International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Eco-friendly Development of Coastal and Marine Areas’ will take place on 9-10 December in St.Petersburg in a hybrid form. The conference is organised by Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU) and Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) within the Interreg BSR programme’ s project platform Capacity4MSP.

The conference invites you to discuss the prospects and threats for the development of various types of maritime activities, as well as instruments for sustainable development of such important sectors of the maritime economy as hydrocarbon production, port activities and maritime transport, tourism, fishing and mariculture, marine protected areas, renewable energy sources at sea. The conference will become an international platform for discussing the positive experience of environmentally friendly development of coastal zones and sea areas and, in particular, the problems of introducing marine spatial planning (MSP) in Russia and in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Opportunities for the development of sustainable offshore economic activities and blue growth in these regions will be considered.

The plenary session of the conference will focus on marine spatial planning as a tool for the eco-friendly development of maritime activities. A draft of a Roadmap for the implementation of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) in Russia will be presented that was developed in the framework of the international project Capacity4MSP of the program “Interreg – Baltic Sea Region” in close cooperation with the Baltic Sea Region countries. The MSP Roadmap for Russia aims to promote the advancement of marine spatial planning in Russia and its integration into the international MSP process. The main issues and problems of planning the development of maritime activities in the coastal regions of Russia will be discussed from the point of view of the federal authorities and the coastal subjects of federation; and general approaches to marine spatial planning in the system of strategic planning for the development of maritime activities of the Russian Federation will be considered.

During the conference a Roundtable ‘Russian Initiatives for the Effective Implementation of the Black Sea Blue Growth Strategy’ will be held, which will discuss the contribution of scientific and educational organizations to the Russian research and innovation strategy for the Black Sea, its inclusion in the Black Sea SRIA, Russian and international projects and initiatives related to the common maritime agenda.

Also, within the framework of the conference, the first meeting of the ‘International Group of Experts on Sustainable Development of the Coastal Zone and Water Area of the Caspian Sea’ where the actual environmental and socio-economic problems of the Caspian Sea region will be considered with the possibilities of developing cooperation for the introduction of an integral model of maritime use in the Caspian Sea for transboundary waters and the development of an international Action Plan for the Caspian Sea in the future.

Representatives of federal government bodies, government bodies of the coastal regions of the Russian Federation, the CIS countries, local government bodies, scientific and public organizations, businesses interested in improving management of maritime activities and sustainable development of coastal areas, as well as all other interested parties from the international MSP community are invited to participate in the International Scientific and Practical Conference “ECO-FRIENDLY DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL AND MARINE AREAS” to share the knowledge and expertise in this field. The participation of young scientists is encouraged.

To register for the event, please send this registration form to the secretary of the conference:
Alexandra Ershova, PhD, ershova@rshu.ru