Towards Healthier Seas: Integrating Blue-Green Infrastructure in Baltic Maritime Planning

Our planet is facing a triple planetary crisis—climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss—that directly threatens the viability of ecosystems and human well-being. All three are driven by human activity and, critically, can also be mitigated by it. At the heart of any long-term solution lies sustainable spatial planning.

By applying an ecosystem-based approach—integrated management of land, water, and living resources that promotes both conservation and sustainable use—we can develop spatial plans with long-lasting, positive impact. This approach is especially crucial in marine environments, where the pressures on biodiversity are mounting and the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral management is urgent.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets ambitious targets to protect at least 30% of the EU’s land and sea areas and restore degraded ecosystems across the continent. A key element of the strategy is the promotion of green and blue infrastructure—interconnected networks of natural and semi-natural areas designed to deliver ecosystem services and increase ecological resilience. In marine and coastal contexts, this includes protecting underwater habitats, coastal wetlands, and migration corridors, as well as applying nature-based solutions to reduce environmental pressures and enhance biodiversity.

The HELCOM-VASAB Regional MSP Roadmap 2030 highlights the mapping of green infrastructure as a crucial step toward achieving an ecosystem-based approach and advancing good environmental status in the Baltic Sea. This calls for practical tools, cross-border collaboration, and the ability to steer human activities—such as shipping, energy development, and fisheries—away from ecologically valuable or sensitive areas.

These themes will be in focus in the 5th Baltic MSP Forum session: Integrating Blue-Green Infrastructure in Maritime Spatial Planning.This session invites maritime spatial and land-use planners, environmental experts, and policymakers to engage in dialogue on advancing sustainable marine governance. The 5th Baltic MSP Forum will take place on 11-12 November 2025 fully on-site in Riga, Latvia. More information and registration for this event: 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 of text:
Roosa Mikkola,
Regional Council of Southwest Finland

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