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Abstract
This document provides a clear and comprehensive account for the application of marine spatial planning (MSP) within the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) region, focused predominantly on its application for fisheries and aquaculture. MSP provides a step-by-step approach to balance the uses and users of the marine environment with a view to providing a coordinated system that results in the development of a marine spatial plan, which defines the strategic, forward-looking planning for the regulation, zoning, management, protection and sustainability of the marine environment. It applies the ecosystem approach and the allocation of space, addressing the multiple, cumulative and potentially conflicting uses of the sea.
In order for fisheries and aquaculture prospects to be improved in the Gulf, a number of regional technical workshops were held under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with RECOFI countries. As an outcome of these workshops, it was clear that spatial planning would be an ideal approach to aid development, but that for the long-term success and sustainability of all Gulf activities and the application of the ecosystem approach, a specific RECOFI MSP framework should be developed. The adoption of MSP is directed more specifically towards the Gulf waters, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea of the RECOFI countries. Identification of the range of users and activities pursued here necessitates an urgent need for cooperation among these groups in order to best coordinate their respective long-term futures.
Implementation of MSP is not a trivial undertaking. MSP can best function if an ordered set of procedures (or steps) are followed, and this paper carefully documents these procedures, giving illustrations and best practices where necessary, from other contexts where MSP has been successful. The MSP framework used here is based upon work carried out by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Although the steps recommend specific procedures, the MSP framework is highly flexible and can be adapted to suit specific requirements, the scale of the marine area being evaluated and the objectives to be achieved. The need for contributors at the regional, national and local levels to work cooperatively during MSP development and for such development to be undertaken with stakeholder engagement and participation is emphasized...