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IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC)

Advancing knowledge and cooperation for a healthy ocean and prosperous society

2nd WESTPAC Workshop on Marine Spatial Planning

Chonburi Province, Thailand, 14-16 October 2025

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has gained considerable importance worldwide as a proven effective way to manage the growing demands for marine/maritime spaces while preserving ocean ecosystems.
In the Western Pacific, coastal countries depend heavily on ocean for food security, job opportunities, economic growth, and cultural heritage. As the conflicts among multiple sectors for marine spaces intensify, countries in the region have repeatedly emphasized the urgent need to accelerate marine spatial planning processes.
In response to the pressing calls of Member States in the region, the UNESCO/IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) launched the Ocean Decade Action UN21 titled “Accelerate Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific” in 2022. This initiative aims to assist Member States in adopting an ecosystem-based approach to ocean resource management, advancing a sustainable blue economy, and contributing to the 2030 Agenda as a whole.
Significant progress has been achieved since its inception. Key milestones include: The first regional MSP Forum convened in December 2022; A regional Group of MSP Experts formed in August 2023, followed by its inaugural meeting in Nov 2023, Qingdao, China; 5 national trainings conducted in China and Thailand during 2023-2024; 6 demonstration sites established across 5 countries.
A major achievement was the formulation and adoption of the Regional Action Framework for Marine Spatial Planning (2025–2030) at the 15th Intergovernmental Session (March 2025, Tokyo). This Framework provides a portfolio of enabling actions that the Sub-Commission, along with Member States and various national and international partners, will undertake to accelerate the MSP processes towards building effective pathways for ecosystem-based management, sustainable blue economy, and the fulfillment of both national and international ocean related commitments.
The need to strengthen marine spatial planning will be further emphasized at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), held from 9–13 June 2025 in Nice, France—the largest global event dedicated to ocean issues to date.
In this context, the 2nd WESTPAC Workshop on MSP will take place on 14-16 October 2025 in the Chonburi Province, Thailand, one of the six UN21 MSP Demonstration Sites, to review the current progress and challenges, and chart the course for the marine spatial planning in the region.

Workshop Objectives

This workshop will bring together MSP experts and representatives from national government agencies for marine spatial planning, national and international partners, donors, and private sectors, and other key stakeholders, to advance the implementation of the UN 21, and the Regional Action Framework (2025-2030).

Specifically, the workshop will：

  • Present the recent developments of marine spatial planning at international, national, and local levels.
  • Review the overall implementation of the Ocean Decade Action UN 21
  • Showcase experience, best practices, and lessons learned from the MSP Demonstration Sites.
  • Generate actionable recommendations to drive MSP development over the next two years and beyond.

Workshop Participants

  • Members of MSP Group of Experts in the Western Pacific
  • Government representatives
  • International organizations
  • Research institutes and universities
  • Business and Private sector
  • Donor and foundations
  • Other stakeholders of interest

Registration

Participants are kindly requested to complete the online registration form (https://forms.office.com/e/dCnwheWXjY) as early as possible, preferably by 31 July 2025.

If you are unable to access the online form, please complete the offline registration form (Annex 1) and email it to iocwestpac@unesco.org with the subject line: Registration/Application Form-2nd WESTPAC Workshop on MSP

Contact

  • Ms Xuewei Diao, UN 21 Support Office, diaoxuewei112@gmail.com
  • Ms Chanokphon Jantharakhantee, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Thailand, chanokphon_017@windowslive.com
  • Ms Nachapa Saransuth, IOC/WESTPAC Office, iocwestpac@unesco.org
  • Concept note (pdf)
  • Online Registration Form
  • Offline Registration Form (word file)

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