Lessons Learned from Implementing MSP in the North and Baltic Seas

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has been underway in Western European countries for almost a decade. Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Norway are already working on second-generation spatial plans for their marine areas in the North and Baltic seas. Other countries, including the United Kingdom and Sweden, are working on national legislation that will authorize integrated MSP throughout their marine waters. Still others, for example, Poland and France, are testing MSP approaches in pilot sites. Early efforts have also begun to scale up national-level efforts to the level of the regional sea, i.e., the North Sea and the Baltic seas. All of these counties have used the best available scientific information to develop and implement their plans—and to identify gaps in knowledge needed for effective MSP. This presentation will summarize good practices in organizing and synthesizing information for planning, including filling information gaps, and will draw lessons learned that should be useful to new MSP efforts in the United States.