Pathways towards integrated cross-border marine spatial planning

Abstract

Marine ecosystems in cross-border areas are facing exacerbating pressures, threats and marine problems including overfishing, loss of biodiversity and marine pollution without effective interventions. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)is labelled as ‘an idea whose time has come’ by both practitioners and academics, based on its applicability to address spatial conflicts and deliver sustainable use. However, its implementation in cross-border areas is a novelty. It is argued in this thesis that cross-border areas present unique challenges such as undefined borders, historical ties, geographical peripheries that impact on delivering effective planning and management for shared waters. Moreover, in such areas, planning is politically charged, and institutions are embedded in different legislative approaches, cultures, fiscal, and administrative procedures to adequately consider the specificities of cross-border areas. The impact of challenges, addressing cross-border issues and fostering border resolution within the context of MSP have rarely been investigated. This thesis contributes to the evolving field of MSP by expanding the dimensions of integration in MSP to consider institutional integration. In response to addressing the identified knowledge gaps, social systems theory and other related theories are used as conceptual foundations to construct a bespoke theoretical evaluative framework, the ‘Wheel of Integration and Adaptation’. The dimensions and stages of the framework are used to identify challenges and opportunities for two embedded case studies: the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) and the Pomeranian Bay (Germany and Poland).

The findings from the study show that the expertise, practices, and methods for cross-border MSP developed at project level are yet to be institutionalised at different levels of governance and agencies relevant in the implementation of sectoral plans and addressing contested issues. In effect, although informal agreements, for example, border issues, can be reached, these do not find their way into statutory marine spatial plans. International legislation such as the United National Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is not prescriptive about delimiting territorial seas and rarely sanction States that fail to have an agreement in place. These issues are further exacerbated by geopolitical problems and historical legacy disputes which can have impact on planning of marine resources. In some cases, it raises tension between local actors and planners when making decision about the location and use of marine space. Incases where cross-border institutions were established to address these border issues, their enforcement and legislative capabilities remain ceremonial without an active role in MSP. Critically, decisions relating to MSP are being made in urban and political centres away from cross-border areas which are unattended as geographical peripheries. Contested border and related MSP issues are mostly led by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the respective country which is beyond planning competence. In some cases, documents about these border discussions are embargoed and nebulous to the public to consider synergies with MSP and decision making. This is mainly related to the sensitive and political nature of marine border delimitation and the management of marine resources. The legal right for local residents to directly participate in a neighbouring country’s planning process is not clearly defined in international legalisations and MSP policies. Findings show that users, interest groups are in most cases not represented on cross-border stakeholder platforms that discuss cross-border MSP issues. In cases where, the ‘spatial’ aspect of a plan is not extensively defined, cross-border consultation rarely identified and considered solutions for sectoral and user conflicts. Planning solutions, options, alternatives, and compensation were left to be dealt with at the project and licensing level. All these findings are just a first step towards identifying further challenges and opportunities for cross-border MSP. To this end, the ‘Wheel of Integration and Adaptation’ offers an innovative approach to identify and analyse institutional integration issues in a cross-border context.

Date of Award	May 2022
Original language	English
Sponsors	Vice Chancellors Research Scholarship
Supervisor	Linda McElduff (Supervisor), Heather Ritchie (Supervisor) & Gavan Rafferty (Supervisor)