Achievements of the C-scope working group on marine spatial planning

Working group on marine spatial planning (MSP)

The ad hoc working group on Marine spatial Planning (MSP) was founded by the Coordination centre on ICZM (integrated coastal zone management), following the inclusion of MSP as a theme in the C-SCOPE project.

The mission of the working group, which consisted of independent experts, academics and scientists, was to:

• Formulate recommendations on MSP in Belgium
• Advise on MSP within the framework of C-SCOPE
• Advise on the case study ‘Bay of Heist’ within C-SCOPE

Achievements of the working group on marine spatial planning

The working group boasts the following achievements that focus on spatial planning at sea:

• An inventory of the Belgian MSP situation based on the UNESCO guide for MSP.
• A position paper that introduces the future-oriented approach on spatial planning at sea.
• A final report on the results of a project on integrated terrestrial and marine planning based on two case studies in the so-called Bay of Heist (Belgium) and Dorset (UK). The objective of those case studies was to find out how terrestrial and marine planning can be linked.