THE PROJECT
OCEANPLAN - Marine Spatial Planning under a Changing Climate was a 4-year* research project funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), which investigated how marine spatial planning (MSP) could both be affected by, and adapt to global climate change. MSP is being developed and implemented worldwide as a way to foster sustainability in ocean management and use. It deals with the spatial and temporal distribution of human uses in marine areas, striving to minimize conflicts and foster compatibilities among such uses, as well as between uses and the environment. On top of the many challenges MSP already faces (political, socioeconomic, environmental), in the near-future it will need to deal with a changing climate. Properly incorporating climate change into the MSP framework will allow for better preparedness, improved response capacity and, ultimately, a reduced vulnerability of marine socio-ecological systems. OCEANPLAN was led by an international team of scientists with expertise on both climate change and MSP, and counted with the support of several institutions in the field of marine sciences. It took place from October 2018 to September 2022.
______ (*) Because of COVID-related limitations, the project was extended for an additional period of 12 months. |
THE TEAM
OceanPlan team is composed by an international, interdisciplinary group of scientists knowledgeable about marine spatial planning, climate change, environmental economics, ocean management and ocean policy. In addition to the complementary skills of team members, the project also benefits from the scientific input and advice from external collaborators, and the research conducted by master students.
OUTPUTS
OceanPlan outputs include --> Publications (e.g. scientific articles, book chapters, technical reports), --> Communications at scientific meetings and others, --> Outreach activities (e.g., interviews, blog posts, exhibitions).