Jointly initiated by the UNESCO/IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (IOC/WESTPAC), the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO), Ministry of Natural Resources of China, and the China Oceanic Development Foundation (CODF) together with other cooperative institutions, the United Nations Ocean Decade Action “Accelerate Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific” (UN21) was officially endorsed in April 2022. The project aims to link with the MSPglobal to advance the use of ecosystem-based Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) regionally in ocean governance and promote the scientific allocation of marine spaces and resources and sustainable blue economy development. To support the implementation and coordination of UN21, the Support Office for Accelerating Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific was established in November 2022 with the following responsibilities:

• Providing support to IOC/WESTPAC for accelerating MSP development and implementation in the Western Pacific;
• Building cooperation platforms and mechanisms related to MSP and facilitating collaboration among maritime authorities, institutions and organizations in the region on marine ecological protection and restoration, integrated marine and coastal management, and the development of sustainable blue economy;
• Organizing capacity building activities, workshops and training courses to boost the MSP knowledge and information sharing and improving the planning capacities of MSP stakeholders and practitioners;
• Formulating an MSP technical guide oriented toward the region, and carrying out the demonstration and application of typical MSP techniques at different levels and in different areas;
• Driving the Western Pacific countries to conduct periodic monitoring and assessment of MSP implementation and releasing public products for marine and coastal governance.

Web link: https://ioc-westpac.org/decade-actions/msp/