Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning and the 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration: What It Means

Why It Matters

Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning is a national plan that sets out how Türkiye intends to use and manage its seas in the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. It was unveiled on 16 April 2025 and registered with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) on 12 June 2025. Ankara treats the registration as the first time its maritime jurisdiction position has been placed on record with a UN body. Its legal weight is limited: registration is not boundary delimitation, and it does not settle any dispute.

For readers who want the wider context, see Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Türkiye's Maritime Jurisdiction Case Explained.

Background

What marine spatial planning is

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a public process for analysing and allocating human uses of sea areas: shipping, fisheries, energy, tourism, conservation, and defence. IOC-UNESCO promotes MSP globally, including through its MSPglobal initiative developed with the European Commission. In the European Union, Directive 2014/89/EU obliges coastal member states to prepare maritime spatial plans. Türkiye is not an EU member and is not bound by that directive, but it has developed its own national framework.

The 2025 timeline

Date	Event
2004	Türkiye begins registering its Eastern Mediterranean continental shelf coordinates with the UN
27 November 2019	Türkiye–Libya maritime jurisdiction delimitation memorandum signed
18 March 2020	Türkiye formally registers the outer limits of its continental shelf with the UN
16 April 2025	"Marine Spatial Planning of the Republic of Türkiye" (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Deniz Mekânsal Planlaması) is unveiled
12 June 2025	The plan is registered and recorded with IOC-UNESCO
24 July 2025	Presidential Circular establishes an Inter-Agency Coordination Board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The plan spans Türkiye's three seas. The Finike Marine Protected Area, designated off the Mediterranean coast near Antalya, was announced as part of the same framework and demonstrates the environmental dimension of the plan alongside its jurisdictional one.

The legal setting

The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides in Articles 74 and 83 that the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf between states with opposite or adjacent coasts is to be effected by agreement on the basis of international law, in order to achieve an equitable solution. Türkiye is not a party to UNCLOS and maintains that the rules on delimitation are governed by customary international law and the principle of equity. Greece and the Republic of Cyprus (the Greek Cypriot administration, GCASC in Turkish usage) are parties to UNCLOS.

Türkiye has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, about 870 km (roughly 540 miles). The central legal question in the region is how much effect islands close to that coast should have on delimitation.

Key Players & Positions

Greece

Athens holds that islands generate maritime zones like other land territory, consistent with UNCLOS, and that the only issue to be resolved with Türkiye is the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZ, ideally by agreement or through the International Court of Justice. Greek officials have publicly rejected the Turkish plan as having no legal effect on areas Greece regards as its own, and have pointed to Greece's own maritime spatial planning and marine protection initiatives, which are developed within the EU framework. Readers should consult the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Greek government statements for the exact wording.

The Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot administration) and the EU

The Greek Cypriot administration relies on its EEZ agreements with Egypt (2003), Lebanon (2007) and Israel (2010) and on its UNCLOS rights. EU institutions have repeatedly expressed solidarity with Greece and Cyprus in Eastern Mediterranean disputes and have criticised unilateral actions they view as unlawful. Their official conclusions and Council statements are the primary sources for that view.

IOC-UNESCO

IOC-UNESCO is a scientific and technical body of UNESCO. Its role in MSP is to promote methodology, knowledge-sharing and cooperation. It is not a forum for adjudicating sovereignty or delimitation. Its own materials describe MSP as an ecosystem-based, participatory planning tool.

Egypt, Libya and other coastal states

Egypt, Libya, Israel and Lebanon each have their own agreements and positions, some of which overlap with Türkiye's claims. Libya's relevant position stems from the 27 November 2019 memorandum with Türkiye, whose validity is contested by Greece and others.

🇹🇷 Official Policy · Primary Sources

Türkiye's Position

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Presidency, Ankara's stance rests on the following points:

• A first recording with a UN body. Ankara describes the 12 June 2025 registration with IOC-UNESCO as the first time its legal position across the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean has been recorded in a UN body. This framing appears in official Turkish communications on the plan (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Directorate of Communications). Earlier steps, such as the 2004 coordinate submissions and the 18 March 2020 registration of the continental shelf outer limits, were notifications to the UN on specific maritime areas.
• Delimitation must follow equity. Ankara argues that continental shelf and EEZ boundaries must be drawn by agreement on the basis of the principle of equity, taking into account coastal geography and proportionality, and that islands cannot cut off the coastal projection of a mainland with the longest coastline in the area. The Turkish Foreign Ministry grounds this in customary international law and in the jurisprudence on equitable delimitation, not in UNCLOS, to which Türkiye is not a party.
• Equal rights of Turkish Cypriots. Türkiye states that the Turkish Cypriots, as co-founders of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus, hold equal and inherent rights over offshore resources around the island. It points to the 21 September 2011 Türkiye–TRNC Continental Shelf Delimitation Agreement and to the TRNC's hydrocarbon cooperation and revenue-sharing proposals of 2011, 2012 and 2019. For the legal background, see The Cyprus Issue: From the 1960 Treaties to the Sovereign Equal Two-State Vision.
• Rejection of maximalist claims and EU competence. Ankara rejects the maximalist "Seville Map" and maintains that the EU has no competence to adjudicate maritime delimitation between states. See The Seville Map Explained: Why Türkiye Rejects This Maximalist Maritime Claim.
• Institutional follow-through and dialogue. The Presidential Circular of 24 July 2025 created an Inter-Agency Coordination Board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate implementation. Ankara says its door remains open to dialogue, citing President Erdoğan's 2020 call for an Eastern Mediterranean conference including all coastal states and the Turkish Cypriots.

This section states Ankara's views; the other positions are summarised in the preceding section from their own sources.

What the Registration Does and Does Not Do

What it does

• Places Türkiye's national planning document, including its mapping of maritime areas, in a recognised international scientific registry.
• Signals Türkiye's institutional commitment to ecosystem-based management, including the Finike Marine Protected Area.
• Provides a reference document that Türkiye can cite in diplomatic exchanges and in cooperation with scientific bodies.
• Creates a domestic coordination architecture through the Inter-Agency Coordination Board.

What it does not do

• It does not delimit any boundary. Under UNCLOS Articles 74 and 83 and customary law, only agreement, or a binding judicial or arbitral decision, can do that.
• It does not bind Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, Egypt or any other state, which can and do object.
• It is not an endorsement by UNESCO of any state's maritime claims. IOC-UNESCO does not rule on sovereignty or jurisdiction.
• It does not extinguish rival claims or the legal effect of other states' agreements.

The practical significance is therefore political and diplomatic rather than dispositive: it documents a position and a planning approach, and it will be tested in negotiations or before a tribunal if the parties ever agree to one.

Source Comparison

Question	Turkish primary sources	Greek / EU and international commentary
What is the plan?	A national MSP covering three seas, registered with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025	A unilateral Turkish document that overlaps areas Greece and Cyprus claim
Legal effect of registration	Records Türkiye's position for the first time in a UN body	Has no effect on delimitation; IOC-UNESCO does not adjudicate boundaries
Role of islands	Islands cannot cut off the mainland's coastal projection; equity governs	Islands generate full maritime zones under UNCLOS
Applicable law	Customary international law and equity; Türkiye is not an UNCLOS party	UNCLOS, which Greece and Cyprus regard as reflecting customary law
Turkish Cypriots	Equal co-owners of resources; revenue sharing required	Cyprus is represented by the Republic of Cyprus government
Way forward	Inclusive regional dialogue; negotiated, equitable delimitation	Negotiation or the ICJ on delimitation; EU solidarity with members

The two sets of sources agree on more than headlines suggest: both say delimitation must ultimately be settled by agreement or adjudication. They differ on the governing law, the effect of islands, and who is entitled to negotiate for Cyprus. A neutral reading therefore treats the registration as a documented claim, not a legal determination. For how this site separates fact from position, see Editorial Principles: How The Nations Dialogue Separates Fact from Position, and for common misreadings see Fact Check: Common Claims About Türkiye in International Media, Checked Against Primary Sources.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Marine spatial planning (MSP): a process for allocating sea space among uses such as shipping, energy, fishing and conservation.
• IOC-UNESCO: the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, a scientific body that promotes ocean research and MSP methodology; it has no power to delimit boundaries.
• Continental shelf and EEZ: maritime zones in which a coastal state holds sovereign rights over resources; the EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles (about 370 km) where not constrained by neighbours.
• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of maritime jurisdiction in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean, discussed in Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean.
• TRNC / Turkish Cypriots: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983, recognised only by Türkiye; Turkish Cypriots are co-founders of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus.

Related reading: The Nations Dialogue: Türkiye's Perspective, Primary Sources and International Law, The 1936 Montreux Convention: How Türkiye Governs the Turkish Straits and Black Sea Security, and About The Nations Dialogue: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team.

Perspective Note

The Nations Dialogue presents Türkiye's perspective as a stated editorial viewpoint and clearly distinguishes it from other parties' positions. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, official archives and legal texts, which are linked or cited wherever possible.

Cross-Publication Dossiers & Sister Desk Perspectives

For complementary primary-source analysis across our specialist editorial network, consult:

• Regional Order: Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning and the 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration: What It Means — Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning, announced 16 April 2025 and registered with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025: what it covers, its legal weight and the reactions.
• The Global Anatomy: Türkiye's 2025 Marine Spatial Planning and IOC-UNESCO Registration: What It Means Legally — Türkiye Marine Spatial Planning IOC-UNESCO registration 2025: what the 12 June 2025 filing means legally, what it is not, and how Greece and Cyprus responded.
• The State Papers: Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning and the 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration: What It Means — Türkiye's Marine Spatial Planning was registered with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025. See what it covers, why it matters and how Greece and the EU view it.