Coherent Linear Infrastructures in Baltic Maritime Spatial Plans

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The project seeks to increase transnational coherence of shipping routes and energy corridors in Maritime Spatial Plans (MSP) in the Baltic Sea Region. This will prevent cross border mismatches and secures transnational connectivity, as well as efficient use of Baltic Sea space. The project helps develop the most appropriate framework conditions for Blue Growth activities (e.g. maritime transportation, offshore energy exploitation, coastal tourism etc.) for the coming 15 years, thereby increasing investors’ security. A precondition for this is to create institutional capacities of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) bodies. Based on past experiences and a sector involvement strategy a structured and coordinated involvement process with relevant national/transnational stakeholder fora will be carried out in close cooperation with stakeholders from the shipping and the energy industry. Project partners will find out about requirements for MSP of the shipping and energy sector (based on forecasted economic, environmental, technological and land-sea related developments) and their spatial implications. The information gathered will be visualised in scenarios with the help of the MSP Challenge, a computer supported simulation game based on accurate data and feedback that gives maritime spatial planners insight in the diverse challenges of sustainable planning of human activities in the marine and coastal ecosystem. The project will improve access to relevant transnational MSP data needed for making spatial allocations for shipping and energy users in MSP by piloting the first ever BSR MSP data infrastructure. This infrastructure will allow for decentralised storage and access of MSP data beyond the project’s lifetime, and may be expanded to other sectors. In order to come up with planning solutions, maritime spatial planners will identify transnational cross sectoral planning issues. Planners will jointly agree on planning criteria, taking into account sector requirements for MSP and the ecosystem approach. They will determine options for planning solutions for shipping routes and energy infrastructure, which will be consulted with sectors via the MSP Challenge. The final suggested planning solutions will inform national MSP process and, hence, are expected to be taken up in national Maritime Spatial Plans at their development or revision stage. In order to set conditions for a continuous MSP coordination on linear infrastructures, the project will develop recommendations for a BSR agreement on transboundary consultations on linear infrastructures within the MSP process. Consequently, increased transnational coherence of linear infrastructures in MSP will be achieved.

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