Conclusion

This concluding chapter serves to elaborate and extrapolate some of the main points delivered throughout this book’s collection of complementary perspectives on area-based management (ABM) applied to maritime shipping. Researchers and practitioners in this continuously developing field of ABM can benefit from the diverse perspectives provided in this text, which are synthesized according to key facets, namely, the purpose of ABM and basic principles that mould its construction and application; the role of risk governance and risk analysis in shaping ABM applications and for determining how shipping-related risks may thus be mitigated; how marine spatial planning (MSP), another rapidly growing tool that systematically advances sustainable management of marine areas, intersects with the suite of ABM tools; and what comprises good practices when implementing ABM processes and tools. The chapter concludes with some remarks on fruitful areas for additional research that may further strengthen ABM.