Pan-Arctic Marine Spatial Planning: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Abstract

Driven by outside economic forces and the effects of climate change, the Arctic, its ecosystems, and its people are all faced with substantial change ranging from the loss of ice-dependent species, more intense human uses of the Arctic, and the loss of natural services provided by Arctic ecosystems. In addition to business opportunities, these changes represent new risks to the Arctic’s unique natural environment and to the people who now live and work in the Arctic. Once new human activities begin in the Arctic Ocean, it will be difficult for policymakers and planners to put limits on them. This paper explores a new approach to the integrated management of human activities—marine spatial planning (MSP). MSP seeks to reduce conflicts among human activities and balance the conservation of ecologically important areas with the sustainable development of marine resources in the Arctic. With the exception of Norway, most Arctic governments have been slow to advance marine spatial planning. A way to advance MSP in the Arctic would be to explicitly recognize the importance of moving beyond sole reliance on the initiatives of national governments and towards a pan-Arctic approach to guide the future of the region. Networks and partnerships of non-governmental actors, including indigenous peoples, environmental NGOs, academia, and private industry, all of whom have influence over governmental policies and actions, could be used to initiate MSP across the Arctic.