SEABAS Joins the Discussions to Bridge Maritime Spatial Planning Across Borders at a NESBp Workshop in Gdansk

SEABAS took part in the Synthesis Workshop:  Nature Conservation AND MARITIME Spatial Planning – Let’s Talk a Common Language!,  an in-person meeting held in Gdansk, Poland on 30-31 March 2026. The event was organized by NESBp (Northern European Sea Basins project), bringing together several ongoing and related projects to discuss maritime spatial planning and nature conservation.

The workshop began with discussions on aligning terminology and developing a common maritime spatial planning glossary across the northern European sea basins, followed by sessions on Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) related topics. Janica Borg and Jacek Zaucha introduced SEABAS into the discussion through their joint presentation, highlighting the need for a Baltic Sea-wide framework for maritime spatial planning. While Janica Borg, SEABAS Project Manager at lead partner HELCOM, presented the broader perspective of the project as a regional asset, Jacek Zaucha, Professor of Economics at the Maritime Institute of Maritime University in Gdynia, Poland delved deeper into the project’s first deliverable, the scoping report.

The scoping report, to be published in June 2026, compiles and analyses Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) practices from ongoing and previous projects to form a regional framework. With the report nearing publication, SEABAS was able to share several key considerations during the workshop. These included, for example, topics such as land-sea integration (LSI), ecosystem service mapping, and the integration of socio-economic considerations into the regional SEA framework that SEABAS is developing.

Meeting colleagues working on maritime spatial planning and related fields face to face is a great opportunity to connect with other professionals in the field and learn from each other’s work. Maritime spatial planning is inherently transnational and cooperative, and meetings such as this are essential for its successful implementation.

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