BalticRIM

Better integration ensured

The BalticRIM project fostered a new communication format between Maritime Cultural Heritage agencies and Maritime Spatial Planning experts from the municipal to the transnational level. Possible bottlenecks and concrete solutions to better integration of both areas were addressed by engaging planning agencies, municipalities, scientists, policymakers as well as fishermen, and NGOs. Next, tourism boards, diver associations, and entrepreneurs were invited into the collaboration in order to investigate the potential of Maritime Cultural Heritage for the blue economy.

Thanks to the continuous communication efforts with planning authorities, BalticRIM partners succeeded in shaping the national 2021 Maritime Spatial Planning development process, especially in Finland and Poland. The strengthened cooperation between Maritime Spatial Planning authorities and Maritime Cultural Heritage experts led to the development of joint recommendations on the protection of Maritime Cultural Heritage in the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Maritime Spatial Planning.

New recommendations released

Based on case studies the project partners published recommendations that address both groups of experts separately but also jointly. Practical recommendations are provided to improve cooperation during the MSP process. The importance of land-sea interactions is also stressed by insisting that not only underwater cultural heritage be considered in planning but maritime cultural heritage as a whole. In addition, an overview of the legal and administrative issues in integrating Maritime Cultural Heritage and Maritime Spatial Planning was provided. The overview contained a list of practices on the management of Cultural Heritage in the context of Maritime Spatial Planning across the Baltic Sea region countries. This covered the national processes of Maritime Spatial Planning development during 2017-2020 as well as the role of Maritime Cultural Heritage in the current blue economy initiatives, mainly in tourism.

BalticRIM Data Portal available

The BalticRIM Data Portal enables to create new Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) approaches for the integration of Maritime Cultural Heritage (MCH). Established to facilitate collaboration within an MCH-MSP community, the portal supports shared digital geodata infrastructure in identifying cross-border cultural heritage phenomena. It is designed for the transnational exchange of information, experiences, and know-how between Maritime Spatial Planning and Maritime Cultural Heritage practitioners as well as offers access to spatial information on Maritime Cultural Heritage sites in the Baltic Sea region.

Next steps

With new modes of communications, better dialogue among the relevant stakeholders, recommendations to improve planning processes and a new data portal the project has also managed to identify the HELCOM-VASAB working group on MSP as a forum for a continued dialogue on the integration of Maritime Cultural Heritage needs in Maritime Spatial Planning processes.