News
2018
November
PANACeA - 'Streamlining management efforts in Protected Areas for an enhanced Protection in the Mediterranean Sea' is organising a side-event to the Convention on Biodiversity Conference of the Parties in Egypt on 27 November 2018. The event, ''Ecosystem-based approaches to managing transboundary and cumulative impacts in the Mediterranean with a special focus on marine plastic litter and climate change”, will present methods and processes that are scientifically and politically relevant to better implement EBM in the Mediterranean. The project is also organising a workshop on "Ecosystem based approach: benefits for people and nature" and public hearing ''Mediterranean ecosystems in danger: Enhancing EU policy response'', in Brussels on 4 and 5 December 2018.
More about the Convention on Biodiversity side event 27 November 2018
More about the workshop and public hearing 4-5 December 2018
October
The International Workshop on Maritime Spatial Planning, organized by the Marine Sciences and Environmental Faculty of the University of Cadiz, will be held at 29-30 of October of 2018, in Cádiz - Spain.
The Workshop aims to address the most relevant and interesting issues regarding the application of the Directive 2014/89/EU on Marine Spatial Planning. To do this, the experiences of Spain and Portugal will be analyzed, generating a high-level debate and an exchange of knowledge and experiences on the subject.
With a wide representation of experts (political profile managers, technicians, academics and experts), the marine management will be approached from different perspectives: from the international scale (for this there will be a representative of the United Nations), passing through the national (through a representative of the competent Spanish Ministry), to the regional experience of the archipelagos of Macaronesia in marine management (with the collaboration of the MarSP project). Finally, the application of the concepts acquired on marine spatial planning at different scales will be applied in a practical way in the Gulf of Cádiz.
Each day the Seminar will be followed by a practical participatory exercise (90 minutes) where the potential problems and solutions that may arise from having a maritime spatial planning at the Gulf of Cadiz will be discussed.
The event is organized by Dr. Javier García Sanabria and the entry to the event is free. The event will run entirely in Spanish language. After completion a certificate will be issued to attendants. University and PhD credits are acknowledged after completion of the Seminar.
Registry (until filling all 70 spaces available) can be done through sending an email to indess@uca.es stating the following details:
- Name and Surname
- Name of your institution/business
- If student, name of the master/undergrad program/ PhD program
- Email and phone number (optional)
- National Identity Number / Passport Number (for the certificate)
More info at http://marsp.eu/news/7
Many new items have been added to the EU MSP Platform website in the month of September! Below is a brief overview. You should also subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter - do so here.
Practices
Using Automatic Identification System (AIS) for MSP
Marine Licensing and Cultural Heritage, England
Improving the co-existence of Offshore Energy Installations & Shipping
FAQs
Marine Cultural Heritage (MCH) and MSP
Projects
Submarine Archaeological Heritage of the Western Black Sea Shelf
Western Black Sea Underwater Cultural Touristic Routes
News
SmartSea Gulf of Bothnia conference - presentations available
22 new sustainable blue projects receive EU funding
Workshop MSP for Islands - Presentations and photos available!
MSP for Blue Growth Webinar Series
Help rename the Virtual Knowledge Center on Blue Economy!
Interim evaluation of direct management part of the EMFF
Call for applications Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries
22 new sustainable blue projects receive EU funding
EC Report report on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
Irish MSP authority publishes National MSP Framework Baseline Report
Got side-tracked this month? Check out this overview of the new items that were added to the website in October! PS: did you subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter yet? Do it here!
Practices
Tiree Onshore Scenario Mapping for the proposed Argyll Array Offshore Windfarm
Land Sea Interactions in Maritime Spatial Planning
Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC)
South Inshore and South Offshore Marine Plans (England)
Funding
2nd Call for Project Platforms Interreg Baltic
Polish tender for elaborating MSP and EIA for ports
News
Save the Date: Connecting Seas NorthSEE - Baltic LINes MSP Conference
Ireland’s National Marine Planning Framework Baseline Report
MUSES Final Conference & Presentation of the Multi-Use Action Plan
Other
Good news! The EMFF MSP Call for Proposals budget has been increased to 3 million euros AND the deadline has been extended until 30 November 2018. More information: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/maritime-spatial-planning-msp-projects
View a description of the funding opportunity here.
The EU MSP Platform developed a policy brief on the topic of implementing the Ecosystem-Based Approach in MSP. The brief provides a detailed overview of EBA in relevant EU legislation, including the relationship between the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the MSP Directive; discussion of the challenges and potential solutions for integrating EBA and MSP; and examples of existing tools for integrating the two. The policy brief can be downloaded here:
Further information on EBA can be be found on the FAQ page: Ecosystem-based Approach
The MUSES Final Conference took place on 10th October 2018 at Crowne Plaza Le Palace in Brussels. The main aim of the conference was to disseminate project results and discuss the way forward for multi-use in European Seas. It brought together about 96 stakeholders and project experts from the business community, public administrations and academia. The conference was designed to encourage discussions and potential partnerships that would support the implementation of the action plan and advance the development of the multi-use concept across the EU.
The conference was divided into three main sessions which started off with the MUSES partners presenting their outputs mainly at case study and sea basin level. This was followed by presentations by stakeholders who shared their experiences and discussed multiuse under two different sessions: Tourism related multiuse and Energy related multiuse. The conference also provided a platform to discuss the EU-wide MUSES Multi-Use Action Plan which sets out the various actions that can be taken at different levels including legislation, maritime spatial planning, dissemination and marketing, funding, capacity building and research to promote multi-use in European Seas. The major output here was for stakeholders to discuss the enablers for these actions and to prioritise them according to the level of impact and efforts involved for its implementation.
The closing panel discussion involved high level representatives from DG-MARE, DG Research, Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre – PAP/RAC, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences – RBINS and industrial representative from Equinor. The session focused on the next steps for multi-uses and how institutions can take up actions and advance multi-use. After the closing of the MUSES Project Final Conference, the SOMOS (Safe production Of Marine plants and use of Ocean Space) Project hosted a celebratory closing reception aimed at disseminating their project results, informal discussions on multi-use and networking.
The Polish MSP authority has launched a call for tenders on the topic of 'Elaboration of maritime spatial plans and environmental impact assessments for the port waters of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Władysławowa and Hel'. The value of the tender is 483 414.64 PLN excluding VAT. The award criteria include the following weighing:
- Quality guarantee - 20%
- Experience of contractor in spatial planning - 20%
- Price - 60%
Tenders can be submitted by any EU entity that is not excluded from EU tenders and has special skills and experience in spatial planning. They may be submitted seperately for each port. The time for plan eloboration is 28 months. Submitted tenders will be opened by the Maritime Office in Gdynia on 14 November 2018 at 10:00.
It has also been announced that the work on the elaboration of maritime spatial plans for internal sea waters of the ports of Darłowo, Kołobrzeg and Dźwirzyno has been started. The ports are in the area of competence of the Director of the Maritime Office in Słups. The agreement for the performance of this task was signed on October 5, 2018.
The EU MSP Platform has developed guidance to help website visitors navigate the diverse resources available. The User Guidance provides tips for finding information, organised around six scenarios. The PDF version of the guidance provides links to the various webpages mentioned.
First time visitors to the EU MSP Platform website are encouraged to review this guidance to help find the exact information they are looking for. Specific user guidance for the Projects and Practices Databases is also available.
ICES organised 18 theme sessions during its annual conference on 24-27 September 2018. One of the sessions focused on the MSP visions and indicators. The participants list has been published, session abstracts and posters are available here and the keynote speeches can be viewed here. The presentations will become available soon. Participants came from all over Europe as well as the US and Australia meaning that there was a lot of exchange on the differences between MSP approaches used across the world.
The last interactive session focused on improvements of the ICES MSP working group and suggestions for future research steps. Main issues discussed included:
- MSP is still defined and applied in different ways across the world
- Understanding of MSP and approaches to its implementation and relation to the EBM are quite diverse.
- A common glossary is needed as to be able to continue any discussions
- The inclusion of fisheries in MSP
- Monitoring
- Links between MSP and the MSFD
A report will be published in the coming months.
On 28 September 2018 the Priority Action Programme, Regional Activity Centre (PAP-RAC) of UNEP-MAP organised the Regional Consultation on the Common Regional Framework for ICZM, involving UNEP-MAP and PAP-RCA national focal points (NFPs). The participants discussed the structure and contents of the document “Common Regional Framework for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean”, also including MSP and LSI issues. The meeting included a wide discussion on the advanced draft version of the document “Common Regional Framework for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean”.
The Common Regional Framework on ICZM specifically includes a section on MSP, which frames how the MSP shall be embedded into the Barcelona Convention system and specifically the ICZM Protocol. The Common Regional Framework is expected to be approved by the next UNEP-MAP Conference of the Parties to be held in December 2019. This work involves NFPs of all Mediterranean countries including MSs: Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Cyprus.
PADDLE organised a summer school from 3 to 7 September 2018 in Brest, France. The one-week training and capacity-building interdisciplinary session on tropical MSP brought together PhD students and researchers from Europe and countries bordering the tropical Atlantic. The programme is available here. It aimed at providing early researchers a comprehensive toolbox to address some of the challenges the world's largest ecosystem faces through MSP. General lectures were given by international experts in the field of MSP and disciplines offering tools for informed decision-making (e.g. GIS, accoustic, population modelling). Lessons learnt were immediately tested in action, through the MSP Challenge. There were presentations on the SIMCelt project, power and participation in MSP, marine governance, land se interactions, artisinal fisheries, among many other topics. The presentations are freely available via this link.
More info and material here.