Marine Spatial Planning framework, country’s first, launched in Puducherry

Source: The post is based on the article “Marine Spatial Planning framework, country’s first, launched in Puducherry” published in The Hindu on 17th February 2023

What is the News?

Puducherry has launched the country’s first Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) framework as part of a pact under the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative.

What is Marine Spatial Planning(MSP)?

Marine Spatial Planning(MSP) is a public process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives that have been specified through a political process.

MSP is a practical way a) to create and establish a more rational use of marine space and the interactions among its uses, b) to balance demands for development with the need to protect the environment, and c) to deliver social and economic outcomes in an open and planned way.

About India-Norway Marine Spatial Planning(MSP) Framework

India and Norway have agreed to jointly work in the area of Marine Spatial Planning(MSP) in oceanic space for the next five years.

This is a part of the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2019. Lakshadweep and Puducherry have been identified as pilot sites for the project.

MSP will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES) through National Centre for Coastal Research(NCCR) for India. 

In its primary phase, NCCR will develop a marine spatial planning framework for Puducherry and Lakshadweep. These sites have been chosen for the pilot project in view of their setups with unique opportunities for multiple sectors (such as industries, fisheries, and tourism) to flourish.

In the future, the marine spatial planning framework of these two environmentally critical areas can be replicated in other coastal regions of the country.