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\"This atlas provides a macro-regional overview of the areas that surround the European Union, from the Sahara to the Middle East, Western Balkans to European Russia, Turkey to the Arctic. Detailing key socio-economic data as well as developmental trends, the maps provide a comprehensive territorial analysis at a local scale and explore the potential for regional integration and cooperation. These pioneering maps examine challenges that threaten this wide, yet inter-connected, region, including environmental concerns in the North, political unrest in the East, social factors in the Western Balkans, and the upheaval in the Mediterranean since the Arab spring. Coverage investigates such key countries and areas as Libya, Israel, Palestine, Syria, and the Ukraine as well as explores such essential issues as Europe's energy procurement. In addition, it also presents a comparison with other world regions such as East Asia and North America. In the end, readers discover that territorial integration faces many shortcomings, but that deep regional cooperation would be a key driver for the EU's sustainable future. This atlas features the main results of the 'Integrated Territorial Analysis of the Neighbourhoods' research project undertaken by ESPON (The European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion). It provides scholars; local authorities and NGOs involved in cross-border cooperation; companies interested in energy, agriculture, water, transportation and communication; and interested readers with key insights into this important region\"--Provided by publisher.

Coastal socio-ecological systems are increasingly exposed to the combined pressures of climate change, land-use intensification, hydrological alterations and expanding infrastructure networks. These pressures interact across the land–catchment–lagoon–sea continuum, generating complex feedbacks that challenge traditional planning instruments, which remain sectoral and fragmented. The Mar Menor (SE Spain), a semi-enclosed Mediterranean lagoon affected by intensive agriculture, urbanisation, hydrological modifications and recurrent extreme climatic events, exemplifies this systemic vulnerability. Existing planning frameworks—local urban plans, regional territorial plans, river basin management plans, maritime spatial plans and lagoon-specific strategies—operate independently, each addressing only a fragment of the system and none integrating climate change as a structuring axis. This article introduces Integrated Spatial Planning (ISP) as a novel territorial–climatic framework designed to overcome these limitations. ISP integrates climate forcing, land uses, catchment processes, lagoon dynamics, marine conditions, critical infrastructures, intermodal and energy corridors and multilevel governance into a single analytical structure. A central component of the methodology is a four-zone multilevel zoning system that connects municipal, regional, basin, marine and EEZ planning domains within a unified territorial–climatic logic. The ISP matrix is applied to the Mar Menor to produce the first holistic diagnosis of the system. Results reveal strong land–sea–catchment interactions, high climatic exposure, vulnerable infrastructures and structural governance fragmentation. The matrix exposes systemic incompatibilities and vulnerabilities that remain invisible in sectoral planning instruments. The discussion demonstrates how ISP clarifies the roles and responsibilities of each governance level, supports multilevel coherence and integrates critical infrastructures and intermodal corridors into climate-resilient planning. ISP reframes climate change as the organising principle of territorial planning and provides a replicable, scalable methodology for coastal socio-ecological systems facing accelerating climate pressures. The Mar Menor case illustrates the urgent need for integrated territorial–climatic governance and positions ISP as a scientifically robust and operationally viable pathway for long-term adaptation and resilience.

Location selection for offshore wind farms is a major challenge for renewable energy policy, marine spatial planning, and environmental conservation. This selection constitutes a multi-criteria decision-making problem, through which parameters like wind velocity, water depth, shorelines, fishing areas, shipping routes, environmental protection areas, transportation, and military zones should be jointly investigated. The aim of the present study was thus to develop an integrated methodology for assessing the siting of bottom-fixed offshore wind farms in two different countries (with different legal, political, and socio/economic characteristics). Our methodology combined multi-criteria decision-making methods and geographical information systems and was implemented in Cyclades (Greece) and in the sea area of İzmir region (Turkey). Experts used fuzzy sets and linguistic terms to achieve more consistent and independent rankings and results. In the Turkish region, the results showed that 519 km 2 (10.23%) of the study area is suitable for offshore wind farms, while in the Greek region, only 289 km 2 (3.22%) of the study area was found to be suitable. This spatial suitability analysis may contribute to provide some useful recommendations for the spatial marine planning at the regional scale, as well as for the preliminary assessment of new offshore wind farms in both countries.

Research on enclosure has often examined the phenomenon as a process and outcome of state, neoliberal, and hybrid territorial practices with detrimental impacts for those affected. The proliferation of increasingly complex environmental governance regimes and new enclosures, such as those now seen in the oceans, challenge these readings, however. Using the case of U.S. marine spatial planning (MSP), this article reexamines enclosure through the lens of assemblage. A comprehensive new approach to oceans governance based on spatial data and collaborative decision making, MSP appears to follow past governance programs toward a broad-scale rationalization and enclosure of U.S. waters. Yet this appearance might only be superficial. As an assemblage, U.S. MSP-and its shifting actors, associations, and practices-holds the potential to both close and open the seas for oceans communities, environments, and other actors. Planning actors use three practices to stabilize U.S. MSP for governance and enclosure: narrativizing MSP, creating a geospatial framework to underlie planning, and engaging stakeholders. These practices, however, simultaneously provide opportunities for communities and environments to intervene in U.S. MSP toward alternative outcomes. Rather than a closed seas, U.S. MSP presents opportunities for enclosure to happen differently or not at all, producing alternative outcomes for coastal and oceans communities, environments, and governance.

Tracking data of marine predators are increasingly used in marine spatial management. We developed a spatial dataset with estimates of the monthly distribution of six pelagic seabird species breeding in the Northeast Atlantic. The dataset is based on year-round global location sensor (GLS) tracking data of 2356 adult seabirds from 2006-2019 from a network of seabird colonies, data describing the physical environment, and data on seabird population sizes. Tracking and environmental data were combined in monthly species distribution models (SDMs). Cross-validations were used to assess the transferability of models between years and breeding locations. The analyses showed that birds from colonies close to each other (<500 km apart) used the same nonbreeding habitats, while birds from distant colonies (>1000 km) used colony-specific, and in many cases, non-overlapping habitats. Based on these results, the SDM from the nearest model colony was used to predict the distribution of all seabird colonies lying within a species-specific cut-off distance (400-500 km). The uncertainties in predictions were estimated by cluster bootstrap sampling. The resulting dataset consists of 4692 map layers, each layer predicting the densities of birds from a given species, colony and month across the North Atlantic. The dataset represents the annual distribution of 23.5 million adult pelagic seabirds, or 87% of the Northeast Atlantic breeding population of the study species. We show how the dataset can be used in population and spatial management applications, including the detection of population-specific nonbreeding habitats and identifying populations influenced by marine protected areas.

Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs) represent a transformative approach to enhancing decision-making in ocean management by creating virtual replicas of ocean environments. These DTOs integrate real-time data from satellites and sensors, along with advanced modeling outputs, to generate knowledge products for diverse stakeholders. They facilitate marine spatial planning (MSP) by allowing managers to simulate the impacts of human activities and policy decisions in a realistic digital context. A recent hackathon organized by the UN Environment Programme aimed to explore the application of DTOs in the Caribbean region, bringing together experts to identify practical features and use cases. Participants engaged in serious games to collaboratively develop MSP strategies while addressing conflicting interests. Key recommendations included improving data availability, establishing centralized repositories, and involving early career ocean professionals in DTO development. The hackathon highlighted the need for sustained funding, data-sharing agreements, and multilateral support to overcome geopolitical challenges. Ultimately, the initiative aims to foster a community of practice that enhances regional capacity for sustainable ocean management through the effective use of DTOs.

Digitisation of spatial planning can be considered multi-dimensionally. The more comprehensive the approach, the better the solutions will be. The idea of a step-by-step approach should bring the best end result. The obligation to create spatial data, which was introduced in Poland, in a way, forced municipalities or urban planners to acquire knowledge and skills in geoinformation and GIS software. The main objective of this article is to present the assumptions and propose a framework and further stages of digitisation of spatial planning in Poland. The specific objective is to present the legislation in the process of digitisation of spatial planning, which has been initiated or significantly modified by the author, and the procedure of which has started or was ongoing in the Department of Spatial Planning within the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in June 2021. Thus, in addition to the implemented measures, the author also indicates the potential and benefits for urban planners, resulting from the creation of the graphic part of acts in vector form, but also outlines the importance of such studies for various groups of recipients and public administration. At the same time, the people for whom any solution is created – the general public – should not be forgotten.

More than half of the world's 18 penguin species are declining. We, the Steering Committeeof the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission PenguinSpecialist Group, voted on the penguin species in most critical need of conservation action.Because of their small or rapidly declining populations, the top three species identified in thisprocess were the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Galápagos penguin (Spheniscusmendiculus), and Yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes). To persist, these speciesrequire immediate scientific collaboration and policy intervention. In addition to highlightingthe three priority species, we used a pairwise ranking approach to prioritize research andconservation needs for all penguins. Among the 12 cross-taxa research areas we identified,we ranked quantifying population trends, estimating demographic rates, forecastingenvironmental patterns of change, and improving knowledge of fisheries interactions as thehighest priorities. The highest ranked conservation needs were to enhance marine spatialplanning, improve stakeholder engagement, and develop disaster management and speciesspecificaction plans. As part of our discussions, we identified four avenues for improvingtranslation of science into effective conservation for penguins. First, the scientific communityand funding bodies must recognize the importance of and support long-term research.Second, research on and conservation of penguins must expand its focus to include the nonbreedingseason and the juvenile stage. Third, marine reserves must be designed atecologically appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Lastly, communication betweenscientists and decision makers must be improved with the help of individual scientists,interdisciplinary species-specific working groups, and international working groups.

The ‘open ocean’ has become a highly contested space as coastal populations and maritime uses soared in abundance and intensity over the last decades. Changing marine utilization patterns represent a considerable challenge to society and governments. Maritime spatial planning has emerged as one tool to manage conflicts between users and achieve societal goals for the use of marine space; however single-sector management approaches are too often still the norm. The last decades have seen the rise of a new ocean use concept: the joint ‘multi-use’ of ocean space. This paper aims to explain and refine the concept of ocean multi-use of space by reviewing the development and state of the art of multi-use in Europe and presenting a clear definition and a comprehensive typology for existing multi-use combinations. It builds on the connectivity of uses and users in spatial, temporal, provisional, and functional dimensions as the underlying key characteristic of multi-use dimensions. Combinations of these dimensions yield four distinct types of multi-use with little overlap between them. The diversity of types demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all management approach, but rather that adaptive management plans are needed, focusing on achieving the highest societal benefit while minimising conflicts. This work will help to sharpen, refine and advance the public and academic discourse over marine spatial planning by offering a common framework to planners, researchers and users alike, when discussing multi-use and its management implications.

Over the last decade, the accelerated transition towards cleaner means of producing energy has been clearly prioritised by the European Union through large-scale planned deployment of wind farms in the North Sea. From a spatial planning perspective, this has not been a straight-forward process, due to substantial spatial conflicts with the traditional users of the sea, especially with fisheries and protected areas. In this article, we examine the availability of offshore space for wind farm deployment, from a transnational perspective, while taking into account different options for the management of the maritime area through four scenarios. We applied a mixed-method approach, combining expert knowledge and document analysis with the spatial visualisation of existing and future maritime spatial claims. Our calculations clearly indicate a low availability of suitable locations for offshore wind in the proximity of the shore and in shallow waters, even when considering its multi-use with fisheries and protected areas. However, the areas within 100 km from shore and with a water depth above –120 m attract greater opportunities for both single use (only offshore wind farms) and multi-use (mainly with fisheries), from an integrated planning perspective. On the other hand, the decrease of energy targets combined with sectoral planning result in clear limitations to suitable areas for offshore wind farms, indicating the necessity to consider areas with a water depth below –120 m and further than 100 km from shore. Therefore, despite the increased costs of maintenance and design adaptation, the multi-use of space can be a solution for more sustainable, stakeholder-engaged and cost-effective options in the energy deployment process. This paper identifies potential pathways, as well as challenges and opportunities for future offshore space management with the aim of achieving the 2050 renewable energy targets.