Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Management

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Management (EB-MSM) has gained momentum in recent years. Such an approach aims to recognize the whole array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, to guarantee the ecosystem integrity and the sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services. Yet, its appropriate implementation often demonstrates a number of difficulties, but some virtuous experiences exist, deserving the attention of the research community.

This Special Issue aims to explore multiple ways for the implementation of EB-MSM, and to dig into critical issues determining the fate of the management initiatives. A non-exhaustive list of emerging study objects includes data gathering and computational optimization of the allocation of human uses (as well as the alternatives for dealing with data paucity), incorporation of traditional management practices, typology of the proof of evidence for assigning human uses to areas,  cost–benefit tradeoffs in each stakeholder category, public engagement in management processes and their legitimacy (or lack thereof), ways to handle power asymmetries among participants, and mechanisms for setting the rules by adopting proactive environmental strategies in a shared vision. Studies of EB-MSM implementation focusing on cross-realms management, as well as supporting collaboration between and within different national jurisdictions will be particularly welcome.

Dr. Tomás Vega Fernández
Dr. Lucia Rizzo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• marine spatial planning
• coastal and marine ecosystem services
• ecosystem-based maritime activities
• marine and coastal governance
• ocean law and governance
• sustainable use of marine resources
• integrated coastal management
• EB-MSM
• adaptive policy and regulations
• ecosystem services, resilience, adaptive governance