The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight EU member states (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden) and Russia. It is divided into six marine regions: Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Riga, Baltic Proper, Danish Straits and Kattegat.
Visions and Strategies Around the Baltic Sea (VASAB): VASAB is an intergovernmental multilateral co-operation of 10 countries of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), including Belarus) on spatial planning and development. Its current work is guided by the 2009 ‘VASAB Long-Term Perspective for the Territorial Development of the Baltic Sea Region’ strategic document, which considers MSP as a key instrument for the alleviation of potential sea use conflicts (1).
Helsinki Commission (HELCOM): HELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission - Helsinki Commission) is the governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, known as the Helsinki Convention. In 2007, HELCOM developed the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) which introduced MSP as a process aiming at more coherent management of human activities in the Baltic Sea (1).
HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group: The working group serves as forum for intergovernmental discussions on MSP. The Working Group hosts dialogues on recent and future developments in the field of MSP in the Baltic Sea Region (1). In 2010, the ‘HELCOM-VASAB Baltic Sea Broad–scale Maritime Spatial Planning Principles’ were adopted, fulfilling the commitment set out in the Baltic Sea Action Plan on creating MSP principles. Aim of the ten principles is to provide guidance for achieving better coherence in the development of MSP systems in the Baltic Sea Region (2):
To fulfill the goal of drawing up and applying maritime spatial plans throughout the Baltic Sea region which are coherent across borders and apply the ecosystem approach, a roadmap was created, the “The Regional Baltic Maritime Spatial Planning Roadmap”. The “Guideline for the implementation of ecosystem-based approach in MSP in the Baltic Sea area” presents a step towards a common understanding on how the ecosystem-based approach can be applied in drawing up a spatial plan for a sea area in accordance with spatial planning legislation in force in Baltic Sea countries (2).
EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBR): EUSBR is a macro-regional strategy, approved by the European Council in 2009. The strategy is divided into three objectives which represent the three key challenges of the strategy: 1. saving the sea, 2. connecting the region and 3. increasing prosperity. The strategy defines the “Horizontal Action Spatial Planning” which covers MSP and land based spatial planning. The aims reflect the HELOCOM-VASAB objectives (3).