Evaluating Local Community Participation in Marine Spatial Planning: A Case Study of Lesvos Island, Greece

Human activities have intensified in marine environments due to advances in technology and coastal population growth, leading to competing demands and ecological pressures that threaten marine ecosystems. These pressures have generated conflicts between users, stakeholders, and the marine ecosystems. In response, Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has emerged as a key governance tool for managing marine environments, which comprise both natural and human components. Meaning public engagement, particularly of local community members, is therefore essential to ensure the effectiveness of the MSP. Despite the progress of MSP worldwide, public engagement has often remained rather procedural, meaning that formal requirements are fulfilled without the genuine influence on decision-making by local communities whose livelihoods depend on the marine environment. This study examined how local community members perceive their involvement in the MSP decision-making process in the Gera and Kalloni bays of Lésvos Island, Greece.

The analysis was informed by public engagement frameworks, including Fung’s Varieties of Public Participation in Governance, which pays particular attention to how the public makes decisions and the degree of influence it exerts on policy outcomes. Data were collected using a mixed-methods approach, which included surveys and interviews with local community members, and were analyzed using statistical and thematic methods. This research contributes to the understanding of how public engagement strategies can enhance the MSP process and lead to more widely accepted MSP outcomes, particularly in regions where MSP is still in its developmental stage, such as Greece. By examining local perceptions of engagement in a country where MSP is at an early stage of implementation, the study contributes to international debates on achieving inclusive and socially responsive marine planning.