Joint Planning of the Common Sea -

HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group

Ensuring the delicate balance between the use of sea’s plentiful resources and maintaining its unique natural world

 

As envisioned by the ecosystem approach, Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) provides the possibility of widening the horizon beyond purely sectoral policy measures towards an integrated spatial approach within the Baltic marine areas.

A joint co-chaired Working Group on Maritime Spatial Planning was launched in October 2010 by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) and the Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea (VASAB) Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea Region (CSPD/BSR). The Working Group was established to ensure cooperation among the Baltic Sea Region countries for coherent regional MSP processes in the Baltic Sea. The decision to set up this group was made at the HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting on 20 May 2010, promoted by the VASAB Ministerial Declaration on 16 October 2009 in Vilnius. 

Meetings of the joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group take place up to three times a year. The outcomes of the meetings can be found in the HELCOM Meeting Portal and on the VASAB home page. The HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group follows and examines as well as makes use of the outcomes and findings of regional project activities relevant to MSP, such as Plan Bothnia, BaltSeaPlan and PartiSEApate.

 

 Picture by Sten Jerdenius

 

Mandate for the joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG

The Mandate for the joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG was adopted by HELCOM and VASAB CSPD, setting out the overall aims of the Working Group as well as the anticipated tasks.

 

Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning principles

The HELCOM-VASAB Baltic Sea Broad–scale Maritime Spatial Planning Principles were adopted by HELCOM and VASAB CSPD in the end of 2010, fulfilling the commitment set out in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP, 2007) on creating MSP principles.

 

Work Plan for the joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG

The Work Plan for the Working Group for the years 2010-2013 was approved at the Second Meeting of the Joint HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG.

 

EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region has attributed HELCOM and VASAB a prominent role in promoting MSP in the region together with other stakeholders according to the Horizontal Action “Encouraging the use of Maritime and Land-based Spatial Planning in all Member States around the Baltic Sea and develop a common approach for cross-border cooperation”.

HELCOM jointly with VASAB is the Horizontal Action Leader on Maritime Spatial Planning in the current EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group acts as the Steering Committee for the Horizontal Action Spatial Planning.

Seed money is EU funding to prepare projects that contribute to one of the Priority Areas or Horizontal Actions of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The EUSBSR Seed Money Facility is accessible for cooperation projects in the Baltic Sea region.

Also the Swedish Institute, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Nordic Council of Ministers provide seed money instruments for project ideas in the Baltic Sea region.

 

Related reading:

Report of the Joint HELCOM/VASAB, OSPAR and ICES Workshop on Multi-Disciplinary Case Studies of MSP (WKMCMSP), 2-4 November 2011, Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Contacts: 

Co-chairs:

Ms. Anita Mäkinen
Finnish Transport Safety Agency
P.O. Box 320
FI-00520 Helsinki
Phone: +358 401624592
E-mail: anita.makinen@trafi.fi

 

Mr. Andrzej Cieslak
Maritime Office in Gdynia
Ul. Chrzanowskiego 10
PL-81 338 Gdynia
Phone: +48 583553435
E-mail: cieslak@umgdy.gov.pl