Web Atlas como Herramienta para la Gestión Integrada Costera: de los Datos al Conocimiento Práctico

Despite the importance of coastal areas to sustainable development, they are poorly known by the public or even by decision-makers. This undermines consistent action towards their protection. Existing data and information, published in very complex language, tend to be restricted to academic use. The Coastal Web Atlas as the one developed here is a tool that makes this information more accessible to managers, by preserving, integrating, comparing, and sharing data as smart maps. The spatial analysis based on multiple impact indicators facilitates the correlation of causes and effects. The Coastal Web Atlas is available to a broad audience and it could be a strong instrument for spatial planning and oversight. The authors propose to improve coastal area management by using colors on maps to decode scientific language to friendly language and to publish it on a geoportal. This technology promotes the use of collected data and enables collaborative work. A pilot experiment is being developed in the Santos Port Region, at the São Paulo state coast, Brazil: http://santoswebatlas.com.br/

Opportunities to implement the Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning in Ecuador, a Case Study in the Northern Coast of Manabí Province

In 2018, the Ministry of the Environment and Water, with the support of the German International Cooperation Agency (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ), evaluated the possibility of developing a marine and coastal spatial planning process in the northern coastal area of Manabí province, Ecuador. Based on the outcomes from workshops and interviews in the territory, the main socio-economic and environmental issues related to management in the coastal zone were identified. The uses resources in the area (artisanal fishing, conservation, industrial fishing and tourism), and the conflicts between users/ stakeholders were determined. The local communities expressed their willingness to initiate a marine and coastal management and ordering process due to their perception indicating that the rules are not being met and the existence of several conflicts, mainly between industrial and small-scale (artisanal) fishing. From the beginning of the project, we worked together with the local coastal communities, and the application of spatial analysis tools and remote sensors that served to alleviate the scarcity of available information. A methodology was then presented to assess the pre-feasibility of the area, with the aim to define how feasible, it is to carry out the process of planning marine and coastal uses. Once the viability was analyzed, three future management scenarios are proposed along with recommendations for the management of the area and the lessons learned. The study area has a high pre-feasibility to begin a process de marine and coastal planning due to the support of the local communities and the limited conflicts. Thus, it is recommended that this type of process should be promoted by the environmental authority by engaging and empowering resource users, before the conflicts are exacerbated and the communities and local governments lose interest due to lack of institutional support.

Context and Development of the Coastal Marine Environmental Management In Colombia

In Colombia, in order to meet the challenges of coastal marine management and responding to international commitments, it was adopted in 2000 the “National Environmental Policy for the Sustainable Development of Ocean Spaces and Coastal and Insular Zones of Colombia - PNAOCI ”, which has an ecosystem approach and as a conceptual framework, the integrated management of coastal zones -MIZC (or integrated coastal management - MCI / integrated coastal management - GCI), seeking to balance environmental protection and economic development, to contribute to the Physical ordering of the territory (Territorial Ordering), from the environmental ordering. For this, criteria were defined to guide the definition of the coastal zone in the country and spatial units (Coastal Environmental Units – UACs, acronym in Spanish) were delimited, as continuous geographical areas, involving land and sea space, with clearly defined ecosystems, which they require a unified visualization and management that brings together local and subregional territorial entities; in addition to consolidating over 20 years, a conceptual, political, regulatory, technical and operational support. In the legal context, as of Law 1450 of 2011, the generation of normative support regarding the UACs and the Plans for the management and integrated management of coastal environmental units (POMIUAC, acronym in Spanish) was promoted, as a planning instrument (Decree 1120 of 2013, compiled in Decree 1076 of 2015); Likewise, based on practical cases, a methodological framework was built embodied in a technical guide for the preparation of the POMIUAC, adopted by Resolution 768 of 2017. On the other hand, although the advances in the coastal marine environmental regulation in Colombia are oriented under the MIZC, given the similarities in terms of definition, spatial scope, scope and methodology, that they have with marine spatial planning (PEM), it can be said that these processes developed in Colombia under the MIZC scheme contribute to the development of the PEM concept In the country, and in the opposite case, practical EMP exercises that are addressed could complement the advances that the country has made in this area under the policy and regulatory framework that supports it.

Background of the Bathymetric Cartography of Mexico

At present the Mexican oceans are important for economic, social, and climatic reasons; Mexico’s privileged geographic location, between two oceans, largely explains the enormous biological and environmental diversity that it brings together, in addition to its wide range of marine resources and ecosystems. A determining factor that influences marine life is undoubtedly the relief that is submerged in the oceans, since different ecosystems originate in it where diversity of species is concentrated. Likewise, a great diversity of metals and hydrocarbons are concentrated in the relief, which currently constitute another wealth for Mexico. Given this, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, by its acronym in spanish)) has been given the task of providing data and geographic information of the undersea relief of Mexico through bathymetric cartography to represent the seabed to assist in decision-making in the areas economic, political, social, and technical, as well as for the planning and development of marine infrastructure and, where appropriate, for disaster prevention and response.

Basis for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). An interpretation for the Gulf of Cadiz

Numerous human activities take place in the marine area of ​​the Gulf of Cádiz, making it necessary to organize space through their spatial and temporal distribution. With the aim of combining the long-term conservation of marine biodiversity and the development of an economic activity that makes it possible to maintain over time the capacity of the marine environment to provide ecosystem services. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is being an effective process regarding the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in the marine space to the achievement of ecological, economical and social objectives. MSP is usually schematized in 10 phases, in which among others it is found 5th phase: Defining and analyzing existing conditions. The aim of this document is the development of this phase in the Gulf of Cadiz, pretending to provide some of the needed basis to cope effectively with this process. Furthemore, in order to transfer the analyzes to the territory, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used, showing how useful these are to address PEM processes. It is worth highlighting, among the results, the need to develop the MSP within a framework of cooperation and coordination between the Administrations that undertake the planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), that is, MSP and ICZM. In the Gulf of Cadiz, the main conflictive areas have been detected near to the coast and in semi-closed environments, such as bays and estuaries.

Contribution of Marine Spatial Planning in Mexico to Marine and Coastal Management

Marine spatial planning in Mexico is materialized by the ecological ordinance, a cross-sectoral environmental policy instrument. Throughout this instrument, government seeks to strengthen coordination between authorities and society to counter and correct negative consequences of sectoral planning in different government agencies moving forward towards integrated coastal management and the blue economy. The purpose of this article is to describe the experience of marine spatial planning in Mexico, with an emphasis on collaborative governance. The intention is that this perspective may prove its usefulness for other countries with similar socioeconomic, environmental characteristics and/or governance.

Integrated Management of Coastal Zones in Venezuela

In 1999, Venezuela began a Pilot Project for Coastal Marine Areas, establishing a Technical Unit in the now-defunct Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources. During the last 21 years, the foundations were laid for the Integrated Coastal Zones Management, approving a Coastal Zones Law in 2001 and developing a comprehensive Planning and Management Plan for Coastal Zones, concluded in 2014, which has not yet been approved. Even though, in practice, there is still no adequate institutional structure to attend to the integrated management of maritime and island spaces from a multidisciplinary perspective, these two instruments lay the foundations for the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and the development of Marine Spatial Planning. This paper seeks to analyze the reality of the management of coastal and marine zones in Venezuela during the last two decades (period 1999-2020), highlighting the initiatives developed to organize the necessary institutionality to execute the planning, zoning and integrated management processes that will promote the sustainability of coastal and marine spaces. The methodology used focuses on the analysis of the temporal evolution of the processes and instruments developed for the public management of the coastal and marine areas of the country.

Offshore Wind Farms and the Sector of Tourism and Recreation: A Review of Conflicts and Synergies

Offshore Wind Farms (OWF) are emerging around the world as transformation drivers for countries seeking out energy autonomy and development while taking a stand in the fight against climate change. However, OWF projects can also generate externalities, especially in coastal cities which rely on Tourism and Recreation (T&R), sectors highly dependent on marine space and landscape, and the analysis of this mutual influence seems to persist outside the academic radar. To assess this possible research gap, articles published in the past 5 years about the sitting of offshore wind turbines in coastal areas with the characteristics above mentioned are analysed. As a result, possible conflicts and synergies were found in different parts of the world. Three factors result as the most relevant to determine the occurrence of conflicts: spatial limitation - location of the turbines, security flaws due to incompatible uses and depreciation of the landscape. In addition, the articles considered here become indicators of the current literary production on the subject and, thus, confirm the insufficient academic development of this topic. Overall, the occurrence of conflicts appears strongly linked to the lack of integration and communication between the sectors analysed throughout the different project stages. On the other hand, it is found that synergies based on T&R tend to obtain a greater degree of success; thus, the combinations between OWF and T&R are evaluated as possible and probably notorious and prosperous if an adequate mapping and management of coastal sectors is carried out. In conclusion, a meticulous and specific assessment of the tourist and recreational impacts generated by the installation of a potential offshore wind farm is considered an indispensable practice to be carried out in coastal areas with a high density of tourist and recreational activities in the search for sustainable and synergistic development.

Identification of Synergies and Conflicts in Coastal and Marine uses in Colombian Pacific: a Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis

The increasing demands for physical space towards diverse maritime activities call for coherent planning and scientific knowledge to support the management of the marine the environment. Using secondary multi-scale geographic information gathered from national institutions, expert judgment and a multi-criteria analysis integrated with GIS tools, we aimed to identify potential synergies and conflicts between human activities occurring in the jurisdiction of the master harbor of Buenaventura in the Valle del Cauca department (CP01) in the Colombian Pacific coast. We identified 105 overlaps in which 5.04% were categorized with high CNI (Conflict Normalized Index), while 13 interactions were evaluated with the highest conflict value, representing 14 sectors/groups. Additionally, 12.97% of the overlaps were categorized with a medium number of overlaps (4-6 overlays use), specifically distributed inside the Buenaventura Bay. Conservation uses (Protected Areas – SINAP in Colombia) was consistent within all 13 incompatibilities and conflicts distribution along the study area was not homogenous. The methodological approach used in this study can be used to identify conflicts and synergies in human uses and activities in the marine and coastal environment through the implementation of a methodology adapted to the context of the area. It presents a technical contribution to future processes of Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning and the Integrated Management of the Coastal Zone of Colombia.