Abstract

Whilst the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 promotes the conservation and sustainable use of the seas, oceans and marine resources for sustainable development, decisions in ecosystem-based Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) follow annoying and costly trade-offs and this may negatively impact its acceptance. To address conflicts and cumulative impacts and favor, as much as possible, interfering of marine activities, positive coordination and win-win options, it is necessary to develop integrated and cohesive planning approaches and new management tools. In this article, a conceptual framework of &ldquo maritime cohesion&rdquo is being developed mostly applicable to peopled and crowded seas and a set of relevant indicators to assess it, is proposed. It is based on the triple-model of interdependent components such as &ldquo maritime spatial efficiency&rdquo , &ldquo maritime spatial quality&rdquo and &ldquo maritime spatial identity&rdquo , taking into account the &ldquo territorial cohesion&rdquo equivalent, promoted by the Cohesion Policy. Then, in order to broadly analyze the &ldquo spatial efficiency&rdquo component, the &ldquo multi-use&rdquo concept and management tools, recently given particular emphasis by EU Blue Growth Strategy, are examined thoroughly, using the relevant literature. This article highlights constructive use of &ldquo with the multi-use MSP paradigm as key part of &ldquo narrative and posits that its huge and extensive potential can stimulate dynamic, collaborative, cohesive and assemblage thinking in the MSP process and be the &ldquo spearhead&rdquo to balance economic, social, environmental and cultural aspirations in maritime planning to achieve sustainability in the marine realm. Document type: Article