Print
Email
California’s long-term economic and environmental health depends on the health of coastal and marine ecosystems. Scientists and resource managers recognize numerous threats to these ecosystems, but widely identified institutional barriers have prevented them from cooperating on more effective management strategies. Many of these scientists and managers argue that they could resolve many of these threats by adopting a comprehensive, science-based marine spatial planning (MSP) process. Various U.S. States and international jurisdictions have begun to experiment with MSP, but in California, many challenges remain.
The Center for Ocean Solutions (COS), with a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, is examining the potential for implementing MSP along the Californian coast. COS is working to understand California’s existing challenges and to identify scientific and institutional innovations that could make MSP a good solution for California. The Marine Spatial Planning Project’s focal areas include:
1. Working with marine ecologists and resource managers to identify ecological principles for comprehensive, science-based MSP;
2. Working closely with resource managers to understand the institutional framework necessary to support MSP in California state waters;
3. Understanding California institutions in the context of U.S. and international jurisdictions that already implement MSP in various forms;
4. Identifying governance structures that could support comprehensive MSP within California state waters.
Within these focal areas, COS is also analyzing state and federal authorities over coastal waters, assessing non-legislative means of coordinating resource management activities, and reviewing public media to better understand conflicts between various users of coastal waters.
Through the California MSP project, COS is working to produce critical knowledge and effective solutions for resource managers everywhere. By early 2010, COS will synthesize MSP research into detailed recommendations for comprehensive, science-based MSP in California. In keeping with its commitment to finding enduring solutions to ocean challenges, COS will continue to ground-truth its findings with scientists and resource managers throughout the life of the project.
For more information on the California MSP Project contact:
Matthew Armsby
Law and Policy Fellow
armsbym1@stanford.edu
650-721-1560
