The Sustainable Management of UK Marine Resources (SMMR) Network is excited to host Dr Heather Ritchie, Lecturer in Planning at the Queen’s University Belfast for this free online Lunchtime Webinar!

This month’s theme:

Maritime Spatial Planning: ideas, evolution and the ‘Marine Planning Problem’

Heather’s presentation will look at introducing the topic of Maritime Spatial Planning, providing some ideas of the rationale of MSP, the provenance of MSP, the evolution of the governance of MSP and will highlight some issues with property rights. She will also look at what is meant by the ‘Marine Planning Problem’, and will draw upon some comparisons between MSP and Terrestrial Spatial Planning. The presentation will conclude with a look at the marine plans that have been adopted within the UK and Ireland, and finally some recent areas of research.

Dr Heather Ritchie is specialized in Marine Spatial Planning and Stakeholder Engagement, with experience in marine social science research, action research and policy appraisal in the fields of coastal and marine spatial planning. Her research interests include land-sea interactions, transboundary marine planning, enviromental impact assessment and planning law.