Marine Spatial Planning: The Way Forward for Sustainable Development of Central Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract

The paper emphasises the potentials of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to be adopted and implemented in Central Terengganu, referring to three districts, namely Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu and Marang. The territorial waters of Terengganu Central are demarcated by the protected boundaries of the marine parks, namely Redang, Lang Tengah and Kapas Islands. These three marine park islands are major ecotourism destinations in Central Terengganu, but the development that has been carried out on the islands and areas surroundings their gateways in the mainland, to some extent, is not integrated and sustainable. The purpose of this study is to seek the answers to what extent the current and future development trends in Central Terengganu have addressed the multiple competing and conflicting uses related to socioeconomic development, marine/ocean governance and conservation. The qualitative techniques were used for analysis and a case study was used to understand the nature of government policies and management as well as the existing and future plans. To summarize, this study concluded that MSP is the best option for the Terengganu State Government to improve the management of coastal and marine resources for environmental sustainability and socio-economic planning in Central Terengganu.