Deep Collaboration for the Great Bear Sea

What is MaPP

The Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) is a unique partnership between 17 Indigenous First Nations governments and the British Columbia government that recently worked together to develop a ground-breaking "blueprint" for ocean use and sustainable economic development.

Building on the historic Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, which set out to advance protection and human well-being across 19 million acres (76,890 km²), Nature United is leveraging our global expertise to advance one of the most comprehensive marine management plans in the world.

MaPP has dramatically shifted resource governance in the marine environment of the North Coast. The MaPP plans are strengthening First Nations’ leadership and integrating indigenous values in day-to-day decision making for sustainable and culturally-relevant economic developments. After four years, the benefits are already substantial—boosting the capacity of the Indigenous Guardian Watchmen, expanding the Provincial marine resources team, improving tenure and permit application decisions and ensuring data are available to monitor the effectiveness of the new marine zoning plan.

Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP): The Benefits from Josie Byington on Vimeo.

Outcomes

The overarching goal of MaPP is  a resilient and productive marine environment that protects biodiversity and supports sustainable marine economies. By supporting the implementation of MaPP, we are advancing the following objectives:

• Strengthen governance relationships across Provincial and Indigenous governments, and marine and coastal stakeholders, that are key for effective and collaborative ecosystem-based management.
• Develop and implement marine spatial plans to provide guidance for decision-making related to resource use, conservation and economic development.
• Enhance stewardship of ecological and cultural values with comprehensive monitoring and enforcement.
• Foster a new ecosystem-based marine economy that improves community and human well-being. 

To date, MaPP has achieved several outcomes that contribute to Enhancing Ecosystem Integrity, Sustainable Economic Development, and Improving Governance and Resource Management.

Global Significance of MaPP

Indigenous Co-Led Partnership 
MaPP represents the first co-led marine planning effort by Indigenous peoples in the world. The signing of MaPP was a landmark moment in British Columbia and has provided inspiration to other marine plans involving indigenous peoples including New Zealand and Indonesia.  The co-led planning resulted in stronger governance relationships and high agreement on priority issues and strategies to improve management of the Great Bear Sea for generations to come.

Cross-Cutting Issues
MaPP is a globally significant example of a plan that crosses multiple sectors, issues and challenges. The marine plans and action framework address incorporate a diverse range of views related to marine protected areas and long-term conservation. Special Management Zones provide siting for existing and future sustainable development such as aquaculture, renewable energy and culturally significant areas. The plans also incorporate cross-cutting issues like climate change adaptation for sea level rise, ocean acidification and storm frequency.  

Global Model
MaPP is held up as using, and in several cases exceeding, "best practices" for marine spatial planning – strong governance framework, evidence-based decision-making, robust stakeholder engagement, multiple knowledge and data sources, guiding principles from ecosystem-based management and an implementation plan. 

The lessons learned from MaPP are shared around the world to advance the evolution of marine spatial planning including other geographies were our global affiliate, TNC, works.  Guidance for process steps, decision-making, stakeholder engagement, financing, EBM indicators, and implementation are among those shared to other geographies.

Our Role

At the invitation of First Nation partners as well as the federal and provincial governments, Nature United is playing a key role in supporting MaPP. We have provided core funding that enabled the MaPP stewardship and planning staff to implement on-the-ground work in the subregions, and we are helping MaPP develop sustainable financing so these activities continue into the future.  Nature United also provides critical support to the Indigenous Guardian Watchmen Program — the on-the-water eyes and ears monitoring and stewarding the MaPP region. And, we regularly bring our science and fisheries expertise to the table. Examples of this work in action include:

• Helping to develop and operationalize a collaborative regional kelp monitoring program; 
• Building the business development and management capacity of First Nations-owned and operated fisheries in the region;
• Using our global reach to bring the “MaPP model” into other ocean regions doing marine spatial planning.