Institutional and legal challenges of maritime spatial planning in Angola within the Benguela current system
Keywords:
Ocean Governance; Institutional Fragmentation; Spatial Integration; Blue Economy; Coastal Management., Benguela current systemAbstract
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a strategic instrument for integrated ocean governance, particularly in contexts of increasing pressure on marine resources and multiple maritime uses. This study evaluates the institutional and legal challenges of MSP in Angola, within the Benguela Current System, focusing on the national legal framework and comparative regional governance. The analysis was based on official documents, legislation, and public policies, addressing sectors such as environment, fisheries, oil and gas, defence, and spatial planning. Results indicate that Angola’s legal framework remains strongly sector-based, prioritising resource exploitation and licensing, with limited incorporation of sustainability principles, ecosystem-based approaches, and integrated spatial planning. High institutional fragmentation was observed, reflected in overlapping mandates among ministries and public agencies, undermining intersectoral coordination and MSP implementation. Land–sea integration also showed weaknesses, particularly in coastal areas, limiting the management of ecological and socio-economic systems. Comparison with Namibia and South Africa demonstrates that dedicated legislation, clear institutional structures, and consolidated coordination mechanisms facilitate effective MSP implementation. The study concludes that strengthening MSP in Angola requires a framework law, enhanced interministerial coordination, integration between terrestrial and marine planning instruments, and systematic adoption of regional best practices within the Benguela Current Commission context
References
Bentral, F. (2020). A Governação “Sombra” no Espaço Marítimo angolano. Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa. https://hdl.handle.net/10362/111189. Acesso em 16 de Julho de 2020.
Burman, E., Mulvaney, K., Merrill, N., Bradley, M., & Wigand, C. (2023). Hazardous and contaminated sites within salt marsh migration corridors in Rhode Island, USA. Journal of Environmental Management, 342, 117218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117218
Carpenter-Kling, T., Truter, H., Lemahieu, A., Rivers, N., Strand, M., Lombard, A. T., & colaboradores. (2025). Scenario planning from the bottom up: Supporting inclusive and ecosystem-based approaches to marine spatial planning. npj Ocean Sustainability, 4, 45. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00140-7
Casimiro, D. (2015). O Ordenamento e Gestão do Espaço Marítimo Português: a articulação com o regime terrestre e o contexto Europeu. Tese de Doutoramento. Universidade de Lisboa. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/20848. Acesso em 01 de Novembro de 2022.
Casimiro, D. (2019). Political, legal and institutional frameworks for MSP in Cape Verde. Comunicação apresentada ao Workshop (4-5 de Fevereiro de 2019), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brasil. https://www-iuem.univ-brest.fr/paddle/gestion-du-site/documents/presentations-brw/casimiro_political-legal-and-institutional-frameworks-for-msp-in-cape-verde.pdf. Acesso em 08 de Novembro de 2021.
Casimiro, D., & Guerreiro, J. (2019). Trends in Maritime Spatial Planning in Europe: An Approach to Governance Models. Journal of Environmental Protection, 10, 1677–1698. https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2019.1012100. Acesso em 11 de Outubro de 2021.
Ding, L., Li, H., Shen, W., Zhang, X., & Pan, T. (2026). The digital transformation of global fisheries: A review of governance shifts and economic impacts. Frontiers in Marine Science, 13, 1835277. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1835277
Finke, G. Gee, K. Kreiner, A. Amunyela, M. Braby, R. (2020). Namibia's way to Marine Spatial Planning - Using existing practices or instigating its own approach? https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104107. Acesso em 08 de Novembro de 2021.
Finke, G., Gee, K., Gxaba, T., Sorgenfrei, R., Russo, V., Pinto, D., Nsiangango, S., Sousa, L., Braby, R., Alves, F., Heinrichs, B., Kreiner, A., Amunyela, M., Popose, G., Ramakulukusha, M., Naidoo, A., Mausolf, E., Nsingi, K. (2020). Marine Spatial Planning in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Environmental Development. 2020. vol. 36, Development, 36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100569. Acesso em 08 de Março de 2020.
Gacutan, J., Pınarbaşı, K., Agbaglah, M., Bradley, C., Galparsoro, I., Murillas, A., Adewumi, I., Praphotjanaporn, T., Bordt, M., Findlay, K., Lantz, C., & Milligan, B. M. (2022). The emerging intersection between marine spatial planning and ocean accounting: A global review and case studies. Marine Policy, 145, 105055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105055
Gaspar, J. Teixeira-Pinto, A. Pessela, B. Cangue, F. R. (2024). The Need and Importance of Angolan Maritime Spatial Planning: Security and the Blue Economy. Angolan Mineral, Oil and Gas Journal. 5, 1-5
Grupo Nacional de Coordenação para o Ordenamento do Espaço Marinho (GNC-OEM). (2017). Relatório Preliminar sobre o Ordenamento do Espaço Marinho (RPOEM) em Angola - Área Experimental Palmeirinhas - Foz do Tapado.
Grupo Nacional de Coordenação para o Ordenamento do Espaço Marinho (GNC-OEM). (2019). Proposta Preliminar do Plano de Ordenamento do Espaço Marinho em Angola (PPPOEM) - Área Piloto Palmeirinhas - Foz do Rio Tapado.
Guerreiro, J. (2021). The Blue Growth Challenge to Maritime Governance. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8:681546. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.681546.
Guerreiro, J. (2022). Africa Integrated Maritime Policy, blue growth and a new ocean governance: case studies from the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. WIO Journal of Marine Science, Special Issue 1/2022, 17-32.
Guerreiro, J., Carvalho, A., Casimiro, D., Bonnin, M., Calado, H., Toonen, H., Fotso, P., Ly, I., Silva, O., & Silva, S. (2021). Governance prospects for maritime spatial planning in the tropical Atlantic compared to EU case studies. Marine Policy. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol. Acesso em 16 de Junho de 2021.
Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., García-Lorenzo, I., & Sumaila, U. R. (2024). Economics in Marine Spatial Planning: A review of issues in British Columbia and similar jurisdictions. Sustainability, 16(3), 1210. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031210
Jacob, C., DuPrey Diederichsen, S., Fullbrook, L., Lombard, A. T., Rees, S. E., Rivers, N., Snow, B., Strand, M., Zuercher, R., & Niner, H. J. (2023). A two-way process: Social capacity as a driver and outcome of equitable marine spatial planning. Marine Policy, 155, 105507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105507
McAteer, B., Fullbrook, L., Liu, W.-H., Reed, J., Rivers, N., Vaidianu, N., Westholm, A., Toonen, H., van Tatenhove, J., Clarke, J., Onwona Ansong, J., Trouillet, B., Frazão Santos, C., Eger, S., ten Brink, T., Wade, E., & Flannery, W. (2022). Marine spatial planning in regional ocean areas: Trends and lessons learned. Ocean Yearbook, 36, 1-28.
Niu, Y., Abdullayev, V., Alyar, A. V., & Kamran, A. T. (2023). Resilience and adaptation to climate change: Community-based strategies in coastal regions. ESTIDAMAA, 2023, 36-43. https://doi.org/10.70470/ESTIDAMAA/2023/005
Partelow, S., Hadjimichael, M., & Hornidge, A. K. (2023). Ocean governance for sustainability transformation. In S. Partelow, M. Hadjimichael, & A. K. Hornidge (Eds.), Ocean Governance (MARE Publication Series, Vol. 25, pp. 1-20). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20740-2_1
Reguero, B. G., Lester, C., Young, A. P., Rozal, S., & Pickett, C. (2023). Coastal adaptation science needs in California: A roadmap for researchers to advance climate adaptation.
Reimer, J. M., Devillers, R., Zuercher, R., Rivers, N., Lombard, A. T., & colaboradores. (2023). The Marine Spatial Planning Index: A tool to guide and assess marine spatial planning. npj Ocean Sustainability, 2, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-023-00022-w
Rivers, N., Truter, H. J., Strand, M., Jay, S., Portman, M., Lombard, A. T., Amir, D., Boyd, A., Brown, R. L., Cawthra, H. C., Faure Beaulieu, N., Findlay, K., Gal, G., Grossmark, Y., Perschke, M. J., Pillay, T., Pyrgies, O., Ramakulukusha, M., Smit, K. P., Stockdale, V., & Vermeulen-Miltz, E. A. (2022). Shared visions for marine spatial planning: Insights from Israel, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Ocean & Coastal Management, 226, 106069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106069
Safeca, A. (2020). Contribuição para uma estratégia para criação de áreas marinhas protegidas em Angola. Tese de Doutoramento. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/97547. Acesso em 07 de Novembro de 2022.
Singh, P., Linnér, B. O., & Singh, A. A. (2025). Marine spatial planning and ocean governance in Small Island Developing States. Regional Environmental Change, 25, 91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-025-02412-x
UNESCO-IOC. (2017). Marine Spatial Planning: a step-by-step approach toward ecosystem-based management. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Man and the Biosphere Programme. IOC Manual and Guides Nº 53, ICAM Dossier Nº 6. Paris: UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000214417. Acesso em 14 de Março de 2022.
Vermeulen-Miltz, E., Clifford-Holmes, J. K., Scharler, U. M., & Lombard, A. T. (2023). A system dynamics model to support marine spatial planning in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Environmental Modelling & Software, 160, 105601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105601
Wanda, T. F., Wiles, E. A., Cawthra, H. C., & de Wit, A. (2023). The value of multibeam bathymetry in marine spatial planning in South Africa: A review. South African Journal of Science, 119(9-10), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2023/14320
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Feliciano Cangue (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
