First joint North Sea and Baltic Sea MSP conference in Hamburg
The NorthSEE and Baltic LINes maritime spatial planning conference Connecting Seas took place on 13 – 14 February 2019 in Hamburg, Germany. For the first time more than 200 MSP experts and stakeholders from both the North and Baltic Sea Regions gathered to exchange knowledge and experience dealing with MSP and discuss topics related to the NorthSEE and Baltic LINes main project findings.
The Connecting Seas conference took place in Hamburg – a place where the Baltic and North Seas meet. The conference was opened by three welcome addresses from Dr Karin Kamman-Klipstein the president of the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), Dr Michael Frehse the head of Department H – Community – of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and Jan Schmidt from the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. They all stressed out that the conference is a great place to learn from each other and gain knowledge of similar challenges in MSP in both regions.
During the conference almost 50 speakers looked closer to the topics related to the main findings of the NorthSEE and Baltic LINes projects as well as the main issues in planning across the borders. Participants had a unique opportunity to explore deeper the MSP processes in the countries of the North and Baltic Sea Regions during the virtual ‘MSP sailing tour’. It was a chance to meet planners, ask questions and get more understanding about national MSPs. Furthermore, the conference hosted 9 interactive workshops dealing with the following topics:
- Energy sector – planning issues, criteria, tools
- Shipping sector – planning issues, criteria, tools
- Environmental impact
- Stakeholder involvement
- Other sea uses in MSP
- Data in MSPs
- Synergies and conflicts in MSP
- Future trends and scenarios
- Multi-level governance
To download the conference presentations from workshops and plenaries, find the link here. Watch the conference video here and conference photo gallery here.
A visual artist Christian Ridder captured main ideas and topics from the conference discussions and workshops in one picture. Download the picture in full size here.
