Comprehensive analysis of integrated maritime spatial planning requirements in Black Sea

Human beings benefit from the oceans and seas in a wide variety of areas. Ocean and sea ecosystems provide many environmental, social and economic values and benefits with their biodiversity, resources and services. For this reason, it is very important to ensure the continuity of the life-supporting capacities of the marine realm. Today, however, the health of the oceans and seas is deteriorating rapidly. The oceans and seas are under the combined pressure of many impacts from human activities, ranging from overfishing to pollution, from climate change to acidification. We are doing tremendous damage to the oceans and seas that are the common property of all humanity and future generations, and if the current trend continues, the consequences for the planet will inevitably be disastrous. This trend can only be prevented by starting the responsible management and protection of marine areas and marine life. In this context, the concept of protection of the marine environment has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Instead of the traditional approach focusing on a single sector such as pollution prevention or protection of a particular species, ecosystem-based approaches and integrated marine management tools have come to the fore, which include a broader conservation approach, take into account the unique characteristics of each marine area, and aim to protect the entire marine ecosystem. Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is one of these integrated planning tools and has been attracting more and more attention recently. Currently, around 100 countries are implementing MSP initiatives at different levels, from the initial phase to the evaluation and adaptation phase. In this study, the issues of who the stakeholders might be, in case of decision taken to implement MSP in the Turkish Black Sea marine areas, the conflict among the stakeholders, Türkiye's current legal and administrative infrastructure regarding the marine management were examined. Within the scope of the study, interviews with representatives of the maritime sector and a survey with 158 participants were conducted. As a result of the study, the maritime sector's approach and perception towards the holistic planning for management of Türkiye's Black Sea marine areas, the stakeholder engagement in a planning work, the conflict areas to be managed by planning, the authority to be assigned for planning and the spatial scale of the area to be covered by the plan were determined.