Last week, Marseille’s Palais du Pharo hosted a milestone conference on European Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), marking a decade of advancements. The event gathered European Commission policymakers, MSP experts, researchers, civil society, and blue economy stakeholders to reflect on past successes and explore future challenges and opportunities in marine spatial planning across European seas.

The conference also focused on aligning marine planning with the EU’s Green Deal and the ambitious targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and Nature Restoration Law. Discussions highlighted the need for marine plans to evolve to meet environmental sustainability objectives within maritime policies.

MPA Europe presented significant recent achievements at the conference, including the first depth-integrated marine ecosystem classification for European seas and the development of comprehensive marine species and habitat distribution models up to 2100. Additionally, the team showcased new tools like the European organic carbon database, which includes detailed maps of organic carbon concentrations in marine sediments.

These achievements are part of MPA Europe’s efforts to support systematic conservation planning. The data will contribute to an online atlas due in 2025, designed to delineate optimal networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for enhanced national and regional marine spatial planning.

Furthermore, the event included discussions from the MSP-GREEN and REGINA-MSP projects’ closing conference, where it was noted that most marine plans reviewed did not currently include new MPAs or their expansion. With the planned significant increase in offshore renewable energy and a target to expand MPAs to meet the EU’s “30by30” biodiversity goal, proactive planning for coherent networks of MPAs is essential.

The conference also featured a Policy Brief think tank workshop on Biodiversity-inclusive MSP by MSP4Bio, emphasizing the need for MSP to better balance human needs with those of marine life, aiming for good environmental status and reducing human pressures on marine ecosystems.

As we look towards the next decade, MPA Europe remains committed to providing the MSP and blue economy communities with innovative tools and data to plan effectively for a healthy and resilient ocean.