Small Island, Big Seas. Malta's MSP Challenges at the 3rd Silk Road MSP Workshop

IOI was represented at the Maritime Spatial Planning Cooperation Workshop by Prof. Adam Gauci (University of Malta), IOI Malta associate, and a long-standing expert faculty member of the IOI Ocean Governance Training Programmes offered in Malta and Turkmenistan. Prof. Gauci (Department of Geosciences) also highlighted Malta’s efforts at the Beijing Workshop which brought together international stakeholders to exchange good practices and strengthen collaboration on MSP and sustainable ocean development.

For a small island nation with a busy sea, smart planning matters. Malta’s marine space is limited, intensively used, and home to extensive Natura 2000 protected areas. Only a small portion of national waters is shallow enough for traditional anchored activities, so evidence-based marine spatial planning (MSP), that is, deciding what happens and where, is essential to reduce conflicts, safeguard biodiversity, and support a sustainable blue economy.

In the technical sessions, Prof. Gauci outlined how Malta is putting MSP into practice through strong ocean observing capacity run by the Oceanography Malta Research Group. This includes HF coastal radars, coastal buoys, meteorological stations, and satellite-derived services that feed decision-makers with timely information. He also highlighted AI-supported, multi-criteria analyses that combine waves, currents, habitats, vessel traffic, underwater noise, and fisheries activity to identify lower-conflict options for maritime uses. Participants agreed about the importance of open data, sustained investment in observing systems, and the responsible integration of AI tools as priorities to advance MSP in the Mediterranean and globally.

The workshop also served to showcase capacity-building opportunities available through the collaboration between the University of Malta and the International Ocean Institute (IOI). These include the four-week IOI Regional Training Programme in Ocean Governance that covers MSP, integrated coastal zone management, law, and negotiation, as well as the forthcoming M.Sc. in Ocean Governance course that is planned to be offered by the Department of Geosciences as from October 2026. The ongoing M.Sc. in Applied Oceanography that focuses more on the scientific aspects, and which like the other courses is coordinated by Prof. Alan Deidun, was also presented.

While in Beijing, Prof. Gauci was invited to visit China’s National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre (NMEFC). This is the national operational and research hub under the Ministry of Natural Resources responsible for marine forecasting and disaster early warning. NMEFC develops and operates models for waves, storm surges, tsunamis, sea ice, and ocean circulation, integrates satellite and in-situ observations, and issues public marine forecasts and warnings. With a mission similar to that of OMRG, but on a much large scale, NMEFC supports coastal management, maritime transport, fisheries, and emergency response along China’s coasts and adjacent seas.

The University of Malta extends its thanks to the China Oceanic Development Foundation (CODF) for the invitation and support, as well as to Ms Antonella Vassallo (Managing Director, IOI) for facilitating this participation.