RIASSUNTO
Abstract
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a roadmap on marine spatial planning (MSP) to guide the sustainable growth of EU maritime sectors as a new approach to addressing the increase in competing uses of the sea. The growth of marine commercial activities such as offshore oil and gas development, maritime transport, port development, aquaculture, and tourism, combined with emerging uses such as offshore renewable energy, is increasing the pressure on already limited European marine space. The development of a common approach to MSP is an outgrowth of the European Union (EU) Integrated Maritime Policy, which aims to coordinate all EU policies with a maritime dimension in order to safeguard environmental sustainability. The EC considers a planned use of sea areas as the only way to provide a predictable framework for economic investments in offshore areas, creating the framework for balancing the vested interests of different maritime activities and the need to protect the marine environment. The EC MSP program presents both challenges and opportunities for the oil and gas industry. It is critical that the oil and gas industry develop an understanding of marine spatial management issues, stakeholders and process and engage proactively and constructively in EC marine zoning developments. MSP in Europe, and elsewhere, has serious implication for future access to petroleum resources. The oil and gas industry can realize important business benefits by building relationships with other ocean industries as part of broader private sector leadership and collaboration in responding to EC MSP. Development of a coordinated ocean business community approach to MSP will contribute to the ability and capacity of the oil and gas industry to actively engage in ocean zoning efforts in other regions.
Introduction
Recent studies show that almost no part of the global ocean is unaffected by human impacts (Halpern, et al., 2008). Marine ecosystems are being degraded, destroyed and exploited at an ever increasing rate and global scale. This is affecting the coastal inhabitants and communities worldwide that depend on marine areas for food and livelihood (Martíneza, et al., 2007). Degradation of the natural functions of the ocean may also affect its critical role in regulating the climate. As the primary user of ocean space and resources, the private sector is a key factor in managing the future of the ocean, including the spatial management of marine areas.
The ocean supports a significant, unique component of the world's biological diversity in a dynamic, inter-connected, three-dimensional water world covering over 70% of the earth's surface. Due to the fluid, international nature of the ocean, its biological and ecological richness and resources often extend over vast geographic scales. The marine environment provides 59% of the world's ecosystem benefits, with the 5 % comprising the nearshore marine environment, i.e. estuaries, coastal wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, and continental shelves, alone providing 38 % of the world's ecosystem goods and services (Costanza, et al., 1997).
Increasing Private Sector Use Of The Ocean.
A substantial proportion of business and industry is entirely dependent upon ocean resources, services and space, e.g. offshore oil and gas, marine transport, ports, fisheries, aquaculture, marine tourism, and seabed mining (Holthus, 1999). The worldwide economic value of ocean goods and services is estimated at USD 6-21 trillion. Ocean industries such as shipping, oil, fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism are big and are expanding rapidly, bringing ever increasing impacts to the marine environment.