BaltCoast

Project’s lifetime: 2002 – 2006
Budget: € 3 000 000

The INTERREG III B BSR BaltCoast (Recommendations on the role of spatial planning in Integrated Coastal Zone Management) project originated from the conclusions of the 5th Conference of Ministers Responsible for Spatial Planning and Development in the Baltic Sea Region (Wismar, 2001) and was a part of the “VASAB 2010 PLUS Spatial Development Action Programme”.

For first time in the Baltic Sea Region, Baltcoast:

  • Integrated the needs for development with those for protection
  • Included all types of coastal areas, e.g. areas of intensive tourism, urban expansion areas, infrastructure development areas etc.
  • Equally included off-shore and land-side coastal areas
  • Linked the project oriented approach with the process of statutory spatial planning in widening the participation to all public and private actors that could contribute

The project comprised 17 sub-projects implemented by 22 national, regional and local authorities plus two scientific institutes and one non-governmental organisation from seven BSR countries. Project activities implemented between 2002 and 2005 included:

Identifying and solving use conflicts in offshore areas in the BSR:

  • Preparation of inventory of off-shore uses and conflicts in the BSR
  • Elaboration of a transnational use strategy for offshore areas in the BSR

Identifying and solving use conflicts in specific coastal in land areas such as:

  • Sensitive lagoon and wetland areas (especially solving conflicts between tourism and nature protection through the use of zoning by time and space),
  • Urban areas (especially solving conflicts between urban expansion and nature protection by definition of combined strategies)

Implementation of existing regional programmes and concepts for using and protecting coastal zone areas:

  • Discussion of different approaches and elucidation of similarities
  • Elaboration of common recommendations for ICZM in the BSR leading to institutional and procedural changes in the participating countries.

See attached project recommendations.