Published January 31, 2024 | Version v1
Project deliverable Open

MSP4BIO Deliverable 6.1: State of the art on key barriers and levers for policy coherence

  • 1. ROR icon University of Helsinki
  • 2. ROR icon Finnish Environment Institute
  • 3. ROR icon Nantes Université
  • 4. ROR icon Flanders Marine Institute
  • 5. Faculty of Marine and Environmental Science, Universidad de Cádiz
  • 6. University of Cadiz
  • 7. ROR icon Universidade dos Açores
  • 8. ROR icon Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission
  • 9. ROR icon Gdynia Maritime University
  • 10. ROR icon University of Gdańsk
  • 11. ROR icon University of Tartu
  • 12. University of Tartu, Estonian Marine Institute
  • 13. PAP/RAC
  • 14. ROR icon Centre d'Études et d'Expertise sur les Risques, l'Environnement, la Mobilité et l'Aménagement
  • 15. EDMO icon Centre for Studies on Risks, Environment, Mobility and Urban Planning - Technical directorate Risks, waters and sea (Plouzane)
  • 16. CEREMA / Risques, eaux et mer
  • 17. EDMO icon CNR, National Research Council, Institute of Marine Science (Rome)
  • 18. Center for Coastal and Marine Studies (CCMS)
  • 19. s.Pro - sustainable Projects

Description

This report assessed the extent to which biodiversity is mainstreamed across EU, regional, and national marine and sectoral policies, with a particular focus on the role of the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive. The analysis shows that while biodiversity conservation is well embedded in environmental policies and increasingly acknowledged across sectoral frameworks, its practical integration and implementation remain uneven across countries and policy domains.

Despite strong policy recognition of MSP as a key tool for biodiversity protection, its potential is not fully realised in practice, due to institutional, technical, and resource-related barriers. The findings highlight the need for stronger mechanisms to connect MSP processes with concrete biodiversity actions, as well as for enhanced coordination through frameworks such as Regional Sea Conventions to support more effective and coherent implementation.

Files

Deliverable 6.1_State of the art on key barriers and levers for policy coherence.pdf

Additional details

Funding

European Commission
MSP4BIO - Improved Science-Based Maritime Spatial Planning to Safeguard and Restore Biodiversity in a coherent European MPA network 101060707