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Environmental Governance Regimes

BALTIC SEA – HELCOM and VASAB Agree on Maritime Spatial Planning Principles in the Baltic Sea Area

February 26, 2011

On 17 December 2010, HELCOM and VASAB (Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea)* agreed on ten Maritime Spatial Planning principles which regulate the development of coherent Maritime Spatial Planning in the Baltic Sea area.

This important development is a response to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region indicating the cardinal role of HELCOM and VASAB in developing Maritime Spatial Planning in the Baltic region in cooperation with relevant stakeholders.

Following the HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Declaration, adopted by the HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting on 20 May 2010, and the Vilnius Declaration adopted by the VASAB Ministerial  Conference on 16 October 2009,  HELCOM and VASAB established a joint, co-chaired HELCOM-VASAB Working Group on Maritime Spatial Planning. In December 2010, HELCOM and VASAB formulated Baltic Sea Broad-scale Maritime Spatial Planning principles, thus founding a firm basis for transboundary cooperation on Maritime Spatial Planning as well as Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Baltic Sea region, declaring the need for strengthening their synergies and the development of a future coherent terrestrial and maritime spatial planning for the Baltic Sea.

“The Baltic Sea is in great need of a developed, well adapted and coherent Maritime Spatial Planning to accomplish long term trade-offs between different and sometimes competing human activities, thereby providing a predictable framework for maritime economic investment and activities, for creating job opportunities and at the same time ensuring compatibility with good environmental status, thus promoting sustainable development of the marine areas and the Baltic Sea Region,” said Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “There is an increasing need and competition for marine space in the Baltic Sea which requires an integrated, cross-sectoral approach of managing human activities.”

Maritime Spatial Planning is an instrument for monitoring, evaluating, coordinating and allocating the spatial and temporal impact of human activities in marine areas, aiming to achieve an effective balance between economic, environmental, social and any other interests of maritime sectors in line with internationally and nationally agreed objectives. A common approach of Maritime Spatial Planning and sustainable management of the sea resources is required, as great differences still exist between the Baltic Sea Region countries.

The main Maritime Spatial Planning principle set by HELCOM and VASAB is the ecosystem approach. The ecosystem approach aims at a cross-sectoral and sustainable management of human activities to achieve a good status of the Baltic Sea ecosystem so that it can provide the services humans want and need. Maritime Spatial Planning will seek to protect and enhance the marine environment and contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status** according to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive*** and HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.
Maritime Spatial Planning will be based on the best available and up-to-date comprehensive information of high quality. Thus the initial challenge for Maritime Spatial Planning is to find, collect, and adapt such information in order to form it into a relevant base for the planning process. Methods to transform marine data on ecosystems and other environmental issues, as well as information on maritime issues and their effects on the ecosystems, into effective planning measures will need to be developed.

Notes

*Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea (VASAB) is an intergovernmental forum for co-operation of ministers responsible for spatial planning and development of Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation and Sweden.
** “Good Environmental Status” means the environmental status of marine waters where these provide ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, healthy and productive within their intrinsic conditions, and the use of the marine environment is at a level that is sustainable, thus safeguarding the potential for uses and activities by current and future generations, i.e.: (a) the structure, functions and processes of the constituent marine ecosystems, together with the associated physiographic, geographic, geological and climatic factors, allow those ecosystems to function fully and to maintain their resilience to human-induced environmental change. Marine species and habitats are protected, human-induced decline of biodiversity is prevented and diverse biological components function in balance; (b) hydro-morphological, physical and chemical properties of the ecosystems, including those properties which result from human activities in the area concerned, support the ecosystems as described above. Anthropogenic inputs of substances and energy, including noise, into the marine environment do not cause pollution effects. (Directive 2008/56/EC, Article 3(5)).
*** Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive)

Source: HELCOM Commission
For further information:
http://www.helcom.fi
http://www.helcom.fi/press_office/news_helcom/en_GB/HELCOM_VASAB_MSP_principles/

About the author

MEPIELAN Centre
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MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.

Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.

MEPIELAN Centre is an accredited UNEP/MAP PARTNER (since 2013), a Member of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) (since 2016), and a Member of the Steering Committee of the MCSD (since 2019).

On 22 May 2022, MEPIELAN Centre proceeded to the development of MEPIELAN as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) for the more effective and efficient advancement of its Goals and Missions and furtherance of its activities. MEPIELAN Centre as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) is registered in Greek Law (Hellenic Business Registry, Reg. No. 16477300100) in accordance with Laws 4072/2012 & 4919/2022 as applicable

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