Abstract

The political shape of the Alboran region is characterized by a clear division between the north and south coasts, and national interests predominate both north and south in terms of the maritime map, with a resulting mosaic of jurisdictions that facilitates neither bilateral nor multilateral agreements. The delimitation between different jurisdictions in the Alboran Sea rises to what could be termed a "jurisdictional asymmetry", a consequence of the heterogeneous nature of the legal systems of adjacent jurisdictions. The north-south asymmetry can also be seen in the existence of two distinct and greatly differing socio-economic and cultural models. The north has high or very high human development indicators, whereas south has average human development indicators. All these factors are a source of instability and have a significant impact on the way in which political relationships interact in the Alboran Sea. An integrated governance framework as set out in Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) process may offer appropriate horizontal tools to help policy makers and economic and environmental actors to join up their policies, interlink their activities and optimize the use of marine and coastal space in an environmentally sustainable manner.