The Land Sea Interactions

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license Maritime or marine spatial planning has gained increasing prominence as an integrated, common-sense approach to promoting sustainable maritime development. A growing number of countries are engaged in preparing and implementing maritime spatial plans: however, questions are emerging from the growing body of MSP experience. How can maritime spatial planning deal with a complex and dynamic environment such as the sea? How can MSP be embedded in multiple levels of governance across regional and national borders – and how far does the environment benefit from this new approach? This open access book is the first comprehensive overview of maritime spatial planning. Situated at the intersection between theory and practice, the volume draws together several strands of interdisciplinary research, reflecting on the history of MSP as well as examining current practice and looking towards the future. The authors and contributors examine MSP from disciplines as diverse as geography, urban planning, political science, natural science, sociology and education; reflecting the growing critical engagement with MSP in many academic fields. This innovative and pioneering volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of maritime spatial planning, as well as planners and practitioners. Jacek Zaucha is Professor of Economics at Gdánsk University, Poland. He is long experienced in maritime spatial planning, and is currently leading the team preparing the first plan for Polish waters. Kira Gee is Research Associate at the Centre for Materials and Coastal Research (Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht), Germany. She has been involved in MSP research and practice for over 20 years, and has participated in numerous national and transnational European MSP projects.

This book presents a systemic view of the diversity of pressures and impacts produced by climate change and human actions. Erosion of biodiversity by changing ocean chemistry, the intensification of global change raises the problem of the adaptation of living resources. Land uses induce ecological imbalances leading to asphyxiation true coastal ecosystems. More than a billion tons of solid waste must be assimilated by the marine environment and food webs. Radioactive discharges emitted into the atmosphere or into the aquatic environment, raise the question of their future. Sea and Ocean series offers a transversal approach of the ocean system that leads to governance, sustainable resource management and adaptation of societies.

This book presents a systemic view of the diversity of pressures and impacts produced by climate change and human actions. Erosion of biodiversity by changing ocean chemistry, the intensification of global change raises the problem of the adaptation of living resources. Land uses induce ecological imbalances leading to asphyxiation true coastal ecosystems. More than a billion tons of solid waste must be assimilated by the marine environment and food webs. Radioactive discharges emitted into the atmosphere or into the aquatic environment, raise the question of their future. Sea and Ocean series offers a transversal approach of the ocean system that leads to governance, sustainable resource management and adaptation of societies.

This book presents a systemic view of the diversity of pressures and impacts produced by climate change and human actions. Erosion of biodiversity by changing ocean chemistry, the intensification of global change raises the problem of the adaptation of living resources. Land uses induce ecological imbalances leading to asphyxiation true coastal ecosystems. More than a billion tons of solid waste must be assimilated by the marine environment and food webs. Radioactive discharges emitted into the atmosphere or into the aquatic environment, raise the question of their future. Sea and Ocean series offers a transversal approach of the ocean system that leads to governance, sustainable resource management and adaptation of societies.

Although the main focus of this book is on the estuaries, its scope goes well beyond this particular coastal feature. Indeed, the estuary can only be considered as part of the life cycle of the entire river and the marine area it feeds into: an area particularly subject to human and natural pressures. The main estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region provide a variety of goods and services to its coastal population. The most important of them are related to critical fish habitat, wood and charcoal from mangroves, as well as space for agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, tourism and transport. Particular emphasis has been made in this book on mangroves that play a significant role in terms of flood control, groundwater replenishment, coastline stabilization and protection against storms. They also retain sediments and nutrients, purify water, and provide critical carbon storage. Such hydrological and ecological functions explain the focus on serving mangrove ecosystems and the nearby communities, which draw significant income from fishing, rice production, tourism, salt extraction and other activities such as harvesting honey and medicinal plants, hence the need for preserving mangrove ecosystems to ensure sustainability of the estuaries and deltas of West and Central Africa region. The book has a foreword by Mr. Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP who is stating that credible and up-to-date information is essential for the public at large but more specifically for scientists, researchers, managers, decision-makers all working together in order to safeguard, protect and sustainably manage estuaries, deltas and lagoons, and the coastal and ocean waters of Western and Central Africa.

Written by Chris Maser, one of the architects of the sustainability movement, Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective explores a critical number of the myriad aspects that comprise the great, reciprocal feedback loops between the mountain peaks, the deep sea, and everywhere in between. Maser’s exploration of these connections gives us the tools required to open our imaginations and our scientific literacy, offering insights into the relationships between the land, sea, and people that could influence us toward better decisions. The author examines the hydrological cycle, hydrological continuum, and anthropogenic pollution of various kinds from the atmosphere to deep belowground. He also highlights connections by detailing how human behavior changes the atmosphere, which changes the oceans, which alters the climate, which alters the atmosphere and thus the ocean, and so on. The book then explores the biophysical commonalities between landscapes and seascapes, as well as the habitats, in each realm. It covers marine fisheries; marine protected areas; oceans as a commodity, as part of the global commons, as a biophysical living trust for which we are the trustees and the children of today and beyond are the beneficiaries; and more. Can we arrest this deleterious process? Yes, but it will take a dramatic shift in human behavior worldwide. Why? Because, just as the collective human behavior and lack of awareness caused the problems in the first place, the level of consciousness that caused the problem is not the level of consciousness that can fix it. We must shift our thinking from that which is symptomatic to that which is systemic if we are to have a sustainably productive environment through time. Maser gives us the understanding of the biophysical interactions among the lands, oceans, and peoples of the world needed to create sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

Applying much needed legal and social sciences perspectives, the book provides in depth analyses of lessons learned and remaining challenges associated with making the Ecosystem Approach fully relevant and operational in various fields of marine governance.