The impacts and pressures that marine ecosystems currently receive can lead to the deterioration of the environmental status, the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services and consequently have a huge impact on the development of the blue economy.

The ECOUNION entity, through the PLANMEDTUR project, has systematically analysed the degree of integration of the ecosystem approach into the regulatory framework of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSO) related to tourism, environmental and economic impacts, conflicts, and competence frameworks. This diagnosis has made it possible to outline general and sectoral recommendations for the correct OEM of tourism with an ecosystem approach. With this, PLANMEDTUR contributes to informing the OEM processes of Decree 363/2017, which will have to be implemented no later than 2021 throughout the State.

The technical report Towards a Maritime Spatial Planning of tourism with an ecosystem approach in the Balearic Levantine demarcation has been produced, as well as a planning and implementation guide. This demarcation, which includes the peninsular coast that extends between the capes of Creus (located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula) and Gata (located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula) and the Balearic Islands, bathed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, adds up to around 2,400 km. This region is home to large population centres such as Barcelona, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca, as well as important commercial and fishing ports: Cartagena, Alicante, Denia, Cullera, Valencia, Sagunto, Castellón, Tarragona and Barcelona on the peninsular coast and Ibiza, Palma and Mahón on the island coasts. The demarcation is characterized by a strong tourist specialization.

The Blue eco forum was also organised in Barcelona within the framework of the project, a debate on how to mitigate the environmental impacts of tourism through the integration of coastal maritime planning and governance mechanisms.