How can maritime spatial planning contribute to sustainable Blue Growth in the Baltic Sea?

Abstract

The sea and the coasts are drivers of Europe’s economy as many of the economic activities as well as large part of trade depend on the sea. At the European level there is strong political pressure to enhance the growth of maritime economy sectors. The European Union has developed the Integrated Maritime Policy to support the sustainable development of the seas and oceans. The aim is to reach a good environmental status of European seas by 2020. The value of this study is to provide fresh insight into the topic by examining the empirical relationship between the sustainable Blue Growth and Marine Spatial planning. The purpose is to make a relatively short introduction to questions like what is the potential of sustainable Blue Growth, how can maritime spatial planning (MSP) contribute to sustainable Blue Growth, and what are the cross-border elements of MSP. The experiences of previous MSP projects, EU policy reports and scientific articles with MSP in their focus are used as a source to answer these questions. So far there have been only recommendations towards sustainable Blue Growth, and each country remains responsible for designing and determining the format and content of maritime plans. MSP processes should be developed both at national and international levels.