarbièreBeneficiaries
About 5,000 different stakeholders from over 140 countries. They were primarily public authorities and bodies involved in MSP, but also experts from key research institutions, representatives of the private sector, the civil society and young planners. The activities in the context of this OceanAction facilitated the interaction amongst different stakeholders at national, regional and global level.
Actions
• About 150 activities (trainings, workshops, stakeholder meetings and MSPforums)• 10 IOC-UNESCO technical reports + 4 European Commission studies/guidelines
• 6 policy briefs
• 1 joint IOC-UNESCO and European Commission new guide on MSP
For more information, see www.mspglobal2030.org