MarineMap: A web-based platform for collaborative marine protected area planning

The creation of a spatial decision support system that enabled stakeholder participation in designing marine protected areas (MPAs) was a necessary component of the planning process for Californiaʹs Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. Implementation of the MLPA required stakeholders to understand and use a complicated set of spatial and scientific guidelines for MPA design that relied heavily on geographic information. Tools for the delivery and visualization of geographic information have changed radically in the seven years of planning during the MLPA Initiative. We collaborated to create a state-of-the-art spatial decision support system called MarineMap to facilitate the design and evaluation of MPA proposals. MarineMap provided an intuitive user experience that simplified complicated spatial concepts, delivered critical information immediately to allow users to iterate through scenarios rapidly. This tool provided transparency in the process, and moved spatial analysis away from the domain of GIS experts to a broader group of stakeholders. We think the lessons from this experience can contribute to the further development of tools and approaches for coastal and marine spatial planning more broadly.