Insights from 5th Baltic MSP Forum - Baltijas Vides Forums

5th Baltic MSP Forum Brings Together Experts to Shape a Resilient and Sustainable MSP and Coastal Planning Future

On 11–12 November, Riga hosted the 5th Baltic Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Forum, which is an important platform for policymakers, planners, scientists and industry experts. The Forum also served as the closing event of the Baltic Sea2Land project.

Forum – a place for dialogue and cooperation

The event gathered participants from the Baltic and North Sea regions to jointly seek solutions to pressing challenges – climate change, security, integration of ecosystem services, coastal accessibility, and a sustainable blue economy.

Over two days under the slogan “Navigate Planning Through Changes” participants discussed how MSP can become a tool for building a resilient future. The discussions emphasized the need for integrated land-sea planning, balancing ecological, economic, and security interests, and engaging local communities. As the organizers noted: “Strong communities and knowledgeable people make plans actionable.”

Insights from sessions

The BEF-Latvia team had the honour of contributing to the organization of several sessions at the Forum.

The session on the Integration of ecosystem services (ES) into MSP, organized and led by BEF-Latvia, explored options for incorporating ES information into MSP and discussed its role in strategies for sustainable marine ecosystem management. Participants were introduced to three cases demonstrating the use of ES information in marine management at different levels. The following discussion focused on the advantages of using ES in policymaking and planning across various contexts. Participants agreed that ES information has strong potential for evidence-based decision-making and for justifying restoration measures, although so far it has been applied in practice mainly for MSP decisions. To increase the reliability of ES information, further research should move beyond simple qualitative mapping of ES towards quantifying the processes underlying their supply, while planners should integrate ES systematically into the planning process.

The session on Integration of Blue-Green Infrastructure in MSP was co-hosted by BEF-Latvia and our colleagues from Regional Council of Southwest Finland. This session focused on the challenges and developments made in implementation of the marine green infrastructure concept in the Baltic Sea, experience-sharing from Finland and Sweden, and paving the path forward – topics closely linked to ecosystem services as well. During the session, it was highlighted that although understanding connectivity in marine environment is a challenge, it is also one of the most urgent aspects to consider as the recovery of nature and delivery of ecosystem services rely on it, and current understanding on it remains insufficient. In the discussion few key themes arose. Firstly, a sea basin approach and cross-border collaboration are central to safeguarding ecological connectivity and holistic green infrastructure considerations. Secondly, there is a need to go beyond classic protection measures (MPAs) and consider nature values more broadly to ensure ecosystem health and functionality. Finally, it was discussed that the role of ecosystem services and linking nature to economic value can be debated, but if showing economic value is a way to make visible the importance of nature, it should not be overlooked.

BEF-Latvia expert also contributed to the organization and facilitation of a session devoted to the main solution developed by the Baltic Sea2Land project – the Sea2Land Navigator online platform that is created to assist the work of maritime and coastal planning. The participants of the session were introduced to the concept and content of the Sea2Land Navigator, and also had the opportunity to test the tool practically. Although the Baltic Sea2Land project is finalizing, the Sea2Land Navigator will continue to be refined and applied in other MSP-related projects.

In case you missed the Forum, or are interested in re-visiting the discussions, recordings of sessions are now available online.