Center for Coastal & Marine Studies
SITE-SPECIFIC GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE-BASED MSP
Authors:
Inne Withouck, Flanders Marine Institute – VLIZ
Isabelle Rombouts, Flanders Marine Institute – VLIZ
Margarita Stancheva, Center for Coastal and Marine Studies – CCMS
Fien De Raedemaecker, Flanders Marine Institute – VLIZ
Natascha Jaspert, s.Pro – sustainable projects
Ivana Stojanovic, s.Pro – sustainable projects
Analysing the coherence of maritime polices and management tools, and their effectiveness for conservation targets is crucial for advancing knowledge-based Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP).
In the six MSP4BIO test sites across five European sea basins, a thorough gap analysis identified several issues, divided into four categories, that hampered the effective integration of marine protection and MSP. This was validated with the Communities of Practice (CoPs) in the test sites made up of MSP and MPA authorities, sectoral representatives, researchers and environmental organisations.
Fifth MSP4BIO General Assembly showcased main achievements
Partners from MSP4BIO got together for the Fifth General Assembly Meeting held on 5 and 6 of February 2025 in an online format event. The two days meeting was filled with intense presentations on the main results achieved in the MSP4BIO and discussions on fine-tunning the outcomes and their widespread communication and promotion across the six test sites and beyond.
On the first day, in active interactive sessions partners discussed and contributed to socio-ecological management framework for MPAs and MSP integration and to the formulation of recommendations on Strategic Environmental Assessment process for MPA and MSP integration. In the afternoon the recent updates on the ESE Integrated Framework, feedbacks from MSP4BIO Communities of Practice and next steps were presented and discussed among partners to fine-tune the ESE tools, ecological and socio-economic criteria and measures for better alignment of MSP and MPAs. Afterwards, policy solutions for each test sites and results from the Think Thank science-policy events were presented and brainstormed to facilitate the biodiversity mainstreaming in MSP and to address the gaps in EU and Regional Seas Policy Frameworks for improved integration of biodiversity protection in a science-based MSP.
MSP-GREEN FINAL DELIVERABLE: D4.2 SECOND POLICY BRIEF PUBLISHED!
We are glad to share the release of the project’s final deliverable: D4.2 Second Policy Brief. This document represents the second (and last) policy brief prepared by the MSP-GREEN project. It consolidates and summarises the achievements of the project and guides to access other relevant project documents.
After two years of work, we remain firmly convinced that the path initiated by MSP-GREEN, positioning MSP as a key enabler of the European Green Deal, is crucial for achieving sustainable green transitions at sea!
Read the full version of the deliverable here!
ANOTHER IMPORTANT MSP-GREEN DELIVERABLE WITH RECCOMMENDATIONS FOR MSP TO SUPPORT THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL
The present recommendations have been prepared as part of the MSP-GREEN project: “Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) as Enabler of the European Green Deal (EGD)”. They provide suggestions on how to strengthen the content of Maritime Spatial plans (MS plans) and their implementation, monitoring and revision in the direction of EGD objectives. The recommendations were initially drafted by MSP-GREEN project partners based on the assessment of their country’s plans and capitalising on the outcome of other projects, such as eMSP NBSR (Emerging ecosystem-based Maritime Spatial Planning topics in North and Baltic Sea Regions).
