The maritime spatial plan is a strategic view, formed together with stakeholder groups, of the sustainable use of a marine area and of supporting the good status of the marine environment.
The plan is a strategic development document which identifies in general terms the areas’ opportunities for multipurpose use and supports the harmonisation of maritime operations.
The plans look to the future and describe the target status for 2030.
The plan identifies the current and future potentials and synergies of maritime industries and the marine environment. By its nature, the plan opens up opportunities rather than excluding them.
Seamless collaboration across sectors, regions and national borders is important in drawing up the plan.
The plan has indirect steering impacts; as a tool for spatial planning it supports regional land use planning and regional development by producing information about the opportunities and framework conditions of maritime industries and the marine environment. However, the plan is not legally binding and does not form part of the land use planning system or land use plan hierarchy.
The impact of the plan arises by virtue of the planning process, in other words through the common understanding reached by the stakeholder groups, as well as through the commitment to the plan and the ownership experienced regarding it. The impact of the maritime spatial plan also arises from its link with national, regional and sectoral policy guidelines and strategies, and regional programmes and their realisation, and from supporting the goals of regional land use planning, regional development projects and natural resource plans and other maritime management plans.
The maritime spatial plan also examines the marine environment more broadly through ecosystem services and land-sea interactions.