European Maritime Day
20-22 May in Gothenburg, Sweden:

Sustainable growth from the oceans, seas and coasts: blue growth

In a session “Better Coherence in the Baltic Sea Region” on Tuesday 22 May, HELCOM and other pan-Baltic organizations with maritime competencies discussed joint initiatives for maritime cooperation.

Later on the same day, HELCOM Head of Delegation from Sweden, Ms. Ida Reuterswärd, took the stage under the title  ‘Ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning: achievements and challenges requiring science-policy collaboration’. Jacek Zaucha from Maritime Institute in Gdansk, Poland, joined her in an entertaining presentation.

Maritime Spatial Planning was a key HELCOM topic in this year’s European Maritime Day.

HELCOM Professional Secretary Hermanni Backer was part of the session ‘Cross-border Maritime Spatial Planning: lessons from the southern North Sea and Bothnian Sea’.

The following day, Plan Bothnia Project  represented by Manuel Vega (in the picture) and Hermanni Backer had its Final Conference in Gothenburg – see here for more details on the pilot project on MSP in the Bothnian Sea.

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LINKS:      EMD 2012      Plan Bothnia

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS:

The European Maritime Day 2012 takes place at Eriksbergshallen, Maskingatan 11, 417 64 Gothenburg, Sweden, on 21 - 22 May 2012.

HELCOM’s involvement in the Stakeholder Day, 22 May 2012, is as follows:

HELCOM and other pan-Baltic organizations with maritime competencies discussing joint initiatives for maritime cooperation:

Better Coherence in the Baltic Sea Region

Tuesday 22 May, 10:00-11:30 ROOM 3: THEATRE

Speakers:

• Jan Lundin, Director General, Council of the Baltic Sea States

• Jochen Schulfe, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference

• Representative from the Baltic Sea Forum

• Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, HELCOM

• Panel: Involvement of other organizations such as VASAB, Baltic Sea Commission and BONUS

Future of the Baltic Sea across borders – outcomes of MASPNOSE and PLAN BOTHNIA Projects:

Cross-Border Maritime Spatial Planning: Lessons from the Southern North Sea and Bothnian Sea

Tuesday 22 May, 13:00-14:30 ROOM 4: THEATRE FOYER

Speakers:

• Dr. Charles Ehler (moderator, Ocean Visions Consulting)

• Hermanni Backer (Plan Bothnia Project/HELCOM Professional Secretary on Maritime and Response)

• Martin Pastoors (MASPNOSE project/Centre for Marine Policy)

• Panel with Haitze Siemers (EC), Lodewijk Abspoel (Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment), Tiina Tihlman (Finland Ministry for Environment) and Berit Petterson (Sweden Agency for MSP)

Research and Practice - Top of the crop of ecosystem approach and MSP:

Ecosystem Based Management and Maritime Spatial Planning: Achievements and Challenges Requiring Science-Policy Collaboration

Tuesday 22 May, 15:00-16:30 ROOM 4: THEATRE FOYER

Moderator:

• Andrea Morf (Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment

Speakers:

• Charles Ehler, Ocean Visions, France:
A global perspective on important challenges using MSP to implement EBM and achievements so far

• Ida Reuterswärd, Swedish Ministry of the Environment and HELCOM Head of Delegation, and Jacek Zaucha, Maritime Institute in Gdansk, Poland:
Towards a good status of the marine environment through coherent MSP in the Baltic Sea region

• Andreas Kannen, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany, and Laurence Mee, Scottish Association for Marine Science:

Highlights from European research projects analyzing MSP and EBM and developing tools

• Berit Pettersson, Swedish Authority for Marine and Water Management and Ingela Isaksson, County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland, Sweden:
MSP in Sweden and experiences from INTERREG-collaboration across Skagerrak and Kattegatt

• Panel: interactive discussion with speakers and further experts.

* * *

The PLAN BOTHNIA Final Conference & Future Collaboration on MSP in Europe

Wednesday 23 May, 9:00-16:30 Museum of World Culture (Världskulturmuseet), Södra vägen 54, Gothenburg, Sweden

The PLAN BOTHNIA project (2 Dec 2010 - 1 June 2012) has concretely tested joint transboundary Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) in a larger area covering the Bothnian Sea. The project has created and analyzed background material on activities and natural values, and developed a pilot plan for the offshore areas of the Bothnian Sea.

In addition to project achievements, the aim is to identify important challenges for MSP and appropriate forms of collaboration to address them.

Plan Bothnia website can be accessed here.

Full programme and invitation is available from here.