Spain, France and Portugal join forces within the framework of the MSP-OR cross-border cooperation project : Promoting maritime spatial planning in outermost regions, to support the application of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in their marine waters. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) participates as a partner in the project through the General Directorate of the Coast and the Sea and the Biodiversity Foundation.
The increasing pressure of human activities in maritime space requires planning to mitigate impacts and manage potential conflicts. Maritime spatial planning is a powerful tool to help countries find common goals, manage human activities competing for marine space and manage their impacts, promoting sustainable use of the ocean.
This initiative, coordinated by Portugal’s Regional Fund for Science and Technology, will provide the basis for developing and adopting the principles of Maritime Spatial Planning in four outermost regions, while facilitating integrated ocean governance among the participating countries.
In addition to MITECO, the project has among its Spanish partners the Center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Government of the Canary Islands and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canarias. On the Portuguese side, the Regional Secretariat of the Sea and Fisheries of the Azores, the Regional Secretariat of Sea and Fisheries of Madeira and the Directorate General of Sea Policy are represented. From France, the Service Hydrographique et Oceanographique de la Marine and the Centre d’Études et d’Expertise sur les Risques de l’Environnement, la Mobilité et l’Amenagement are participating.
MARITIME SPATIAL PLANNING
For three years, the actions designed within the framework of the project will work to advance maritime planning, depending on the particular needs of each region. Among them, there is research to fill the gaps that hinder the progress of the processes of implementation of maritime spatial planning in the different outermost areas.
Also noteworthy is the development of the Ocean Governance Platform, a virtual stage to support cooperative governance, communication between competent authorities and the sharing of maritime spatial planning contributions, which will remain active beyond the duration of the project.
The participation of MITECO through the Directorate General of the Coast and the Sea, the competent authority in matters of maritime spatial planning and marine strategies in Spain, will focus its efforts on promoting sectoral analyses of the Canary Islands and on integrating territorial planning and environmental policies, in addition to participating in other actions.
The Biodiversity Foundation will carry out training, communication and dissemination activities, and participatory processes will be carried out in the Canary Islands aimed at the renewable energy and nautical-recreational sectors, in addition to supporting the rest of the partners in other actions. In addition, this project will complement the participation, training, awareness-raising and coordination actions between administrations and the integration of policies launched in the LIFE INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network.
