‘Marine spatial planning and integrated ocean management are not only important tools for governance—they are commitments to sustainability, science-based decision-making, and inclusive governance,‘ said Minister of International Development Åsmund Aukrust.

Norway has a long history with integrated management of its coastal areas, based on early and broad involvement of local communities and stakeholder groups, cross-sectoral and interministerial coordination among authorities, and a strong anchoring in marine science. This experience is an active part of the cooperation on oceans between India and Norway

The Indian and Norwegian project partners have jointly developed a digital tool for marine spatial planning called SAHAV (a combination of the Hindi word for ocean, Sagar, and the Norwegian word hav), which was today launched as a Digital Public Good (DPG). It is open source and freely available through the Digital Public Goods Alliance registry. As a DPG, SAHAV meets internationally recognized standards for quality, security, and transparency. This is significant contribution digital public goods addressing Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water, but the tool can also be applied broadly to other spatial planning contexts.

‘Norway and India are increasing our cooperating on digital public goods, and this is a great example of how investing in open-source gives reusable solutions that benefit the wider public anywhere in the world,‘ said Aukrust.