MarineMap: Web-Based Technology for Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
Abstract
Science, technology and stakeholder engagement are at the heart of marine spatial planning (MSP). Yet, most stakeholders are not scientists or technologists. MarineMap (http://northcoast.marinemap.org) is a web-based decision support tool developed specifically for use by non-technical stakeholders in marine protected area (MPA) planning. However, MarineMap has been developed so that it may be extended to virtually any MSP project where there is a need for (a) visualization and analysis of geospatial data, (b) siting prospective use areas (e.g., for wind or wave energy sites, MPAs, transportation routes), (c) collaboration and communication amongst stakeholders, and (d) transparency of the process to the public. MarineMap is extremely well documented, is based on free and open source technologies and, therefore, may be implemented by anyone without licensing fees. Furthermore, the underlying technologies are extremely flexible and extensible, making it ideal for incorporating new models (e.g., tradeoff analyses, cumulative impacts, etc.) as they are identified for specific MSP projects. We will demonstrate how MarineMap has been developed for MPA planning in California, human impact assessment and MSP on the West Coast, energy and conservation planning in Oregon, and explain how interested parties may access MarineMap's source code and contribute to development.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010AGUFMOS13A1216M
- Keywords:
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- 1928 INFORMATICS / GIS science