With Europe’s northern seas facing challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI) are moving from isolated national plans to a coordinated sea-basin approach.
The Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI) was established in 2023 to foster cross-border cooperation on maritime spatial planning (MSP) among North Sea countries. The Northern European Sea Basin project (NESBp), co-funded by the EU trough the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), supports the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative. By connecting it with the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group, the project extends this cooperation to the Baltic Sea.
Connecting two sea basins, sharing one challenge
Let by the Ministry of Economic Affairs / Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and bringing together partners from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, NESBp evaluates maritime spatial plans across key themes, strengthens networks between maritime spatial planning authorities and researchers, and develops practical tools that combine an ecosystem-based approach with a sustainable blue economy.
The project has already delivered concrete results:
- a visual guide and checklist to help integrate an ecosystem-based approach into maritime spatial planning;
- a policy brief on the progress of transboundary cooperation in the Greater North Sea;
- a shared glossary of terms on the energy transition and biodiversity;
- a summary report mapping ongoing Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) work across the North and Baltic Seas.
NESBp has also laid the methodological groundwork for "Mariparks", designated zones at sea where multiple activities, such as energy production, aquaculture and nature restoration, can take place side by side under clear and shared agreements. By giving companies more investment certainty while keeping the ecosystem’s needs in view, Mariparks offer a practical way to make better use of increasingly limited maritime space.
Through workshops such as the European Maritime Day session and the Baltic MSP Week, and by building a community of practice on cumulative impact assessment, the project has strengthened cooperation between the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions, while exchanging knowledge with related EU projects such as ReMAP and MEDIGREEN.
Maritime spatial planning as a driving force behind the priorities of the European Ocean Pact
NESBp directly supports the objectives of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and contributes to the European Ocean Pact by demonstrating how maritime spatial planning can serve as a practical tool for a sea-basin approach to ocean governance.
By strengthening cross-border cooperation between EU Member States and building lasting links between the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions, the project lays the foundations for a more coherent, ecosystem-based and sustainable management of the seas of northern Europe.
- Publication date
- 23 July 2026