Administering the marine environment –the spatial dimension

• Main Authors: Rajabifard, Dr. Abbas, Binns, Mr. Andrew, Williamson, Prof. Ian
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2005
• Subjects: Department of Geomatics

Administering the spatial dimension of the marine environment is very important as decision-makers inboth land and marine related areas of the coastal zone need to access marine related datasets in order toeffectively achieve their economic, social and environmental objectives. There is also the challenge ofmanaging the complex interactions between, and competing rights of, stakeholders within the marineenvironment.This paper aims to discuss both the current and future direction of marine administration, including thedevelopment of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) as a tool to achieve efficient management,concentrating on Asia and the Pacific region. This includes the socio-economic, policy and technicalchallenges and issues faced by countries within this jurisdiction, as well as an overview of the objectives,principle tasks and results of the International Workshop on Administering the Marine Environment – theSpatial Dimensions, held in Malaysia 2004. Although focusing on Asia and the Pacific region, the resultsand conclusions drawn from this paper can also be applicable to other marine jurisdictions.