From Limits to Layout: Making Marine and Coastal Space Work Effectively

Europe’s coasts and seas are being asked to do more with less space. Offshore renewables are scaling; marine and coastal protection should expand; ports are adapting to new logistics and operational needs; defence and maritime security requirements have intensified since the war in Ukraine; and traditional sectors—fisheries, shipping, tourism—still need viable operating areas. In the Baltic, these demands concentrate in shallow, ecologically sensitive waters with dense cross-border linkages. The result is a practical question: how do we turn overlaps into workable coexistence rather than zero-sum competition?

Viable examples exist and should be considered in MSP. The multi-use agenda offers one route: stack compatible activities (e.g., offshore wind with certain fishing practices; research and conservation with controlled tourism access; port upgrades with nature-based solutions) to reduce single-use footprints and create co-benefits. But multi-use only works when it is designed—with clear objectives, transparent criteria, and governance that spans the land–sea interface. What often blocks progress is not a lack of ideas but fragmented evidence, unaligned permitting expectations across agencies, and limited mechanisms to share risk and reward between sectors.

Maripark is one tangible approach: an “umbrella” concept to fast-track multi-use by providing shared physical infrastructure (e.g., anchors, docking points, sensors) and an organising body to coordinate operations, maintenance, and rules of access. Think of it as a nature-inclusive, sector-unspecific multi-use “business area” that lowers transaction costs and stabilises expectations for multiple users in the same sea space.

Clear coexistence criteria are also key to reducing conflict—especially where offshore renewables meet marine food production. That means inclusive and consistent stakeholder engagement across the full lifecycle (from area designation to operation), cooperation mechanisms that share information early and often, and governance that supports proactive, collaborative, and transparent decision-making—not just spatial “sharing.”

Why now? Because the cost of not coordinating is rising. Poorly sequenced choices can push conflict onto communities and nature, lengthen permitting, and require expensive rework offshore and onshore (grid nodes, access channels, workforce and housing). Conversely, when multi-use is planned deliberately, it shortens decision cycles (aligning requirements upfront and resolving trade-offs earlier), improves ecological outcomes (treating ecological capacity as a design constraint), and anchors benefits locally (jobs, services, nature-based recreation). Crucially, it can strengthen security of supply by diversifying uses and building redundancy into critical corridors.

Join us to examine multi-use and coexistence from several angles—a study on its potential in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), early findings on wind–fisheries coexistence in Nordic waters, port and coastal perspectives from the Baltic, and lessons from North Sea pilots that test what actually scales. Expect discussion on how to choose compatible use combinations; what monitoring and adaptive management are needed; how to structure compensation or benefit-sharing where appropriate; and which indicators (ecological, social, economic) matter for decisions and follow-up.

“With rising spatial demand, we need clearly defined solutions—separated (exclusive-use) where necessary and co-located (multi-use) where possible—backed by clear, replicable coexistence criteria and cross-sector coordination at sea and along the coast.”

Join the session: Effective Use of Space for a Sustainable Blue Economy: Baltic Approaches to Multi-Use in Marine and Coastal Areas, 12 November 2025, 10:45–12:00 (EET). Come to explore practical multi-use options, compare Baltic/Nordic/North Sea experiences, and help shape next steps for spatial efficiency and coexistence in MSP. More information and registration – www.BalticMSPforum.eu.

The 5th Baltic MSP Forum is organised by the VASAB Secretariat together with the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia, as the Lead Partner of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project Baltic Sea2Land, and in cooperation with the partners of the project’s consortium. The 5th Baltic MSP Forum is supported by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021-2027 – through the Subsidy contract for the project #C018 Baltic Sea2Land of Interreg Baltic Sea Region. 

Author:
Margarita Vološina, VASAB Secretariat

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