Across the North Atlantic region, digital tools are reshaping how marine spatial planning is developed and implemented. This offers opportunities for more efficient, adaptive and transparent planning. However, digital tools tend to favour knowledge that can be easily mapped, quantified and standardised, which raises new questions about whose knowledge shapes these processes and whose perspectives risk being overlooked.
This brief argues that the digital transformation of marine spatial planning is primarily a governance challenge rather than a technical one. Whether digital tools and data support or undermine the inclusion of Indigenous and local communities in planning processes depends not on the tools themselves but on the intentions, assumptions and decisions that guide their use.
Drawing on findings from the "Local Knowledge in Marine Spatial Planning, Green Transition and Digital Transformation" project, this brief identifies seven key messages aimed at promoting the more just and equitable integration of Indigenous and local knowledge into increasingly digital marine spatial planning processes:
Implement MSP as a continuous, purpose-driven process.
Enhance capacity and reflexivity among planning authorities.
Establish clear institutional guidelines and roles.
Balance local and national interests through multi-level dialogue.
Design adaptive processes for engaging evolving communities.
Strengthen local collaboration through peer learning and data accessibility.
Facilitate regular exchanges between countries across the North Atlantic region