Background to Marine Spatial Planning

Marine spatial planning is a mechanism to assist delivery of sustainable development and management of resources in the marine environment. By considering competing demands for access to marine resources in a spatial context and at a scale(s) readily understood by stakeholders, the process of marine spatial planning enables integration of these demands within an agreed management framework.

Marine spatial plans can potentially be constructed at various scales ranging from Regional Seas, which may cross international boundaries, to National and ultimately Local plans, such as that being developed for the Firth of Clyde. Smaller scale plans, for instance relating to management of a particular loch or bay might also be developed e.g. as proposed by Argyll and Bute Council to deliver ICZM objectives for Lochs Etive and Fyne (click here for more).

Such plans should ideally be integrated, such that the development of lower level plans both enables implementation of policy objectives established in higher level plans while also informing future policy development at all levels.

Examples of Marine Spatial Plans

An example of marine spatial planning at a (partial) Regional Sea level is provided by the Marine Spatial Planning Pilot which included development of a plan for the northern part of the Irish Sea. This represents the first attempt in the UK to develop a marine spatial plan at a regional scale and was reported on in February 2006. This marine spatial planning pilot was undertaken in light of a recommendation arising from the earlier Irish Sea Pilot, which focused on the practical application of a proposed framework for marine nature conservation, developed by the Review of Marine Nature Conservation.

An example of a National marine spatial plan, developed for the Belgian part of the North Sea, can be found on the outputs page of the Gaufre project which includes links to the final project report and/or Flood of Space book, which describes the approach taken. While this plan is “National” in its geopolitical scope, the actual geographic area covered is similar to that for the proposed (Local) Marine Spatial Plan for the Firth of Clyde.

Marine Spatial Plan for the Firth of Clyde

The Marine Spatial Plan for the Firth of Clyde (FoCMSP) will be one of the key tools developed to facilitate integrated, sustainable and ecosystem based decision making with respect to the management of the marine and coastal environments of the Firth. It will provide a framework for forward planning and sustainable development that takes into account the cumulative effects of developments.

The plan will include a series of georeferenced data sets and accompanying metadata. These will be managed within a geographical information system (GIS) to enable the production of illustrative maps and the modelling of interactions and impacts. The plan will also include detailed supporting text and non-technical summaries. There will be three main facets to the plan, namely:

• an overview of the resources within the marine environment of the Firth of Clyde and how the various activities that currently take place both within the sea and on the surrounding land affect them.

• integration of forward development plans for sectors currently operating, and likely to operate, within the marine areas of the Firth of Clyde, for example ports and shipping, fisheries, renewable energy and recreation.

• linkages to existing terrestrial plans for the surrounding area

The plan will be underpinned by international and national policies, strategies and frameworks but will be shaped around these by those that gain their livelihood from, live beside and use the marine environment in the Firth of Clyde (see consultation, below).

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Strategic Environmental Assessment

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a process designed to assist decision makers to evaluate and, more importantly, improve the environmental sustainability of Policies (strategies), Programmes or Plans (PPPs). SEA examines the potential environmental impacts of alternative PPP objectives against a set of environmental objectives/targets appropriate to the nature and scale of the PPP in question.

SEA assists PPP makers in formulating more environmentally sustainable strategic objectives, and associated implementation statements, particularly through identification of cumulative impacts, and enables identification of measures to mitigate unavoidable environmental impacts or to enhance environmental benefits. SEA also facilitates transparency and robustness in decision making.

In Scotland, the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires PPPs falling under its remit to be assessed with respect to their impacts on biodiversity, fauna, flora, population, human health, air, water, soils, climatic factors, material assets, cultural heritage, landscapes and inter-relationships among these. The marine spatial plan will be subject to SEA and this process will run in parallel with the development of the plan, as illustrated below.

An SEA Scoping Report for the FoCMSP was submitted to the statutory consultation authorities (Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Historic Scotland) in November 2007 and issued to project steering group members in early December 2007.  This scoping report sets out background information on the purpose and nature of the FoCMSP and its relationship with other Plans, Programmes and Strategies.  It identifies a number of environmental issues and outlines the proposed approach to the SEA, including  consultation timescales and methods. 

The comments received from the statutory consultation authorities, together with the project team's proposed responses can be downloaded here. 

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Sectoral Interactions Study

International experience has highlighted the value of stakeholder involvement in the marine spatial planning process and the potential of such engagement to assist in conflict resolution among sectors.  Successful integration of sectoral plans within the FoCMSP requires understanding of the nature, extent and intensity of interactions among the main sectors and their constituent subsectors operating within the Firth of Clyde.  The project team have undertaken a study of how key sectors within the Firth of Clyde perceive their interactions with others.  The final report of this study was completed in February 2008 and can be downloaded below.

Download the Final Report of this study
Download the associated Data Matrix

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Consultation: have your say

The Firth of Clyde marine spatial plan, and associated SEA, will be informed, influenced and developed through a consultation process. This is being conducted in part through the members of the steering group, which is made up of representatives of the main stakeholders.

A series of workshops held at the November 2006 Firth of Clyde Forum conference  enabled early inputs from a larger body of interests to the main strategic objectives of the plan. Please click here to download a summary report of the views expressed at these workshops.

There will also be a programme of community consultation, including opportunities for comment on the draft marine spatial plan and associated environmental report in the summer of 2008. Please visit this site for future updates or e-mail SSMEI@ClydeForum.org if you wish to be included in an e-mail news group. Any comments or suggestions on what you would wish to see included in the marine spatial plan are welcome at any stage in the process and should be e-mailed to the same address.

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