Ocean & Coastal Planning

ELI works with resource managers, stakeholders, and communities in the United States and internationally to develop and implement sustainable marine planning systems.

Publications & Resources

Designing Marine Spatial Planning Legislation for Implementation: A Guide for Legal Drafters and Training Videos

To date, little attention has been paid to how countries can give their marine spatial planning initiatives the force of law. Designing Marine Spatial Planning Legislation for Implementation: A Guide for Legal Drafters is intended to fill this gap, and to provide a starting point for the busy government lawyer who has been asked to “draft a marine spatial planning law.” The Guide contains information about essential components and subcomponents of marine spatial planning legislation, describing each and highlighting its role and significance. The Guide also provides examples of textual provisions from existing marine spatial planning laws and regulations, along with sample provisions prepared by the authors, to illustrate how legislative or regulatory language can address each component. We have also prepared a series of short training videos summarizing the main takeaways from each section of the Guide.

Blue Halo Montserrat Publishes Report

The first major report from Blue Halo Montserrat provides a strong legal foundation by exploring how existing legal authorities contribute to ocean management in Montserrat and how they can be used to support the Montserrat Sustainable Ocean Policy. The goal of the project is to ensure long-term health of Montserrat’s waters.

ELI Joins the Blue Halo Initiative as it Expands to Curacao and Montserrat

The ELI Ocean Team joined Blue Halo Curacao and Blue Halo Montserrat, building on our success supporting the development of sustainable ocean policies in Barbuda. Read more in a blog post by our Director, Kathryn Mengerink.

Geospatial NEPA for Ocean and Coastal Environments

“Geospatial NEPA” is designed to facilitate access and information sharing by aggregating NEPA documents and geospatial data in a map-based data system. ELI is developing the concept and drafted a report on approaches, policies, and possibilities for this new vision of NEPA review.

Sustainable Fisheries & Coastal Zoning in Barbuda

The Ocean Program supports Barbuda Blue Halo Initiative, which empowers Barbudans to restore their coastal waters by developing a science-based Sustainable Coastal Policy. ELI drafted the framework report to support sustainable fisheries and coastal zoning in Barbuda.

A Call For Deep-Ocean Stewardship

ELI Ocean Program co-director Kathryn Mengerink has co-authored a Science policy forum calling for proactive, comprehensive management of the deep sea environment. 
(Note: you will be directed to the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative’s site. Click on the policy forum link on the right side of this page to access the article.)

A Guide to State Management of Offshore Wind Energy in the Mid-Atlantic Region

View our April 2013 guide to four key coastal-related aspects of the offshore wind energy movement in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.

Ocean and Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management: Implementation Handbook

View our ecosystem-based management (EBM) handbook, which identifies successful approaches to implementing marine marine EBM, describes their limitations, and highlights opportunities to apply them in the future.

Workshops & Events

Upcoming ELI Events

As part of our Ocean Seminar Series, we periodically host seminars on topics related to coastal and marine planning. Check this page often for updates to our seminar schedule.

Past ELI Events

View our "Past Seminar" page for details about previous ELI seminars on topics related to coastal and marine planning and other ocean issues.