Shared values for the marine environment – developing a culture of practice for marine spatial planning

ABSTRACT

Though still relatively new, the development of marine spatial planning has been based on the on the premise that as a rational planning process, it can be applied following universal principles and steps informed by land-based inspired theoretical underpinnings. However, within this process, differences between marine and terrestrial environments are being overlooked, potentially affecting the way in which the marine environment is understood and valued, and the development of a culture of practice for, and specific to, marine spatial planning. By framing planning as a cultural construct, this paper aims to explore the extent to which land-based rationales are affecting the development of a marine spatial planning culture of practice, with its own ethos and shared values. A culturalised planning model adapted from [Knieling, J. and Othengrafen, F. (2015). Planning culture—a concept to explain the evolution of planning policies and processes in Europe? European Planning Studies, 23(11), 2133–2147] is used as a framework. Whilst acknowledging the importance of the contributions from land-based planning and the ecological sciences, the findings suggest that those unconscious beliefs and perceptions affecting society’s understanding of the marine environment should contribute to informing shared values for marine spatial planning practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Marine spatial planning
• cultures of practice
• shared values
• culturalised planning model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Paola Gazzola is a senior lecturer at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University (UK). Paola's research mainly focuses on exploring and understanding the role that context and environmental attitudes play in shaping and informing terrestrial and marine spatial planning policy and practice.

Dr Vincent Onyango is a lecturer in Planning at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Dundee (UK). Vincent's research interests fall within three inter-related strands: environmental governance, sustainability and environmental assessment tools and processes, within developed and developing countries.

Notes

1. It is worth noting that due to existing gaps in high sea governance and in data availability and accessibility, marine spatial planning in areas beyond natural jurisdictions, such as the high seas and exclusive economic zones, require an expert-based approach to marine spatial planning that goes beyond conventional spatial planning management options (Ardon, Gjerde, Pullen, & Tilot, 2008).