The EU MSP-Platform acknowledges the Compendium for Coast and Sea as an example of Good Practice | Compendium Coast and Sea

The EU MSP-Platform acknowledges the Compendium for Coast and Sea as an example of Good Practice

The Compendium for Coast and Sea was recently taken up as a national Good Practice example by the European Maritime Spatial Platform (MSP). The MSP provides all involved with marine spatial planning in EU-Member States a single interface of experience and expertise through exchanging and creating knowledge. The MSP is funded by the EC Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

In Europe, the 23 coastal Member States are obliged under the MSP Directive (Directive 2014/89/EU) to develop a national maritime spatial plan at the latest by 31 March 2021, with a minimum review period of 10 years. With its Marine Spatial Plan 2014-2020, Belgium has been one of the global leaders in this regard. Now, In order to capture and share the lessons learned both from national and transnational processes and projects, the EU MSP Platform hosts a Projects database and Practices database to archive practical experience with MSP across Europe. There are also Country Information Profiles available on the MSP Platform website providing a webpage overview of the status of MSP processes in each of the coastal Member States. You can visit the Belgian country profile by clicking here, or if you're interested in the Compendium information on the MSP click here.

More background on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP):

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is defined in the EU Directive on MSP as ‘a process by which the relevant Member State’s authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives’. In practice, MSP has often been considered world-wide even in a broader way as encompassing both formal and informal public undertakings and initiatives on how to use the sea space in line with societally agreed goals and values. The EU MSP Directive lists several minimum requirements for maritime spatial plans, including reference to aspects such as:

  • land-sea interactions;
  • the ecosystem-based approach;
  • coherence between MSP and other processes such as integrated coastal management;
  • the involvement of stakeholders;
  • the use of best available data;
  • transboundary cooperation between Member States;
  • and cooperation with third countries.

Maritime spatial planning is also part of the overarching Integrated Maritime Policy of the EU, which has as its objective to ‘support the sustainable development of seas and oceans and to develop coordinated, coherent and transparent decision-making in relation to the European Union’s sectoral policies affecting the oceans, seas, islands, coastal and outermost regions and maritime sector.