UK Accepts Marine Policy Statement
The UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have adopted the Marine Policy Statement, which aims to help achieve a shared UK vision for 'clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas'.
The Royal Inistitute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has been involved in thispolicy process and legislative initiative. RICS has maintained its policy andtechnical stance during all of these various marine initiatives from the Marine(and Coastal Access) Act 2009 to the foundation of the Marine ManagementOrganisation (MMO). RICS has always maintained that the marine and coastalenvironments need to be viewed holistically and as an integral part of the UKrather than something separate from ‘land’ based processes and economic policy.
The Marine Policy Statement (MPS) will enable an appropriate and consistentapproach to marine planning across UK waters, and ensure the sustainable use ofmarine resources and strategic management of marine activities from renewableenergy to nature conservation, fishing, recreation and tourism. The Land Journal (Feb 2011 issue) featuredan in-depth article from Crown Estate on their new GIS based marine planningtool MaRS.
