Opportunities to implement the Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning in Ecuador, a Case Study in the Northern Coast of Manabí Province

In 2018, the Ministry of the Environment and Water, with the support of the German International Cooperation Agency (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ), evaluated the possibility of developing a marine and coastal spatial planning process in the northern coastal area of Manabí province, Ecuador. Based on the outcomes from workshops and interviews in the territory, the main socio-economic and environmental issues related to management in the coastal zone were identified. The uses resources in the area (artisanal fishing, conservation, industrial fishing and tourism), and the conflicts between users/ stakeholders were determined. The local communities expressed their willingness to initiate a marine and coastal management and ordering process due to their perception indicating that the rules are not being met and the existence of several conflicts, mainly between industrial and small-scale (artisanal) fishing. From the beginning of the project, we worked together with the local coastal communities, and the application of spatial analysis tools and remote sensors that served to alleviate the scarcity of available information. A methodology was then presented to assess the pre-feasibility of the area, with the aim to define how feasible, it is to carry out the process of planning marine and coastal uses. Once the viability was analyzed, three future management scenarios are proposed along with recommendations for the management of the area and the lessons learned. The study area has a high pre-feasibility to begin a process de marine and coastal planning due to the support of the local communities and the limited conflicts. Thus, it is recommended that this type of process should be promoted by the environmental authority by engaging and empowering resource users, before the conflicts are exacerbated and the communities and local governments lose interest due to lack of institutional support.