Marine Spatial Planning: Theoretical Aspects

Abstract

In this article, I consider marine spatial planning (MSP) as a complex of analyses, calculations, and evaluations aimed to prove feasibility of economic activities and contribute to their development in a certain part of a sea or an ocean. A most likely comprehensive MSP object is an integrated segment of coastal/marine area. Consisting of a marine part and a coastal area, such segments are a product of zoning. In this article, I explore the key MSP stages — from identifying the panning object to evaluating the natural resource potential and performing calculations for relevant aquaterritorial structures. The basic principles of the geographical division of marine geosystems are the following ones: identifying relatively integrated marine sectors and relatively integrated coastal sectors and connecting them into a single whole. A hierarchical approach is key to transboundary marine basins. I propose the following techniques: geographical zoning, identification of an area and basin-specific combinations of natural resources, geoinformation modelling, and forecast analysis for different activities and relevant spatial elements of aquaterritorial structures.