MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is defined as a public process deve­loped to find solutions in the use of the marine space and to spatially allocate the human activities while supporting their sustainability. MSP, in fact, aims at anticipating conflicts and promoting synergies between uses, limiting the impacts that maritime activities exert on the environ­ment. Indeed, MSP promotes the underpinning of socio-economic develop­ment and, at the same time, the protection of the marine environment and the sustainable use of its resources.

The general objective of the training workshop is to simulate an MSP process through the creation of a co-produced knowledge related to both the critical issues and the opportunities of the Maldivian island/s by incorporating, in a planning example, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental aspects including climate change.

This MSP  workshop will be structured in both theoretical and practical parts conducted at the MaRHE Center by a teaching team composed by professionals coming from different research fields. In particular, the workshop is organized by a partnership between the University of Milano-Bicocca and the Planning Climate Change research group of the Iuav University of Venice.

General knowledge on several MSP aspects will be delivered:

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP): Definition of MSP and its objecti­ves, description of the process, and case studies examples.

Ecosystem-based MSP (EB-MSP): MSP as opportunity for conser­vation and sustainable use of marine space and resources.

Land-Sea Interactions (LSI): Looking at the interface between land and sea domains, identification of land-sea processes and dynami­cs, and their importance within an MSP context.

Moreover, participants will be able to learn basic knowledge on the biology of the coral reef surrounding the Maldivian islands and its eco­logical role.

The practical activity will include the building of the knowledge framework through data and information collection in relation to different aspects of the area: envi­ronmental, urban, political, socio-economic, and cultural.

The exercise will be structured following the main phases of the MSP process: defining the vision and main objectives of the area, initial assessment of the area, data collection and mapping, analysis of the needs and critical issues of the area (use vs use; use vs environment).

Environmental information will be mapped and assessed through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for high-resolution photos and topographic surveys, field and snorkelling activities and through a ha­bitat mapping exercise.

All the acquired information will be combined to identify criticalities in the area, present and potential conflicts and synergies through zoning and spatialization of the acquired information.

In the end participants will be able to propose potential spatial and management measures and solutions to boost sustainable development and environ­mental protection in the islands.

By attending the workshop, participants will receive a certificate of practice and knowledge on marine space planning through an international virtual credit called Open Badge issued by the University of Milano-Bicocca

Below you can download the Program of the workshop. The registration form is available at this link https://forms.gle/D7312DnSD5SeYrai9