Risk-Based Spatial Planning for Seaweed Aquaculture: A Systematic Review of Methods, Indicators, and Decision Support

Sri Mulyani

doi:10.55927/ijar.v5i1.15959

Authors

Sri Mulyani Bosowa University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/ijar.v5i1.15959

Keywords:

Risk-Based Spatial Planning, Seaweed Aquaculture, Marine Spatial Planning, Climate Risk, Decision Support Systems

Abstract

Seaweed aquaculture is a key component of the blue economy but faces significant environmental, climatic, and governance risks that challenge conventional site-suitability planning. This systematic review synthesizes risk-based spatial planning approaches for seaweed aquaculture, focusing on methods, risk indicators, and decision-support tools. Following PRISMA guidelines, it finds that most studies rely on GIS and multi-criteria decision analysis, treating risk implicitly through static environmental proxies. Hazard indicators dominate, while exposure, social-institutional vulnerability, adaptive capacity, and uncertainty analysis are rarely addressed. Decision-support outputs are largely map-based, with limited evidence of policy uptake in marine and coastal planning. The review identifies critical gaps and proposes a research agenda emphasizing integrated risk frameworks, social and governance indicators, explicit uncertainty treatment, and co-designed decision-support systems to enhance policy relevance and climate resilience.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Borja, A., Berg, T., Gundersen, H., Hagen, A. G., Hancke, K., Korpinen, S., Leal, M. C., Luisetti, T., Menchaca, I., Murray, C., Piet, G., Pitois, S., Rodríguez-Ezpeleta, N., Sample, J. E., Talbot, E., & Uyarra, M. C. (2024). Innovative and practical tools for monitoring and assessing biodiversity status and impacts of multiple human pressures in marine systems. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(8), 694.

Borja, A., Pouso, S., Galparsoro, I., Manca, E., Vasquez, M., Lu, W., Yang, L., & Uriarte, A. (2022). Applying China’s marine resource-environment carrying capacity and spatial development suitability approach to the Bay of Biscay (North-East Atlantic). Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 972448.

Brouder, S., Marques, T. A., Oliveira, N., Monteiro, P., Gonçalves, J. M., & Marçalo, A. (2025). When sardines disappear: Tracking common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) distribution responses along the western Iberian coast. Animals, 15(11), 1552.

Cabana, D., Rölfer, L., Evadzi, P., & Celliers, L. (2023). Enabling climate change adaptation in coastal systems: A systematic literature review. Earth’s Future, 11(8).

Castro, G. M., Vargens, R. P., Carlos-Júnior, L. A., Cardoso, F. C., Salomon, P. S., Tenório, M. M. B., Bastos, A. C., Oliveira, N., Ghisolfi, R. D., Cordeiro, R. T. S., & Moura, R. L. (2023). Incised valleys drive distinctive oceanographic processes and biological assemblages within rhodolith beds. PLOS ONE, 18(11), e0293259.

Chaigneau, T., Nicolini, G., Orchel, K., Daniels, C. L., & Ashton, I. (2024). Beyond the win–win discourse: Designing seaweed farming for long-term success. Reviews in Aquaculture, 17(1).

Chelariu, O.-E., Minea, I., & Iațu, C. (2023). Geo-hazards assessment and land suitability estimation for spatial planning using multi-criteria analysis. Heliyon, 9(7), e18159.

Chen, L., Zubair, M., Zhang, G., Liang, J., Zhang, P., & Li, Y. (2025). Anaerobic wastewater treatment containing sulfate enhanced by N-acyl homoserine lactones: Microbial insights as deciphered by metagenomics. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 69.

Chen, S., Strong-Wright, J., & Taylor, J. R. (2024). Modeling carbon dioxide removal via sinking of particulate organic carbon from macroalgae cultivation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11.

Couture, J. L., Froehlich, H. E., Buck, B. H., Jeffery, K. R., Krause, G., Morris, J. A., Pérez, M., Stentiford, G. D., Vehviläinen, H., & Halpern, B. S. (2021). Scenario analysis can guide aquaculture planning to meet sustainable future production goals. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 78(3), 821–831.

Dasari, H., Hammache, M., Deveaux-Cattino, B., Foroutan, F., Hales, L., Bourgeois, S., Keepanasseril, A., Nerenberg, K., Grandi, S. M., D’Souza, R., Daskalopoulou, S. S., & Malhamé, I. (2025). Risk predictors of severe adverse maternal outcomes in pre-eclampsia: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open, 15(5), e094550.

Degla, A. K., Small, M., & Oxenford, H. (2024). Applying the disaster risk assessment framework to Sargassum inundation in Barbados. Gulf and Caribbean Research, 35, GCFI14–GCFI29.

Ebrahimi, R., Rahmani, M., Fallahtafti, P., Ghaseminejad-Raeini, A., Azarboo, A., Jalali, A., & Mehrani, M. (2024). Predicting the no-reflow phenomenon in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention: A systematic review of clinical prediction models. Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease, 18.

Ekel, P., Libório, M. P., Ribeiro, L. C., Ferreira, M. A. D. O., & Pereira, J. (2024). Multi-criteria decision under uncertainty as applied to resource allocation and its computing implementation. Mathematics, 12(6), 868.

Farmer, N. A., Powell, J. R., Morris, J. A., Soldevilla, M. S., Wickliffe, L. C., Jossart, J., MacKay, J. K., Randall, A. L., Bath, G. E., Ruvelas, P., Gray, L., Lee, J., Piniak, W., Garrison, L., Hardy, R., Hart, K. M., Sasso, C., Stokes, L., & Riley, K. L. (2022). Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries. PLOS ONE, 17(9), e0267333.

Galdames, I. S., Saracostti, M., & Gil, A. M. C. (2025). Scientific evidence and public policy: A systematic review of barriers and enablers for evidence-informed decision-making. Frontiers in Communication, 10.

Galparsoro, I., Korta, M., Subirana, I., Borja, Á., Menchaca, I., Solaun, O., Muxika, I., Iglesias, G., & Bald, J. (2021). A new framework and tool for ecological risk assessment of wave energy converter projects. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 151, 111539.

Ghosh, S., Jeeva, J. C., Raju, S. S., Megarajan, S., Ranjan, R., Xavier, B., Edward, L., & Gopalakrishnan, A. (2024). Cage aquaculture of Indian pompano for livelihood diversification of artisanal fishers. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 71(1).

Gibson, T. I., Millard, R. S., MacMillan, I., Taylor, N., Thrush, M., & Tidbury, H. (2025). Application of a theoretical simulator to the optimisation of risk-based invasive species surveillance. NeoBiota, 97, 19–46.

Giraldo-Ospina, A., Bell, T., Carr, M. H., & Caselle, J. E. (2025). A site selection decision framework for effective kelp restoration. Biological Conservation, 302, 110980.

Gonzalez, J., & Murayama, T. (2024). Impacts of large-scale seaweed farming trends on the local environment and community. International Health Trends and Perspectives, 4(3), 39–52.

Guillot, C. C., Aenishaenslin, C., Acheson, E. S., Koffi, J. N., Bouchard, C., & Leighton, P. A. (2024). Spatial multi-criteria decision analysis for the selection of sentinel regions in tick-borne disease surveillance. BMC Public Health, 24(1).

Hamed, T., & Madancian, M. (2023). Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods and concepts. Encyclopedia, 3(1), 77–87.

Heo, J. B., Lee, Y.-S., & Chung, C.-H. (2023). Marine plant-based biorefinery for sustainable 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid production: A review. Bioresource Technology, 390.

Jiang, Q. (2025). Investment risks and control measures in aquaculture projects based on PEST analysis. Israeli Journal of Aquaculture – Bamidgeh, 77(4).

Kim, S. W., Sommer, B., Beger, M., & Pandolfi, J. M. (2023). Regional and global climate risks for reef corals. Global Change Biology, 29(14), 4140–4151.

Krügel, F., Mäs, S., Hindorf, P., & Buthmann, E. (2024). An online multicriteria spatial decision support system for public services planning. Applied Sciences, 14(4), 1526.

Li, Y., Huang, Y., Zhang, X., Jiang, Y., Jing, X., Deng, Y., Li, R., Jiang, D., & Mu, J. (2024). Ecosystem health assessment using PSR, AHP and entropy weight methods. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11.

Liu, C., Liu, G., Casazza, M., Yan, N., Xu, L., Hao, Y., Franzese, P. P., & Yang, Z. (2022). Current status and potential assessment of China’s ocean carbon sinks. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(10), 6584–6595.

Maltseva, I., Kolyasnikov, V. A., & Spiridonov, V. (2024). Trends in spatial planning of cities. E3S Web of Conferences, 474, 01074.

Mantri, V. A., Kambey, C. S. B., Cook, E., Usandizaga, S., Buschmann, A. H., Chung, I. K., Liu, T., Sondak, C. F. A., Qi, Z., Lim, P., & Nguyen, N. V. (2022). Overview of global Gracilaria production and biosecurity policies. Reviews in Aquaculture, 15(2), 801–819.

Martinez Harms, M. J., Larraín-Barrios, B., Verde Arregoitia, L., Gelcich, S., Alvarez, R., & Tecklin, D. (2024). Spatial assessment of risks faced by marine protected areas in Chilean Patagonia. Ecology and Society, 29(4), art40.

Maru, D. R., Kumar, V., Sharma, K. V., Pham, Q. B., & Patel, A. (2025). Integrating GIS, MCDM and spatial analysis for flood risk assessment. Geological Journal, 60(9), 2263–2280.

Mengual, I. L., Sánchez-Jerez, P., & Ballester-Berman, J. D. (2021). Offshore aquaculture as climate change adaptation. Aquaculture Environment Interactions, 13, 515–526.

Mitrović, S., Vasiljević, N., Pjanović, B., & Dabović, T. (2023). Assessing urban resilience with geodesign. Land, 12(10), 1939.

Monyei, E., & Heintze, H.-J. (2025). Positive peace and climate change adaptation in the Global South. Frontiers in Climate, 7.

Morris, J. A., Wickliffe, L. C., Theuerkauf, S. J., Shamaskin, A., Jossart, J., Randall, A. L., Froehlich, H. E., & Riley, K. L. (2025). Marine spatial planning and best siting practices for aquaculture. Bulletin of Marine Science, 101(2), 861–880.

Nhhala, I. et al. (2022). Site selection for fish farming using GIS and spatial multi-criteria evaluation. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 26(4), 807–841.

Nuño, A., Madruga, L., Cameron, A. J., et al. (2024). Establishing a marine protected area network using marine spatial planning. Conservation Science and Practice, 6(10).

Obanor, E. I. (2025). Legal and regulatory governance in renewable energy projects. Applied Journal of Economics Law & Governance, 1(2).

O’Shea, R., Capuzzo, E., Hemming, V., et al. (2024). Managing offshore multi-use settings. Journal of Environmental Management, 358.

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement. BMJ, n71.

Rimmer, M. A., Larson, S., Lapong, I., et al. (2021). Seaweed aquaculture in Indonesia and community wellbeing. Sustainability, 13(19).

Roukounis, C. N., & Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2022). Indices of coastal vulnerability to climate change. Environmental Processes, 9(2).

Roy, S., Hossain, M. S., Badhon, M. K., et al. (2022). Geospatial database for maritime spatial planning in Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Management, 317, 115495.

Sameer, Y. M., Abed, A. N., & Sayl, K. N. (2021). Highway route selection using GIS and AHP. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1973(1), 012060.

Santos, C. F., Agardy, T., Crowder, L. B., et al. (2024). Key components of sustainable climate-smart ocean planning. NPJ Ocean Sustainability, 3(1).

Sarker, S., & Failler, P. (2023). Data-driven marine spatial planning in Bangladesh. Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 19(3), 220–237.

Sayre, R., Butler, K., Graafeiland, K. V., et al. (2021). Global ecological classification of coastal segments. Oceanography, 34(2).

Silverthorn, M., Yakubu, S. O., & Falconer, L. (2025). GIS-based MCE models for aquaculture site selection. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 4(1), e0000155.

Singh, P., Linnér, B.-O., & Raj, K. (2025). Marine spatial planning in ocean governance. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12.

Spillias, S., Cottrell, R. S., Kelly, R., et al. (2022). Expert perceptions of seaweed farming. Journal of Cleaner Production, 368.

Suab, S. A., Supe, H., Louw, A. S., et al. (2024). Assessing Borneo’s tropical forests using geospatial MCDM. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 7.

Sun, X., Wang, Q., Luo, D., et al. (2025). Local effects of Sargassum beds on seawater carbonate systems. Algal Research, 85.

Susanti, R., Mussadun, & Dewi, S. P. (2025). Revitalising Semarang’s coastal area. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1543(1), 012022.

Tahir, N., Jung, C., Lee, S., et al. (2025). Federated learning-based mortality prediction. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e65708.

Taji, M. A., Hilali, A., Rhinane, H., et al. (2022). GIS and wave modeling for aquaculture site selection. Fluids, 7(2), 67.

Tenório, F. M., Santos, M. d., Gomes, C. F. S., et al. (2021). THOR 2 method under uncertainty. IEEE Access, 9, 161794–161805.

Thomsen, M., Bruhn, A., Kotta, J., et al. (2026). Advancing a restorative blue economy. Ecosystem Services, 77, 101800.

Tokamani, M. (2025). Spatiotemporal dynamics of microbial and fish communities. Microorganisms, 13(10), 2373.

Tripathi, A. K., Agrawal, S., & Gupta, R. D. (2021). GIS-based AHP and fuzzy AHP for hospital site selection. GeoJournal, 87(5), 3507–3528.

Uribe-Martínez, A., Berriel-Bueno, D., Chávez, V., et al. (2022). Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic Sargassum. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9.

Wang, Y., He, Y., Li, X., Nagarajan, D., & Chang, J.-S. (2022). Enhanced biodegradation via microalgae-bacteria consortium. Bioresource Technology, 343.

Wiedermann, C. J., Noviello, C., Palmieri, C., et al. (2025). Gender disparities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. BMJ Open, 15(7), e095490.

Wu, H., Liu, X., Tang, L., et al. (2025). Life-cycle environmental burdens of cultivated seaweed. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 111.

Xiang, Q., Xiong, X., Liu, S., et al. (2024). Risk prediction model for in-stent restenosis. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 11.

Yang, C., Soh, R. Z. H., & Chan, Y. J. (2025). Maximising biogas production from food waste. In Advances in anaerobic digestion (pp. 187–230). CRC Press.

Ying, M., Zeng, Z., Li, Q., et al. (2024). Antioxidant effects of Desmodesmus sp. extract on skin fibroblasts. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 23(5), 1850–1861.

Yu, Y., Cheng, W., Li, Y., et al. (2022). Tailored lignocellulose fractionation for biorefinery. Green Chemistry, 24(8), 3257–3268.

Zhai, W., Peng, Z., & Bai, X. (2021). Prototypical resilience projects for post-disaster recovery planning. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 44(3), 1223–1242.

Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2025). Enhanced Mask R-CNN for offshore aquaculture monitoring. Sensors, 25(9), 2792.

Zhang, M., Qin, H., Wang, Z., Li, B., & Ma, Y. (2022). DOC released by cultured kelp and bacterial community interaction. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9.

Zhang, R., Wang, Q., Shen, H., Yang, Y., Liu, P., & Dong, Y. (2024). Environmental benefits of macroalgae products. Algal Research, 78.

Zhao, Y., He, J., Pang, H., et al. (2025). Anaerobic digestion and biochar enhancement of antibiotic wastewater. Environmental Research, 264.

Zhu, X., Qin, Z., Liu, W., Kirwan, M. L., Lu, H., Lee, S. Y., & Dai, M. (2025). Coastal restoration and blue carbon sinks. Geophysical Research Letters, 52(11).