Steady Progress of the UN Ocean Decade Action "Accelerate Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific"
Recently, the United Nations Ocean Decade Action “Accelerate marine spatial planning in the Western Pacific” (UN21 project) has been in stable progress. The Project is initiated by the UNESCO/IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) and jointly conducted by domestic and foreign institutions such as the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO) of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the China Ocean Development Foundation, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) of Indonesia and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). Members of the Project visited MMAF, discussed contents in terms of marine spatial planning demonstration areas in Indonesia, cooperation in marine spatial planning compilation, and expanding the influence of regional marine spatial planning, reached consensuses and formed a follow-up work plan.
ZHU Wenxi, Head of UNESCO/IOC Regional Secretariat for WESTPAC and ZHANG Zhiwei, Senior Engineer from FIO accompanied by Suharyanto, Director of Marine Spatial Planning, MMAF visited Cilegon City, Banten Province and Indah Kapuk new district, Jakarta and conducted research on the mangrove conservation and restoration after the implementation of marine spatial planning (MSP) in the two places and the construction of the new coastal town. After MSP, the LONTAR community in Cilegon City, Banten Province has carried out mangrove planting, seaweed planting and processing, as well as the improvement of marine literacy, which becomes a model of the integration of marine ecological protection and restoration and community development; and Indah Kapuk new district in Jakarta, a coastal community formed on the basis of the reclamation over the past 30 years, is a model of the seaward construction of the current development stage in Indonesia. The successful experience of the two demonstration areas and related lessons can provide reference for the development of regional marine spatial planning, marine conservation, development and utilization.
Dr. Kuschantoro, Executive Secretary of Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management of MMAF convened a workshop on marine spatial planning, which was attended by over 20 people including ZHU Wenxi, Head of UNESCO/IOC Regional Secretariat for WESTPAC, ZHANG Zhiwei, Senior Engineer from FIO, Suharyanto, Director of Marine Spatial Planning, MMAF as well as the project team. During the workshop, experts and scholars discussed issues in terms of routes of MSP in the Western Pacific region, the construction of MSP demonstration areas in Indonesia, technical cooperation in MSP compilation and how to jointly improve the global influence of regional MSP. All the participants agreed that the Western Pacific region stands as an important region for global marine ecological protection and development, and that MSP is conducive to promoting the sustainable development of this region. As countries in the region that carried out MSP earlier, China and Indonesia, under the framework of the United Nations Ocean Decade and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), conduct exchanges and cooperation on MSP, promote the construction of MSP demonstration areas in Indonesia, and provide public products for ocean management, which will contribute to regional marine ecological protection and blue economy development, as well as to realizing the 2030 sustainable development goals of the region.
UN 21 project has set up four first-batch demonstration areas in China, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, and demonstrated the compilation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of MSP from different perspectives and at various levels, making scientific contributions to the sustainable development of regional marine spatial planning.
Group photo of participants of Workshop on China-Indonesia Marine Spatial Planning Cooperation
Group photo of participants of the survey of marine spatial planning in Indonesia