4.9 | Marine and Coastal Assets
Coastal and marine assets include the territorial waters of the Irish Continental Shelf in the Atlantic, the coastline and islands, the major commercial Ports of Cork, Rosslare- Europort, Shannon-Foynes and Waterford, the fishing ports and harbours, and our cultural and natural heritage. The Region is ideally placed to improve economic growth through the sustainable use of its marine resource. Ireland’s continental shelf or seabed territory is the largest in Europe covering more than ten times our landmass. This territory is the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) for Ireland, i.e. the sea zones within which a country has exclusive rights over the exploitation of marine resources.
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Marine Economy It is an objective to ensure alignment, and consistency between land use and ocean-based planning, and to ensure co-ordination, which supports the protectionof themarine environment and the growth of the marine economy.
4.9.1 | The Maritime Spatial Planning Directive
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The EU’s Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, adopted in 2014, provides a framework for Marine Spatial Planning and requires a coordinated, integrated and transboundary approach to promote the sustainable development and growth of the maritime and coastal economies. Ireland is developing a National Marine Planning Framework as themarine counterpart to terrestrial spatial plans, such as the NPF, and will set out sectoral policies in areas such as offshore energy, port development and the marine environment as well as addressing the impact of climate change including implications from changes in sea levels and rising sea temperature. It will cover the entire maritime area. Drawing from the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) baseline report published in September 2018, a number of strategic high-level objectives for marine planning are identified and supported by the RSES, including: • Promote the sustainable development of a thriving ocean economy. • Robust governance and meaningful public and stakeholder participation.
Address land and sea interactions.
• Promote vibrant, accessible and sustainable coastal and island communities. • Adapt ecosystems-based approaches and ensure the pressure of human activities take into account the precautionary principle and moves towards achievement of good environmental status. • Realise the potential of marine resources in an integrated fashion. • Promote preservation and enjoyment of marine related cultural and heritage assets. • Strengthen our marine identity. • Develop a sound marine evidence base. • Contribute towards climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. • Consult and coordinate on transboundary issues. The Region will play an active part in assisting the preparation of the Draft NMPF and will adopt measures necessary to secure the objectives of NMPF.
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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