“We cannot achieve the goals of the European Green Deal if we do not take care of the marine environment”.
With these words Evangelia Tzika – Policy Officer DG MARE of the European Commission (and Iuav alumna) – opened the conference on the new research project MSP (Maritime spatial Planning) Green organised by Università Iuav di Venezia, CORILA and CNR-Ismar.
By adopting a cross-sectoral approach, the project, funded by the European Maritime Affairs Fund (EMFAF) and Horizon Europe with € 1,930,000, aims to help align maritime spatial plans with the challenges of the European Green Deal (EGD).
The goal is to create a framework for these plans, which are key-EGD themes for the marine environment and relevant for the sustainable blue transition: climate change, circular blue economy, protection of marine biodiversity, marine renewable energies, sustainable food supply.
The project brings together partners from Italy, Spain, France, Latvia, Finland, Bulgaria and Germany, covering five EU basins, and will run for two years.
IUAV role in the project
For Rector Benno Albrecht, “It is an honour to host this conference at Iuav, home of the first planning school in Italy. Maritime spatial planning is a well-established field of activity to which Università Iuav di Venezia acknowledges a leading role in imagining sustainable futures”.
The event will lead to the drafting of initial recommendations on how to strengthen the vision of the European Green Deal in marine spatial plans for European countries, taking into account environmental, socioeconomic and cultural peculiarities through dedicated communications led by Ocean Literacy.
The framework will provide a cross-cutting approach to the EGD key topics relevant for the marine environment and the sustainable transition of blue economy: climate change, circular blue economy, protection of marine biodiversity, marine renewable energies, sustainable food provision.
Recommendations on how to strengthen the EGD ambition of EU MSP plans will be prepared. The sea basins’ dimension will be promoted by considering environmental, socio-economic, and cultural specificities also, via dedicated Ocean Literacy driven communication.
The project gathers partners from Italy, Spain, France, Latvia, Finland, Bulgaria and Germany, covering five EU basins, and will last two years. Partners are CORILA (Coordinator), CNR-ISMAR, Università Iuav di Venezia (IT), CEREMA, IFEMER, UBO (FR), IEO (CSIC)(SP), MoEPRD (LV), RCSW (FI) and CCMS (BG). Associated Partners come from VASAB and BSH (DE).
