Looking at terrestrial and marine spatial planning as a continuum through land-sea interactions

Abstract

According to various thinkers, the Anthropocene paradigm represents a scenario of large-scale catastrophic change for human societies. Beck (2016) links this to the idea of the metamorphosis of the world. For this author, it is not only a question of considering the negative consequences of the changes that the planet is undergoing, but also the emancipating forces that will allow human societies to rethink some of the central assumptions for decision-making in the face of planetary challenges.

In this sense, if there is one central assumption that needs to be rethought, it is the notion of the land-sea boundary. Following this approach, current policy agendas and academic debates highlight the need to reverse the dichotomous and artificial vision between land and marine spaces and to adopt a holistic and integrative vision in spatial planning that recognises the land-sea continuum (Kidd & Shaw, 2021).

In this context, Marine Spatial Planning is emerging as a key mechanism to achieve more effective planning and management of the human relationship with the sea to mitigate increasing pressures and reverse the accelerating process of degradation of coastal marine ecosystems. Accordingly, the EU has established through the MSP Directive (EC, 2014, Directive 2014/89/EU) that Member States should develop their own MSP policies and cooperate urgently on this crucial issue for sustainable development.

However, as most of the development and use that takes place in the marine environment also has a component or impact on land and vice versa, both the MSP Directive and the literature state the need to consider land-sea interactions in planning as key elements to be managed to move towards an integrated and coherent vision between terrestrial and marine planning.

LSIs correspond to a complex phenomenon involving both natural processes (biogeochemical) at the land-sea interface and interactions of human activities, both on land and at sea, combined with socio-economic variables caused by different uses and activities, such as offshore energy, mariculture, maritime transport, coastal tourism, among others.

For this reason, some conceptual and methodological frameworks have recently been proposed to address some aspects of LSIs in spatial planning. However, a significant body of opinion stresses the need to review and adapt these analytical frameworks to specific contexts in order to find the most appropriate institutional mechanisms for managing LSIs within each particular planning and governance context.

Consequently, this paper seeks to build on existing methodological frameworks (ESPON, 2020; Bocci et al.,2024) and research based on the literature review (Innocenti & Musco, 2023), and to cover under-explored areas of land-sea interactions and how these can contribute to the articulation of terrestrial and marine planning systems, especially those related to the dynamics of socio-economic interactions between uses and activities.

To this end, a double literature review is carried out using the methods of systematic review and snowball approach, focusing on the concept of land-sea interactions in spatial planning. After presenting some of the main findings, the LSI dimension of socio-economic dynamics is further analysed. Finally, its role as a tool for the articulation of land-sea planning systems is discussed in light of the literature and the wider debate on spatial planning challenges.