What is it about?
As the use of our seas increases, conflict between those who use the marine space is also likely to increase. We describe a novel interactive method which helps to identify how people use a marine area and which can assist negotiation regarding the addition of new uses to that area.
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Why is it important?
Conflict over use of natural resources and/or space can be time-consuming and costly, not to mention destructive (emotionally and physically). Understanding marine user conflict and identifying means by which this can be resolved is imperative as we see increasing use of the marine environment, particularly in industries such as marine renewable energy, aquaculture and marine tourism.
Perspectives
For me, the most exciting thing about the study described in this publication was how the method brought a number of stakeholders around one table, to visually and audibly perceive each other's positions and to work together as a team. In part, I think this was due to the novel technology used, at a time when touch enabled tablets were still quite uncommon (especially one the size of that described here). This projected attention onto something other than entrenched positions. Perhaps conflict resolution facilitators should take lessons in misdirection?
Dr Karen A Alexander
University of Tasmania
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Interactive Marine Spatial Planning: Siting Tidal Energy Arrays around the Mull of Kintyre, PLoS ONE, January 2012, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030031.
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