This guide builds on the inputs, experiences and lessons learned provided by the MSPglobal community through all activities organised or supported by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries between 2017 and 2021, in the context of the Joint Roadmap to accelerate marine/maritime spatial planning processes worldwide. The guide has been drafted by members of the MSPglobal International Expert Group (Joseph Onwona Ansong, Ingela Isaksson, Michele Quesada-Silva, Joanna Smith, Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Riku Varjopuro, Zhiwei Zhang) and the editors, with essential contributions and revisions from members of the MSPglobal Thematic Expert Groups (Andrej Abramić, Karima Khalil, Anja Kreiner, Ivana Lukić, Sarah Mahadeo, Ant Türkmen, Celia Vassilopoulou, Tom Woolley). The guide was coordinated by Alejandro Iglesias Campos (IOC-UNESCO) and Julia Rubeck (DG MARE), with the esteemed support of Madina Begmatova and Aya Khalil (IOC-UNESCO), and the institutional guidance of Felix Leinemann (DG MARE) and Julian Barbière (IOC-UNESCO). Valuable experiences and lessons emerged from the international MSPforums organised by DG MARE and IOC-UNESCO with the support of national and regional authorities as well as regional partners in Brussels (2018), La Réunion (2019), Vigo (2019) and Riga (2019). Other international events also provided input, such as the UN Ocean Conference in New York (2017), the GEF International Waters Conference in Marrakech (2018), the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi (2018) and the EU-China Summit (2019). Important milestones and discussions also took place in the context of the Our Ocean conferences in Malta (2017) and Oslo (2019) and through dedicated workshops at the European Maritime Days in Burgas (2018) and Lisbon (2019). A young generation of planners, Erasmus Mundus alumni, provided input and recommendations for the guide and supported DG MARE and IOC-UNESCO with the organisation of all the international events and forums mentioned above. A very special thanks to all the women and men working in aquaculture, biotechnology, conservation, fisheries, defence, energy, insurance, law, research, tourism, transport, police, ports, security and rescue, public and private companies and NGOs for their constant support and diversity of contributions in advancing MSP implementation globally. The guide has benefitted from the support and commi...