24.5.2 The Challenge of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)
in the Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea maritime management, as in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea, does
not yet have approved plans, including the northern shore where the European
Directive that regulates them (Directive 2014/89/EU) already has several years.
However, the regulation with spatial impact of different uses and maritime activities
already has a long tradition, with perhaps fishing being the most illustrative example.
Nevertheless, due to the particular characteristic of the Alboran basin, that is, the
concentration of maritime traffic within the Alboran Sea and the presence of two
large ports such as Algeciras and Tangier Med, in a geo-economic context where the
most important development gap is between North and South, an MSP is necessary.
Around 80% of the basin are waters and seabed under national jurisdiction and,
consequently, theoretically subject to the control of the coastal states. Each of these
three countries, Spain, Morocco, and Algeria, can develop their own maritime space
planning plans over which they exercise sovereignty and jurisdictional rights, being
the state with the greatest territorial responsibility.
The Directive 2014/89/EU is the European standard that legally supports the
administrative practice that has set in motion the development of the so-called
maritime spatial planning plans and that in Spain has been incorporated by RD
363/2017 of April 8. This norm is only one component of a broad system—which we
call here the “institutional framework”—made up of a series of legal, political
elements and principles that conclude or substantiate as mandatory rules, guidelines,
or recommendations.
The preparation and application of maritime spatial planning plans must take into
account other mandatory rules approved by the European Parliament, in particular
the directives on habitats (1992), waters (2000), evaluation of plans and programs
(2001), spatial information infrastructures (2007), marine strategies (2008), and
renewable energies (2009). Of particular relevance is Directive 2008/56/EC (marine
strategies) as it is the basis on which, especially in Spain, maritime spatial planning
plans are being developed (RD 363/2017), interpreted as an extension and prolongation of said strategies (Law 41/2010 on the protection of the marine environment).
In addition, there is an initiative that aims to support the development of MSP
plans. The European Union and IOC-UNESCO have launched the so-called MSP
global initiative, which includes a project in the western Mediterranean with the aim
of training experts in Algeria, Spain, France, Malta, Morocco, and Tunisia.
MSP global also aims to develop methodological guides on transboundary marine
spatial planning. It is precisely the cross-border dimension of the plans that is one of
the strategic decisions of marine planning in the EU context, so the level of regional
cooperation is a key factor in areas such as the Alboran Sea. In this sense, Spain,
Morocco, and Algeria have created a platform (Exploring the Potential of Maritime
Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea) to deal more specifically with issues
related to conservation, sustainable development, and relations between users and
participants in the maritime sector, an initiative that although meritorious still lacks
814
L. Valdés et al.
in the Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea maritime management, as in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea, does
not yet have approved plans, including the northern shore where the European
Directive that regulates them (Directive 2014/89/EU) already has several years.
However, the regulation with spatial impact of different uses and maritime activities
already has a long tradition, with perhaps fishing being the most illustrative example.
Nevertheless, due to the particular characteristic of the Alboran basin, that is, the
concentration of maritime traffic within the Alboran Sea and the presence of two
large ports such as Algeciras and Tangier Med, in a geo-economic context where the
most important development gap is between North and South, an MSP is necessary.
Around 80% of the basin are waters and seabed under national jurisdiction and,
consequently, theoretically subject to the control of the coastal states. Each of these
three countries, Spain, Morocco, and Algeria, can develop their own maritime space
planning plans over which they exercise sovereignty and jurisdictional rights, being
the state with the greatest territorial responsibility.
The Directive 2014/89/EU is the European standard that legally supports the
administrative practice that has set in motion the development of the so-called
maritime spatial planning plans and that in Spain has been incorporated by RD
363/2017 of April 8. This norm is only one component of a broad system—which we
call here the “institutional framework”—made up of a series of legal, political
elements and principles that conclude or substantiate as mandatory rules, guidelines,
or recommendations.
The preparation and application of maritime spatial planning plans must take into
account other mandatory rules approved by the European Parliament, in particular
the directives on habitats (1992), waters (2000), evaluation of plans and programs
(2001), spatial information infrastructures (2007), marine strategies (2008), and
renewable energies (2009). Of particular relevance is Directive 2008/56/EC (marine
strategies) as it is the basis on which, especially in Spain, maritime spatial planning
plans are being developed (RD 363/2017), interpreted as an extension and prolongation of said strategies (Law 41/2010 on the protection of the marine environment).
In addition, there is an initiative that aims to support the development of MSP
plans. The European Union and IOC-UNESCO have launched the so-called MSP
global initiative, which includes a project in the western Mediterranean with the aim
of training experts in Algeria, Spain, France, Malta, Morocco, and Tunisia.
MSP global also aims to develop methodological guides on transboundary marine
spatial planning. It is precisely the cross-border dimension of the plans that is one of
the strategic decisions of marine planning in the EU context, so the level of regional
cooperation is a key factor in areas such as the Alboran Sea. In this sense, Spain,
Morocco, and Algeria have created a platform (Exploring the Potential of Maritime
Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea) to deal more specifically with issues
related to conservation, sustainable development, and relations between users and
participants in the maritime sector, an initiative that although meritorious still lacks
814
L. Valdés et al.