Ecosystem-Based Integrated Ocean Management: A Framework for Sustainable Ocean Economy Development

Norwegian coast. These were approved by the IMO in 2006.

for area-based management, which aims to pre- vent cumulative impacts of various pressures on the marine environment. The implementation and further development of the plan since its adoption in 2006 has been overseen by three permanent working groups: an advisory group on monitoring, a forum on envi- ronmental risk management and a forum for the coordination of the scientific aspects of EBM. The three groups have representatives from relevant agencies and research institutions, and they oper- ate under a coordinating Interministerial Steering Committee, led by the Ministry of Environment, also including the ministries of Energy and Petro- leum, Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs. Stakeholder integration happens through a reference group that meets once a year. This case study provides a successful example of the establishment of a new interministerial body as a mechanism for horizontal governance integra- tion at a national scale during the planning phase. It also demonstrates how horizontal governance and knowledge integration mechanisms can be estab- lished on an ongoing basis to support the imple- mentation and monitoring phases of the adaptive management cycle. The case study represents a successful transition from planning to implemen- tation, in a clear, stepwise process, delivering a spatial management plan without getting ‘stuck’. A clear process was established to carry forward the plan into the implementation phase, with per- manent working groups established to cover mon- itoring, the ongoing integration of scientific knowl- edge, and a pragmatic, risk-based management approach. 5.2.4. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan, Australia The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. In 1975, the Government of Aus- tralia passed legislation to establish the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), which encompasses 344,400 km 2 of this large marine ecosystem. It is managed by a single body, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), which has the mandate to deny or impose limiting conditions on use of or entry to all or part of the marine com- mons within the Marine Park (except the passage of ships and aircraft). The legislation includes a spe- cific section requiring GBRMPA to prepare a zoning plan that has regard to five objectives: • the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef • the regulation of the use of the Marine Park so as to protect the Great Barrier Reef while allowing the reasonable use of the Great Barrier Reef Region

The offshore petroleum industry accounts for about one quarter of Norway’s GDP and one third of the State’s income. Norway is a globally sig- nificant exporter of both petroleum and fish, and fisheries and aquaculture are two of the country’s major economic sectors. Historically, different uses of the oceans have coexisted with relatively low levels of conflict, due to the long coastline, vast oceans and low popula- tion densities. As is the case elsewhere, its ocean management was built on sector-based legislation and institutions. Over the past decades, this sec- toral approach has been reinforced with new legis- lation, as well as the introduction of management plans for the oceans, and the establishment of an interministerial committee for oversight and inter- agency coordination. The process for developing integrated and ecosys- tem-basedmanagement for the Norwegian portion of the Barents Sea (in the far north of the country) is documented by Hoel (2010) and Hoel and Olsen (2012). Early steps were taken in 2002, with a gov- ernment white paper outlining a more integrated and ecosystem oriented marine policy: Protecting the Riches of the Seas (Report No. 12 to the Stort- ing, the Norwegian Parliament). Following this, the development of an integrated management plan for the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea and the offshore waters south of the Lofoten Islands was initiated under the oversight of an Interministerial Steering Committee. This was led by the Ministry of the Environment, with representatives from other relevant ministries with a marine portfolio. This created an overarching mechanism for horizontal governance integration that facilitated work across institutional barriers at both ministry and agency levels. The actual work on the plan was carried out by several government agencies and research insti- tutions. The process involved the following key steps: 1. ini- tial scoping phase (economic sectors, socio-eco- nomic aspects and environment), 2. assessments of potential impact of economic activities and external forces (including consultation), 3. aggre- gating activities (assessing the cumulative impact, identifying valuable areas, defining gaps in knowl- edge, and setting management objectives for the marine environment, including stakeholder consul- tation) and 4. ecosystem-based coastal and marine spatial planning. The management plan developed through this multi-agency expert-led approach was adopted by the Parliament in March 2006. It is essentially a plan

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