Within the Capacity4MSP project platform the Scientific and Research Institute of Maritime Spatial Planning Ermak NothWest (ErmakNW) and the Russian State Hydrometeorological University is focusing on drafting the MSP Roadmap in order to stimulate the implementation of MSP in Russia. To promote this progress, on 23 September 2020, ErmakNW together with MIREA – the Russian Technological University held an information workshop “Maritime spatial planning in the Russian Federation. Why does Russia need it?” for representatives of national and regional authorities. The event was organized in Moscow in a full-time and remote format.

The participants discussed the aspects for promoting MSP in Russia, the national specifics of the sea area management system, the coastal component in the socio-economic strategies of the regions. Stanislav Kuj, rector of RTU MIREA, Nuretdin Inamov from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Igor Kapyrin form the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed the participants with welcoming speeches.

Further in the event agenda, Andrei Lappo and Larisa Danilova (ErmakNW) presented the promotion of the MSP in Russia and the Russian MSP Roadmap developed by the Capacity4MSP project platform; Nikolay Plink (RSHU) highlighted a report on national specifics and approaches to the formation of an integrated management model for the coastal component. Alda Nikodemusa, head of the VASAB Secretariat, spoke about the international cooperation on MSP in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), carried out under the leadership of the international organisations HELCOM and VASAB, that has helped the BSR to be well known as a frontrunner in MSP cooperation in Europe. She explained how important it is to regularly exchange and share knowledge between countries to achieve the goal – coherent MSP plans across the borders.

Ekaterina Khmeleva of the WWF-Russia shared experience in ecosystem modelling for the analysis and assessment of biodiversity using the example of the Pechora Sea in Russian Arctic zone. Alexey Konovalov, RTU MIREA, presented a report on the spatial aspects of Russian maritime management.

As an example of the successful development of a maritime spatial plan, the Polish MSP and its transboundary aspects with the South-East Russian waters in the Baltic Sea were presented. The developers of the Polish MSP Jacek Zaucha and Magdalena Matczak (Maritime institute, Gdynia Maritime University) spoke about the planning methodology, the regional specifics of the Polish marine area and the proposed planning solutions. Representatives of the administration and scientific organizations of the Kaliningrad region took part in the discussion on the Polish MSP. The discussion showed that the general approaches of both countries have much in common, since both Russia and Poland note the importance of the ecosystem-based approach to the planning, taking into account the interests of priority marine economic activities, and the need for greater consultations and further cross boundary interaction.

The discussion on the promotion of the MSP in Russia will continue with a series of regional roundtables in Vladivostok (2020, October 7), Kaliningrad (2020, October 17-18), St. Petersburg (2020, October 23) and Murmansk (2020, October 29). Milestone reports on Russian MSP Roadmap development were foreseen at the Strategic Planning Forum (2020, October 27) and the Baltic Sea Day Forum (March 2021).