A Marine Spatial Planning Framework for Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

This document explores how marine spatial planning (MSP) could be applied within areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). MSP is defined as: “a public process of analysing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives that are usually specified through a political process” (Ehler & Douvere, 2009). ABNJ describes the water column beyond Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) or beyond the territorial sea where no EEZ has been declared, as well as the seabed beyond the limits of the continental shelf, known as ‘the Area’ (Kimball, 2005).