MarineMap: Decision support for marine spatial planning

MarineMap is a web-based decision support tool for open and participatory spatial planning in the marine environment. MarineMap offers a simple, flexible and powerful means of gathering expertise from resource managers, scientists, stakeholders and public in a process of collaborative decision making.
MarineMap assists with the design of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by allowing users to view oceanographic, biological, geological, chemical and human dimensions of the ocean and coastal areas. MarineMap provides easy sharing of MPA ideas and reports on how individual MPAs and MPA arrays and proposals meet various guidelines to help achieve the goals of the MLPA.
Who Can Use MarineMap?
MarineMap is available for anyone to use. The public may view data layers and draft MPA arrays and proposals.
MarineMap offers users web-based access to all of the data, methods and analyses that scientists utilize to evaluate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Without special training or assistance, working in a group setting or at home, MarineMap users can draw, evaluate and discuss prospective MPAs.
MarineMap Decision Support Tool (DST) allows you to: * Visualize social and ecological attributes of coastal areas * Draw and assemble networks of prospective MPAs * Specify types of regulations to be applied to each MPA, as well as goals and objectives fulfilled * Generate reports that assess MPAs according to scientific guidelines as well as social and economic impacts * Share MPA boundaries and networks with other users * Discuss results with others in online forum * Quickly and easily modify existing MPA concepts as the process evolves.