ADRIPLAN Conclusions and Recommendations: A short manual for MSP implementation in the Adriatic-Ionian Region

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is a practical way to create and establish a more rational organisation of the use of marine space and the interactions between its uses, to balance demands for development with the need to protect marine ecosystems, and to achieve social and economic objectives in an open and planned way (Ehler and Douvere, 2009).The so-called “Blue Economy” in the Adriatic and Ionian Region (AIR) generates an annual turnover that exceeds €21 billion, with an increasing growth trend. An effective spatial planning is an essential condition in order to guarantee a long-lasting development ensuring a sustainable use of marine resources for future generations.This is particularly true in areas such as the Adriatic-Ionian Region, where several uses are competing for the same space and the same resources and where the transboundary dimension needs to be taken into account for the best regulation of those uses.MSP is also an opportunity to connect the marine and the maritime world, essential components of Blue Growth.While an extended presentation of ADRIPLAN results is contained in theADRIPLAN Final Report “Developing a Maritime Spatial Plan for the Adriatic Ionian Region”, this booklet intends to summarise key findings of ADRIPLAN (chapters 3 and 4) and to be a short manual, or at least a vademecum (actually a commented checklist – chapter 5), for those who, at different levels and with different responsibilities, are or will be involved in the elaboration and implementation of spatial plans in the AIR.It is meant to be applied in general to the process of developing MSP plans and to single projects dealing with specific aspects of the MSP process.This Report takes direct inspiration from the TPEA Report “TPEA Good Practice Guide” (Jay and Gee, 2014), for which we thank the Editors and all the Authors.