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Ocean space is of paramount importance to coastal regions worldwide. However, rapid coastal development has led to competition in marine spatial allocation, exacerbating conflicts within maritime domains. Despite significant progress in establishing regulations for coastal governance in Taiwan, conflicts across diverse maritime industries due to a lack of marine spatial planning (MSP) institutions remain a persistent challenge. Potential conflict areas were identified via geographic information system (GIS) maps to assist maritime governance and used in several rounds of coordination meetings with stakeholders for zoning. A regional MSP framework for improving maritime governance is proposed based on a case study, which shows that even without legal MSP institutions, local or certain central government departments can act as the key authorities for implementing the bottom-up planning concept with strong engagement from local communities. The proposed planning process includes: (1) establishing and employing a monitoring system to promptly identify marine activities that can facilitate efficient enforcement; (2) continuous communication with stakeholders led by the local government to improve amendment regulations and aid compliance; and (3) prioritizing the preservation of traditional use rights with community self-management to accelerate regional MSP processes. • GIS maps assist in identifying conflict-prone areas, aiding stakeholder coordination. • Lacking legal MSP frameworks, local governments facilitate bottom-up planning, engaging communities in maritime governance. • Implementing a monitoring system enhances enforcement efficiency by swiftly identifying various marine activities. • Prioritizing traditional use rights and involving communities in self-management expedites the regional MSP process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime transport is a major mode of transportation. Over 80% of international freight is carried by this mode. A port is a hub of ships and freight in maritime transport. Because of growing environmental concerns, how to effectively monitor, control, and improve ship emissions in a port has become a challenge for port administrations. This study combines automatic identification systems (AIS), ship emission estimation model (SEEM), geographic information system (GIS) mapping, and a scenario simulation technique to create a ship emission scenario simulation model (SESSM) for mapping and assessing current ship emissions alongside various "what-if" improvement options in a port area. A case study of the Port of Keelung in Taiwan is used to illustrate and verify the proposed model. In this case, the distribution and density of ship carbon emissions are mapped, with the ship berthing status being identified as the primary source of ship emissions. Meanwhile, nine "what-if" scenarios based on various combinations of speed policies and shore power supplies are simulated and analyzed. The results show that the proposed scenario simulation model is an effective tool to assess various "what-if" emission improvement options and to identify key factors for emission reduction. The effect of shore power supply on carbon emission reduction is significantly greater than speed policies. If investment costs are an issue, a balanced emission improvement option is suggested by combining a new speed policy and 50% shore power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]