The MSP-OR international cooperation project, in which the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) participates as a partner, has given a boost to governance with the aim of improving the application of maritime spatial planning with greater commitment and cooperation from all parties involved. A conference on the planning and governance of the marine coastal space of the Canary Islands demarcation was held today in Lanzarote, organised by the Government of the Canary Islands, in collaboration with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO, where both the instruments for marine spatial planning and the different tools that allow the participation of all interested parties were presented. During the meeting, the Canary Islands Marine Coastal Area was presented, a tool of the Government of the Canary Islands that aims to be a meeting point for all the agents involved in the management of the Canary Islands coastal marine environment to improve coordination, debate and consensual decision-making, thus achieving a more agile and effective management of the coast and the sea. In addition, and developed within the framework of the MSP-OR project, the Platform for Ocean Governance of the Outermost Regions was presented, which aims to provide Member States and stakeholders with a virtual stage for debate, knowledge generation and exchange and capacity building in maritime spatial planning. This platform aims to constitute a permanent virtual space in which the outermost regions can advance in cooperation actions and contribute to the European Green Deal to achieve climate neutrality and a sustainable blue economy in the European Union. The European outermost regions of the Azores and Madeira, in Portugal; The Canary Islands, in Spain, and French Guiana join forces within the framework of the transnational cooperation project MSP-OR: Advancing Maritime Spatial Planning in Outermost Regions to support the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in their marine territories with the aim of advancing its transposition through their regional processes.

The project, which will end in 2024, involves 12 partners from Portugal, Spain and France, and involves national and regional authorities responsible for spatial planning, other institutional entities and other partners with scientific-technical expertise.