Beyond EU policy harmonization and economic values in MSP: the design of the MEDIGREEN project

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) has been identified as a key enabler of a maritime European Green Deal (EGD) (Van de Burg et al., 2021, Bocci et al. 2024 ). Building on recent advances in policy alignment across Europe (e.g., CrossGov, MSP-GREEN, PermaGov), the MEDIGREEN project—Mediterranean Approach Towards a Maritime European Green Deal in MSP—proposes a framework to implement the EGD in the Mediterranean. This project adopts a practical approach to address four core marine activities (offshore renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, and nature conservation) relevant to the region to integrate the objectives of the EGD in MSP. It considers the Mediterranean’s unique ecology, socio-economic, landscape, governance structures, and common cultural heritage while recognizing the need for strengthening collaboration at sea-basin level, in order to achieve the EGD objectives through MSP and marine governance and management. A distinctive feature of MEDIGREEN is the collaboration between EU and non-EU partners within the framework of the Barcelona Convention and its engagement with the Mediterranean MSP Community of Practice (MED-MSP-CoP). The project also seeks to effectively overcome the simple dissemination of results, going from “communication” to “exchange” and exploring maritime sectors' non-economic value at the sea basin. It will also link to ongoing Black, North, and Baltic Sea initiatives to align MSP and EGD efforts at the EU level. The results of this project are expected to enable EU countries to reinforce and integrate EGD-related actions in the finalization or implementation of national MSP plans while enlarging the consideration of these issues to non-EU countries. This study, by presenting the design and origins of MEDIGREEN, aims to demonstrate pathways for collaboration with non-EU countries to enhance the sustainability of maritime activities in the framework of an integrated planning approach that not only promotes environmental and economic sustainability but also addresses social sustainability by considering non-economic values.

 

References

Martina Bocci, Emiliano Ramieri, Folco Soffietti, Alexandre Cornet, Arki Vesa et al. The Green Deal Component of the EU MSP Plans - First policy brief, 2023. MSP-GREEN: GA101081314-EMFAF-2021- PIA-MSP

Van den Burg, S., Chouchane, H., Kraan, M., Selnes, T., Roebeling, P., Bogers, M., (Wageningen Research), Neumann, T., Finello, F., Pirlot, A., Giraud, L., (Ramboll), Arora, G., Roestenberg T., Viana de Miranda, A., (Deloitte). 2022. Assessment of the relevance and effect of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in the context of the European Green Deal. Final Report. European Commission B-1049 Brussels