NESBp: strengthening maritime spatial planning across the North Sea and Baltic Sea

Today, Europe’s northern seas face growing pressure. The energy transition, climate change, biodiversity loss and increasing geopolitical tensions are reshaping how countries plan and manage their maritime space. Offshore wind, fisheries, shipping and nature protection all compete for space at sea, and no single country can address these challenges alone.

To respond to this, the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI) was established in 2023 to foster cross-border cooperation on maritime spatial planning (MSP) among North Sea countries. The Northern European Sea Basin project (NESBp), co-funded by the EU trough the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), supports the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative. By connecting it with the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group, the project extends this cooperation to the Baltic Sea.

Building on the results of the earlier eMSP NBSR project, NESBp helps countries around both sea basins to move from isolated national plans towards coordinated sea-basin approach.

Connecting two sea basins, sharing one challenge

Let by the Ministry of Economic Affairs / Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and bringing together partners from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, NESBp evaluates maritime spatial plans across key themes, strengthens networks between maritime spatial planning authorities and researchers, and develops practical tools that combine an ecosystem-based approach with a sustainable blue economy.

The project has already delivered concrete results:

• a visual guide and checklist to help integrate an ecosystem-based approach into maritime spatial planning; 
• a policy brief on the progress of transboundary cooperation in the Greater North Sea; 
• a shared glossary of terms on the energy transition and biodiversity; 
• a summary report mapping ongoing Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) work across the North and Baltic Seas. 

NESBp has also laid the methodological groundwork for "Mariparks", designated zones at sea where multiple activities, such as energy production, aquaculture and nature restoration, can take place side by side under clear and shared agreements. By giving companies more investment certainty while keeping the ecosystem’s needs in view, Mariparks offer a practical way to make better use of increasingly limited maritime space. 

Through workshops such as the European Maritime Day session and the Baltic MSP Week, and by building a community of practice on cumulative impact assessment, the project has strengthened cooperation between the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions, while exchanging knowledge with related EU projects such as ReMAP and MEDIGREEN.

As Marjoleine Nascimento da Silva, NESBp’ project coordinator, explains: 

"The project helps creating opportunities to exchange knowledge and experiences in the North Sea and Baltic Sea region. Hence, contributing to moving from national maritime spatial planning to a more sea-basin approach."

Maritime spatial planning as a driving force behind the priorities of the European Ocean Pact 

NESBp directly supports the objectives of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and contributes to the European Ocean Pact by demonstrating how maritime spatial planning can serve as a practical tool for a sea-basin approach to ocean governance.

By strengthening cross-border cooperation between EU Member States and building lasting links between the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions, the project lays the foundations for a more coherent, ecosystem-based and sustainable management of the seas of northern Europe.

For further information and updated news on the project, check the project website and follow NESBp on LinkedIn and BlueSky.