Center for Coastal & Marine Studies
A new WWF assessment of MSP in the EU Mediterranean published!
National maritime plans are misaligned within and across borders, fail to account for climate change, and are off track to achieve renewable energy and marine protection targets.
A new WWF assessment of maritime spatial planning (MSP) in the EU Mediterranean reveals the region is significantly lagging behind in applying an ecosystem-based approach to the long-term management of the basin.
CCMS team at the MSP-GREEN Workshop in Turku, Finland, 19-20 June 2023
MSP-GREEN project experts from the coasts of all European sea basins have gathered in a exchanging Workshop in Turku, Finland on 19-20 June 2023, to actively discuss how the MSP enables the European Green Deal (EGD) in their countries.
The main topic of the Workshop was to exchanging results from the analysis of the EGD component of the national MSP plans in partner countries under the MSP-GREEN project (Maritime Spatial Planning as enabler of the European Green Deal), co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund of European Union, Grant Agreement: 101081314 - MSP-GREEN - EMFAF-2021-PIA-MSP. The Workshop was organized by the MSP-GREEN partner, Regional Council of Southwest Finland (RCSW FI).
During the workshop, CCMS team presented the main results from the analysis (desk-based and interviews) on the EGD elements integration in the Bulgarian MSP Plan and took an active part in the working meeting and the discussions held.
Stay tuned for further information and details on the MSP-GREEN progress and results via the website and social media:
https://mspgreen.eu/
https://twitter.com/MSPGREEN22
OCEAN SAND: PUTTING SAND ON THE OCEAN SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA – Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) Report published
Sand in the ocean ecosystem. The marine and coastal environment is both a sink for sand delivered from rivers and an active source of sand, continuously subject to erosional and depositional processes, longshore currents, tides, waves and bio-erosion. Naturally-occurring sand acts as both a connector and a buffer at the land-sea interface, functionally linking the marine and terrestrial ecosystems while protecting the land and stabilizing the coastline in what is generally considered one of the most costeffective climate mitigation strategies to enhance coastal resilience. It underpins island morphology, shapes the seabed, controls coastal erosion, offers essential nutrients and maintains biodiversity through the formation of sand bars, beaches, dunes and other coastal landforms that support highly specialized biotic assemblages and provide habitat for a wide variety of species.
CCMS ATTENDED THE EMD 2023
The European Maritime Day (EMD), took place in Brest (France) on 24 and 25 of May and was organised by the European Commission, the City of Brest, the Region of Brittany, the department of Finistère and the General Secretariat for the Sea.
CCMS team members participated at the event, and the two European, MSP projects in which we are partners were widely presented: the Horizon Europe MSP4BIO project and the EMFAF project MSP-GREEN. Partners from both projects attended the EMD 2023 and the two projects had large exhibitions.
Our Workshop 14 - Achieving marine biodiversity protection targets in the EU -improving governance or planning & management was co-organised by European Union's Ocean Governance for MPAs Project and the WWF European Policy Office. The MSP4BIO coordinator Ivana Stojanovic presented three sister projects: MSP4BIO, EuropeMPA and MarinePlan. The synergies include more science-based planning and co-development with stakeholders. The workshop was moderated by Mauro Randone from WWF-Med, one of the MSP4BIO partners.
