Towards a Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure for Oman: A Foundational Framework Based on FAIR Principles

Abstract

The maritime industry of the Sultanate of Oman is one of the key drivers of its Blue Economy, but the potential of the industry is limited by the lack of marine spatial information and its distribution across various organisations. This fragmentation brings about inefficiencies, poor decision-making, and ineffective integrated ocean management. In order to overcome this problem, the paper suggests the creation of a national Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI), which is built on the principles of FAIR, i.e., Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. A systematic review of the international MSDI practices and an examination of the Oman market data landscape and the ecosystem around the stakeholders allow us to develop a framework specific to the national perspective. The framework clearly relates every FAIR principle to key pillars of governance, technology, data standards and capacity building and offers a specific blueprint on how to implement them. Moreover, we introduce a roadmap of a gradual shift of the decentralised data store to a coordinated, resilient national infrastructure. The work can assist policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders in developing a strategic roadmap on which to base a data-driven ecosystem in order to improve maritime spatial planning and sustainable economic development and ensure the long-term sustainability of the blue economy in Oman.