The QUB Environmental Law and Policy Reading Group met on Wednesday 16th April 2014 to discuss the topic of ‘Delivering an ecosystem approach to protection of the marine environment through marine spatial planning’.

The following two articles were circulated in advance of the meeting for the purposes of discussion:

• Anne-Michelle Slater, ‘What is Marine Spatial Planning?’ (2012) 14 Environmental Law Review 1-6
• Fanny Douvere, ‘The importance of marine spatial planning in advancing ecosystem-based sea use management’ (2008) 32 Marine Policy 762-771

In her article Anne-Michelle Slater provides a brief overview of the legal and policy development of marine planning in the UK and compares it with the UK system of terrestrial planning, while the article by Fanny Douvere considers the importance of marine spatial planning as a tool to implement an ecosystem-based approach to sea use management.

The meeting opened with two brief introductory sessions, one on the ecosystem approach and its origins in international and European law and policy and the second on marine spatial planning, including a summary of the two articles forming the basis of discussion. These were followed by group discussion of the opportunities and challenges of employing marine spatial planning as a tool to implement an ecosystem approach to protecting the marine environment.

For a more detailed report of the discussion at this meeting, please see the attached document – QUB ELPRG – Marine spatial planning and ecosystem approach report – 16-04-14