RT journal article
T1 Aligning socio-economic and governance criteria to support better integration marine spatial planning, marine protected areas and other conservation approaches
T2 Alineando los criterios socioeconómicos y de gobernanza para apoyar una mejor integración de la planificación espacial marina, las áreas marinas protegidas y otros enfoques de conservación
A1 Pegorelli Gomes, Camila
A1 García Sanabria, Javier
A1 Andrés García, María de
A1 García Onetti, Javier
A1 Lees, Liisi
A1 Calado, Helena
A1 Gutiérrez, Débora
A2 HistoriaGeografía y Filosofía
K1 Governance
K1 Maritime spatial planning
K1 Marine protected areas
K1 Socioeconomic criteria
K1 Marine conservation
AB Connecting Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which adopts a broader management approach, with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which focus on environmental conservation, is essential to ensure coherence between these instruments operating within the same marine space. To achieve this, a set of criteria encompassing socioeconomic and governance dimensions was analyzed. However, there is often a lack of comprehensive knowledge regarding these aspects, which could support the design, implementation and monitoring of MSP and MPAs. Addressing this gap, this research aims to develop and provide criteria to support managers/policy makers in integrating MSP and MPA processes within marine planning frameworks. The methodology is structured around three steps: (1) screening and grouping of key socio-economic and governance criteria derived from relevant policy documents; (2) expert evaluation of their relevance to MSP and MPAs; and (3) correlation analysis to explore the relationships between criteria prioritization across different types of spatial management, and to identify trends, therefore potential synergies/opportunities.The results show a different correlation between MSP and different types of MPAs, suggesting that tailored approaches may be required to address the conservation targets within the scope of MSP. More specifically, there is a moderate negative correlation, in terms of socioeconomic criteria, between MSP and strict MPA, that is not observed between MSP and multiple-use MPAs. Although implemented on different scales, marine planning tools can work together to achieve their objectives if tailored to the specific socioeconomic dimension of the territory, with governance aspects such as adaptive management and stakeholder engagement serving as key elements in both processes. By framing ecosystems as social-ecological systems, the study demonstrates that socio-economic criteria can act as a bridge between sustainable development and conservation, therefore supporting the development of the Ocean European Pact and the revision of the MSP Directive.
PB Elsevier
SN 0964-5691
YR 2026
FD 2026-01-01
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39851
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39851
LA eng
NO Unión Europea.MSP4BIO Horizon Europe Framework Programme HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12 [2022-064 / PE / H2020-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01 / PR].
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 04-nov-2026