News
WELCOME TO THE #6 ISSUE OF THE BLUE HORIZONS MPA NEWSLETTER!
We’re thrilled to bring you a wave of exciting updates from across our marine conservation and MSP initiatives!
- The MPA Community Network is now live — your new hub for tools, case studies, and peer exchange to support effective MPA management!
- Don’t miss the launch of the MPA Design Card Game, co-developed by BLUE4ALL, BioProtect, Pharos, Marine Plan, MSP4BIO, and Blue CONNECT, and already successfully tested during European Ocean Days.
- Get ready for the MSP4BIO Final Event, where we’ll share key results, policy recommendations, and what’s next for biodiversity in marine spatial planning.
Read the full newsletter here!
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.
Read more: SITE-SPECIFIC GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE-BASED MSP
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CCMS: WE TURN 7!
On 9 March 2025 we celebrate seven years of the Center for Coastal and Marine Studies (CCMS)! The past seven years of success, challenges, exchange and learning, has been an incredible experience!
We have accomplished so much, but the best is yet to come!
CCMS was born with the fundamental goal of developing and promoting science, research, knowledge transfer, and innovation technologies in the Black Sea and in the World Ocean by bringing together science, environment, expertise, stakeholders and policy making. Our activities comprise a vast range of coastal and marine research (studies and surveys in the field of modern coastal and marine processes), as well as support to the implementation of the EU coastal and maritime Strategies and Directives (MSP, Blue and Circular Economy, European Green Deal, EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters, etc.), by developing scientific basis and providing knowledge and expertise, project participation, networking and consultancy.
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!