The integration of land and marine spatial planning

Whilst spatial planning has evolved as a tool to manage the development and use of the terrestrial environment over decades, the development of spatial planning systems for the marine environment are in their infancy. This paper focuses on the integration of land and marine based spatial planning systems. This is informed by a brief overview of the regional development of the lands and seas of Europe which underlie spatial planning systems and by a discussion of respective spatial planning systems in terms of economic sectors, land use, and sea use. The integration of spatial planning systems is then considered, followed by evaluation of relationships between spatial planning, and the wider field of environmental management. This includes consideration of organisational and geographical scales, technical management including legal aspects, policy, strategic planning and time scales of decision-making. The paper identifies the significant factors which must be considered in the integration of marine and terrestrial planning systems over the coming decades.