Ecosystem-based Maritime Spatial Planning Assessment Tool

This tool is intended to assess if a spatial plan is aligned with ecosystem-based management criteria.

For implemented spatial plans, standardized evaluation provides insights into weaknesses of the plan for which specific actions should be adopted during the review and adaptation.

For the pre-planning and plan preparation phases of MSP, it provides guidance that ensures that the plan fulfills ecosystem-based management criteria.

It could serve as good practice guidance for planning processes in the early stages. It could also be used to define the plan development strategy and make the process more cost-effective.

EB-MSP Assessment Checklist

The EB-MSP assessment checklist can be responded to in different ways or with different perspectives depending on the scope of the assessment:

• If the aim is to assess if a certain national MSP is fulfilling EBA, then it should be filled according to the legislative documents (as well as considering the whole MSP process before reaching the final document, e.g., assessing phase).
• In case a planning site represents an area in which an MSP is not in place, the user can assess the work already done towards EB-MSP development. This includes assessment of cumulative impact, the implementation of Systematic Conservation Planning approaches, or any previous research (e.g., research projects) that is producing or has produced information and knowledge useful for informing the future development of a spatial plan.
• In case a planning site covers a transboundary region, the user can assess the individual national MSPs to evaluate commonalities or differences in terms of EB-MSP criteria.

How to Fill It

The assessment tool can be filled out by one or many people with expertise and experience in different topics or MSP implementation stages. It can be filled more than once, especially if significant changes have occurred in the planning process, to monitor its evolution. Specific adopted plans can be assessed, as well as plans in progress or at the regional level.