Management policies are currently fragmented and need to take into account the physical and ecological connectivity between sub-systems. To address this requirement, WP2 summarised current knowledge on tropical ecosystem dynamics to identify the gaps, threats, and the most appropriate indicators of resilience. By identifying and collecting available knowledge, data and models on key ecosystem dynamics at play in the case study countries (Brazil, Cape Verde and Senegal) PADDLE project has helped to understand marine environment in the tropical Atlantic. WP3 contributed to the transfer of knowledge on and experience in MSP governance in a North-South transboundary Atlantic context. The development of joint research and innovation activities aimed at understanding and critically analysing, evaluating and comparing political, legal and governance frameworks in MSP has enhanced the research skills and capabilities of academic and non-academic researchers with different social science backgrounds. International and inter-sectoral collaboration has supported dynamic solutions and innovative governance designs for MSP in tropical waters.
Mapping of uses in marine environments plays an important role by giving a picture of spatial allocation of uses, but still needs some improvement in order to fully represent the three dimensions of maritime uses (the sea surface, the water column, the seabed) and timeline. PADDLE Project has helped to understand the involvement and equilibrium of Tropical Stakeholders, their views on- and potential involvement in – the development of the maritime economy and in the emergence of conflicts. It will also focus on exchanges concerning innovation in stakeholder interactions.
In fine, Marine Spatial Planning can be understood as a problem of optimization (of uses and spaces) under constraint (reduction of conflicts, preservation of biodiversity, etc.). To achieve this optimization objective, institutions in charge of governance and management generally rely on spatially explicit decision support tools (DST, Decision Support Tools) that incorporate data describing ecological, legal, economic and social systems, and transparently assess management alternatives and trade-offs.
Different tools exist to date, whose strengths and limitations depend on the community and the issue that guided their development. However, their proliferation, the diversity of their approaches, and their varying degrees of technical accessibility, make it difficult to develop standardized strategic impact studies. PADDLE project has proposed ways to take into account local communities and the marine environment in public policies for Marine Spatial Planning, in particular through the handbook presenting the challenges and opportunities of marine spatial planning in the tropical Atlantic.
