The 1st Planners’ Forum within the Capacity4MSP project took place on 31 March 2020, it continued an already established tradition of successful planners’ meetings. To follow the global health situation, meeting took place online and proved that this format also can ensure the collaboration among maritime spatial planning practitioners.

During these demanding and unpredictable times, the Capacity4MSP 1st project partner meeting was held online on 30th March 2020. As work in all project activities has already successfully begun, this meeting was crucial for all project partners to discuss current project progress and to update the work plan. Here is a short summary of main messages discussed at the meeting.

VASAB jointly with HELCOM are Coordinators of the Horizontal Action 'Spatial Planning' of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The overall goal of HA 'Spatial Planning' is to increase territorial cohesion in the Baltic Sea Region. In 2030, the Region shall be a better-integrated and more coherent macro-region, that has reduced socio-economic development divides between its individual parts and has turned global challenges into assets. HA 'Spatial Planning' has two thematic areas: land-based spatial planning and maritime spatial planning (MSP).

After the project platform’s Capacity4MSP kick-off meeting in November 2019, project partners have defined the work plan to start off the tasks to support the MSP stakeholders and decision makers in their work.

Together with the conclusion of the Pan Baltic Scope project VASAB Secretariat with support from Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia and Hendriksson&Ko has concluded its work on the Assessment of Application of Baltic Sea Common Regional Maritime Spatial Planning Framework.

Accessibility is a key concept for territorial development and an essential location factor. It holds significance on various spatial scales. Even in the areas geographically distant from the European core, where accessibility is generally poor, its local differentiation may decide about development.  The VASAB Ministerial Conference in 2014 in Tallinn underlined that connectivity and accessibility in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), as well as the links between the Region and Europe’s core areas, and between the Region and other neighbouring regions are amongst the key development issues in the BSR.