According to a statement from CIPRA, which VerAngola had access to, the plan was approved by presidential decree. "The Angolan sea will make a greater contribution to the country's social and economic development, in the coming years, with the implementation of the Marine Space Planning Plan, approved by Presidential Decree n.º 88/23, of March 30", reads up on the note.
The aforementioned plan, adds the note, establishes a set of objectives related to "management, conservation, benefit sharing, research and scientific investigation, stakeholder engagement, awareness and monitoring of sea resources".
According to the communiqué, the first phase of implementation, established in three years, will have "the focus on legal instruments and the transversality of maritime spatial planning", while the subsequent five years – second phase – will serve for " consolidation and practical implementation of the plan and zoning".
In this sense, the National Strategy for the Sea of Angola 2030 (ENMA) was created, aiming to contribute to "the improvement of social well-being, through the economic enhancement of the maritime space, its resources and natural values, in an integrated and sustainable way".
With this strategy, the note adds, the Government wants to "order the marine space", in order to make it "productive, healthy, accessible, preserved, safe and free of conflicts".
"According to the presidential decree, the POEM follows a description of the current and future spatial situation in the oceanic and coastal space and the integrated analysis of compatibilities and spatial conflicts to arrive, later, at a zoning proposal", it is also read in the communiqué.
"In addition to making marine space productive, healthy, accessible and safe", it is also intended that "it is economically developed and socially fair for the benefit of all users, taking into account the socio-economic uses and ecological functions of the ocean".
According to the diploma, the plan must be understood as "guidelines for the organization of marine space in the oceanic territory of the Exclusive Economic Zone".
"The purpose is to provide high-level guidance for the implementation of Marine Spatial Planning in the context of national legislation and policies, as well as preparing the bases for planning activities in marine areas", completes the statement.
