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In-Depth Analysis· Türkiye Marine Spatial Planning IOC-UNESCO registration 2025

Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning and the 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration

How Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning IOC-UNESCO registration in 2025 works: what it covers, what it does legally, and how Greece, Cyprus and Ankara read it.

TNC
By The Nations Compass Editorial Team
Published:
⏱ 10 min read (2,036 words)

Why It Matters

Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Deniz Mekânsal Planlaması) is a national, map-based statement of how the country intends to use and protect its seas in the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. It was unveiled on 16 April 2025 and recorded with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) on 12 June 2025. Its importance is twofold: it is the first time Ankara's maritime planning position has been placed on record in a UN-system body, and it is not a boundary treaty, so its legal weight must be read carefully.

Background

What marine spatial planning is

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a public process for analysing and allocating human activities in sea areas, such as shipping, fishing, energy, tourism and conservation, to meet ecological, economic and social goals. IOC-UNESCO, together with the European Commission, published a joint roadmap in 2017 to accelerate MSP worldwide. IOC-UNESCO is a scientific and technical body; it does not adjudicate boundaries. Within the EU, Directive 2014/89/EU obliges member states, including Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, to adopt maritime spatial plans.

Chronology of Türkiye's maritime positions

Date Event
1976–1978 Greece brings the Aegean Sea Continental Shelf case to the ICJ; in 1978 the Court finds it has no jurisdiction, leaving the Aegean dispute unresolved
1982 / 1995 UNCLOS is adopted (Türkiye is not a party); Greece ratifies in 1995, and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) the same year authorises the government to act if Greece extends its Aegean territorial waters to 12 nautical miles
2004 onward Türkiye registers Eastern Mediterranean continental shelf coordinates with the UN
21 Sept 2011 Türkiye–TRNC Continental Shelf Delimitation Agreement
27 Nov 2019 Türkiye–Libya Memorandum of Understanding on maritime jurisdiction areas
18 Mar 2020 Türkiye registers the outer limits of its continental shelf with the UN
16 Apr 2025 Marine Spatial Planning of the Republic of Türkiye unveiled
12 Jun 2025 Plan registered and recorded with IOC-UNESCO
24 Jul 2025 Presidential Circular establishes the Inter-Agency Coordination Board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

What the plan covers

Official Turkish presentations describe an integrated national plan spanning all three seas that border Türkiye. Like most national MSPs, it addresses competing sea uses: navigation, fisheries and aquaculture, energy, tourism and conservation areas, alongside security-related uses. Its distinctive feature is that it is drawn on the basis of Türkiye's own jurisdictional reading, including the continental shelf limits Ankara registered with the UN in 2020 and the 2019 Libya memorandum. This is why the plan is read as both an environmental and a legal-political document.

The Finike Marine Protected Area and the Presidential Circular

A Marine Protected Area was designated off Finike, on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya province. Türkiye presents it as part of the global push to protect 30 percent of the oceans under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Presidential Circular of 24 July 2025 then created an Inter-Agency Coordination Board under the Foreign Ministry, so that ministries, agencies and the plan's implementation are coordinated from one place, with the Foreign Ministry holding the secretariat role. Readers should consult the Circular's text and Turkish official sources for the exact membership and mandate.

What an IOC-UNESCO Registration Does and Does Not Do

An IOC-UNESCO registration records that a state has a national planning process and makes it visible to the international scientific and policy community. It does not create a legal title. The distinction matters because commentary often overstates it in both directions.

Question Answer
Does it delimit a maritime boundary? No. Under UNCLOS Articles 74 and 83 and customary law, delimitation of overlapping zones is by agreement or by a competent court or tribunal
Does it bind other states? No. It has no erga omnes effect and requires no consent from neighbours
Does it create sovereign rights? No. Rights arise from international law, not from a planning registry
Does it have evidentiary or political value? Yes. It documents a state's consistent position, in a UN-system forum, and can be cited as a record of that position
Does it shape administration? Yes. It orders domestic permitting, conservation and coordination, which is what the Finike area and the Coordination Board do

Key Players & Positions

Greece

Greece, a party to UNCLOS since 1995, holds that all its islands, including those close to the Turkish coast such as Kastellorizo (Meis), generate full continental shelf and EEZ rights under UNCLOS Article 121. Athens says the only dispute with Türkiye is the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZ, and that it should go to the International Court of Justice. Greek officials and media criticised the Turkish plan's maritime lines as disregarding Greek island entitlements. Greece is also developing its own MSP under the EU directive, so two overlapping planning documents now exist in the same waters. Readers should consult the Greek Foreign Ministry's statements for its exact wording.

Republic of Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus, whose government is Greek Cypriot and which Türkiye does not recognise as representing the whole island, relies on UNCLOS and on its EEZ agreements with Egypt (2003), Lebanon (2007, not in force) and Israel (2010). It rejects any Turkish claim overlapping its declared EEZ. Nicosia's longstanding position is that hydrocarbon licensing within that EEZ is a sovereign right. The Turkish Cypriot side disputes that the Greek Cypriot administration can act alone on shared resources.

The European Union

EU institutions have repeatedly called for respect for the sovereignty of member states in the Eastern Mediterranean, including in European Council conclusions in 2020 and subsequent years. Ankara counters that the EU is not a competent forum for delimitation disputes and that member-state solidarity cannot substitute for international law.

TRNC and IOC-UNESCO

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is recognised only by Türkiye and shares Ankara's view that Turkish Cypriots hold equal rights over the island's offshore resources. IOC-UNESCO itself has neither endorsed nor contested any boundary; as a technical body it simply records national planning processes.

🇹🇷 Official Policy · Treaties, Archives & Primary Sources

Türkiye's Position (Türkiye's Strategic Bearings)

Türkiye's Strategic Bearings (as stated by Turkish government sources)

  • Equity, not maximalism. According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, maritime jurisdiction areas in semi-enclosed seas such as the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean must be delimited by agreement on the basis of equity, taking account of coastal geography and proportionality. Ankara argues that islands cannot cut off the maritime projection of a mainland with the longest coastline (about 870 km) in the Eastern Mediterranean. International case law gives some support: in the 2009 Black Sea case between Romania and Ukraine, the ICJ gave Serpents Island no effect in drawing the line.
  • The registration documents, not creates, the position. The Presidency of the Republic and the Foreign Ministry present the plan as the consolidation of earlier steps: UN coordinate notifications from 2004, the 2011 Türkiye–TRNC agreement, the 2019 Libya memorandum and the 18 March 2020 UN registration of outer limits. The 12 June 2025 IOC-UNESCO record places this position, for the first time, in a UN-system body.
  • Turkish Cypriot rights are inseparable. Ankara maintains that the Turkish Cypriots are co-owners of the island and hold equal, inherent rights over offshore resources, including joint decision-making and revenue sharing. It points to the TRNC's hydrocarbon cooperation proposals of 2011, 2012 and 2019, and to President Erdoğan's 2020 call for an Eastern Mediterranean conference including all coastal states and Turkish Cypriots.
  • Institutional ownership. The 24 July 2025 Presidential Circular gives the Foreign Ministry the secretariat of an Inter-Agency Coordination Board, so that planning, conservation and legal-diplomatic positions are managed coherently.
  • Rejection of the Seville Map. Ankara rejects the maximalist Greek and Greek Cypriot 'Seville Map', which it says would confine Türkiye to a narrow strip in the Gulf of Antalya. See The Seville Map Explained: Why Ankara Rejects It.

Türkiye is not a party to UNCLOS and argues that it is not bound by provisions it has consistently objected to. It relies on customary international law, in which equitable principles govern delimitation. It cites the ICJ's 1978 Aegean ruling as proof that the Aegean dispute remains open, and the 1995 TBMM decision as the expression of its red line on a 12-nautical-mile extension in the Aegean. For a fuller treatment, see Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Maritime Jurisdiction Explained. The Cyprus dimension is covered in Cyprus Meridian: The 1960 Treaties and the Case for Sovereign Equality.

Source Comparison

Issue Greek / Republic of Cyprus / many Western sources Turkish primary sources
Nature of the plan Unilateral map that pre-judges delimitation and ignores island entitlements National planning document that is consistent with registered UN positions and equity
Role of IOC-UNESCO Sometimes presented as a platform being used for political ends A technical body in which Türkiye's position is formally documented for the first time
Governing law UNCLOS, especially Article 121 and the EEZ regime, binding or reflecting custom Customary law and equitable principles; Türkiye is a persistent objector to UNCLOS provisions
Cyprus resources The Republic of Cyprus is the sole sovereign authority over its EEZ Turkish Cypriots hold equal rights; no solution without them
Resolution path Referral to the ICJ or EU solidarity Negotiated delimitation between coastal states and an inclusive regional conference

When reading coverage, check whether the author distinguishes a planning record from a delimitation, and whether both Athens' and Ankara's primary documents are quoted. Our approach to sources is set out in Editorial Principles and Primary Source Standards.

  • Marine spatial planning (MSP): a public process that allocates sea uses, such as shipping, fisheries, energy and conservation, to balance economic and ecological goals.
  • IOC-UNESCO: the UN system's body for ocean science and services; it supports MSP but does not adjudicate boundaries.
  • Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of maritime jurisdiction in the Black Sea, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean; see the guide.
  • Continental shelf / EEZ: seabed and water-column jurisdiction zones, whose overlap must be delimited by agreement on an equitable basis.
  • Seville Map: a 2000s-era study map, rejected by Ankara, that treats islands as generating full maritime zones; see the explainer.
  • TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983.

For claims that circulate about the plan, see Fact Check: Calibrating the Compass on Claims About Türkiye.

Perspective Note

The Nation's Compass presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources. This article is published from a perspective that presents and defends Türkiye's official positions and strategic doctrines, alongside the legal and historical arguments supporting them. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements, so readers can verify them independently. Author: The Nation's Compass Editorial Team.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning?

It is a national plan, unveiled on 16 April 2025, that organises how Türkiye uses and protects its seas in the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. It covers uses such as shipping, fisheries, energy, tourism and conservation. Ankara also treats it as a documented expression of its maritime jurisdiction position.

When was the plan registered with IOC-UNESCO?

It was recorded with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO on 12 June 2025, about two months after it was unveiled. Türkiye describes this as the first time its maritime position across the three seas has been placed on record in a UN-system body.

Does the IOC-UNESCO registration settle maritime boundaries?

No. IOC-UNESCO is a scientific and technical body and has no power to delimit boundaries or recognise sovereign rights. Overlapping zones must be delimited by agreement between states or by a competent court or tribunal, which is the reading shared by Ankara, Athens and Nicosia.

How have Greece and the Republic of Cyprus reacted?

Greek officials and media criticised the plan for disregarding the maritime entitlements of Greek islands under UNCLOS Article 121. The Republic of Cyprus maintains that its EEZ agreements and licensing are sovereign rights and rejects any Turkish claim overlapping them. Readers should consult each government's own statements for exact wording.

What is the Finike Marine Protected Area and the 24 July 2025 Circular?

The Finike Marine Protected Area is a conservation zone designated off the Antalya coast on the Mediterranean. The Presidential Circular of 24 July 2025 created an Inter-Agency Coordination Board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that the plan's implementation and legal-diplomatic dimensions are coordinated from one place.

Why does Türkiye say islands cannot cut off its coastal projection?

Ankara argues that in semi-enclosed seas delimitation must be equitable and proportionate, and that small islands close to a mainland with a very long coastline should not be given full effect. It cites case law such as the ICJ's 2009 Romania v. Ukraine judgment, where Serpents Island had no effect on the boundary line.

Perspective & Editorial Transparency Note

This article is published from a perspective that presents and defends Türkiye's official positions and strategic doctrines, alongside the legal and historical arguments supporting them. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records and official statements, which are cited so readers can verify them independently. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Strategic Bearings' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.

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