Challenges and Enablers to Integrate Land-Sea-Interactions in Cross-Border Marine and Coastal Planning: Experiences from the Pan Baltic Scope Collaboration

Figures & data

Figure 1. Pan Baltic scope land-sea interaction case study areas with two practical cases in the Gulf of Bothnia (Case 1) and Riga Bay (Case 2). Source: Nordregio and Morf et al. (2019b).

Figure 2. MSP governance levels in the Pan Baltic Scope project area. Source: Nordregio.

Table 1. Challenges and enablers to integrate LSI in MSP: Gulf of Bothnia and Riga Bay

Type of LSI challenges/enablers	Gulf of Bothnia case	Riga Bay case
(1) Planning issues across the land-sea interface	Developing a coastal blue economy. Conflicts and pressures within and between sectors operating at varying scales both onshore and offshore: fisheries, aquaculture, wind power, marine transport, recreation, coastal communities & environment. Physical links across the land-sea boundary for the above sectors, e.g. grid connections, harbours, and onshore infrastructure and services, both now and in the future.	Conflicts between various marine and coastal uses for municipalities and in MSP, e.g. conservation vs. offshore wind vs. tourism, development vs. public access to the seashore. Few tangible issues across the land-sea interface that could act as drivers for LSI based planning. Few incentives to prioritise marine issues, e.g. plans do not contain specific development intentions.
(2) Institutional challenges	Varying status of MSP across borders, differing responsibilities and maturity of MSP and LSI across governance levels. Some institutions need to be built from scratch (AX); elsewhere existing institutions can be used (FI, SE). Understanding and matching systems across borders, some with overlapping (FI, SE) and others with adjacent responsibilities (AX). Different planning modes and resolution scales. Mobilising municipal planning in SE while jurisdictional implications of the (newly introduced) overlap of national and municipal plans remain unresolved. Complex land/water ownership and mandates for planning and management (AX).	Linking national MSP and other sector developments at sea with local spatial and sector planning. Engaging municipalities in planning the coastal zone and bridging differences in scale and perspectives. Lack of resources and capacity to plan in the sea. The lack of a mandate to plan in the water limits planners’ perspectives (EE).
(3) Process related challenges	Developing processes and building trust (AX from scratch; FI building on regional governments). Engaging institutions and stakeholders at different levels of governance. Different thematic needs and status of planning can limit the appetite for collaboration on LSI.	Few links between local authorities and national ministries in charge of earlier MSP. Challenges of communication between various stakeholders and experts. Bringing planning issues to the political decision-making level.
(4) Knowledge and methods related challenges	Assembling, organising and exchanging knowledge and data across borders. Availability of high-resolution data on uses, pressures and trends that can be matched across borders. Basic mapping of needs and values for different sectors (esp. coastal). Lack of socio-economic and socio-cultural data in MSP. Need for basic planning evidence, i.e. comprehensive knowledge on marine uses and their effects, especially at a regional and local scale.	Linking higher level planning with local knowledge and strategies. Lack of capacity: municipal personnel and skills to access and use knowledge and data, i.e. capacity, methods and procedures to use such data. Language barriers when discussing cross-border planning issues.
Case specific enablers for analysis and concrete problem solving.	Problem and place-based approach to identifying LSI issues, challenges and enablers Knowledge sharing and mapping exercises: surveys and testing mapping tools. Using maps and figures as boundary objects. Network building across borders and within organisations. Cross-border and multi-level stakeholder participation through relevant methods (e.g. workshops, surveys). Addressing gaps in mandates and regulations. Ensuring institutional LSI memory, including structures for cross-border exchange.	Situation analysis (scoping) for existing and desired coastal water uses focussing on municipalities and sectors. Exploring interests in coastal municipalities & understanding their needs and constraints. Promoting awareness of marine issues among municipalities and sectors. Capacity development and guidance. Building stronger links between authorities and users across the land-sea interface and institutional levels. Addressing gaps in existing regulations. Empowering municipalities to draw up new comprehensive plans (EE). Developing a thematic plan for the coastal waters and adjacent land areas of Salacgrīva municipality (LV). Continued involvement of decision-makers in implementing strategies, solutions and plans.
Enablers in both cases from initial scoping to final synthesis.	Initial collaborative scoping for existing and potential LSI issues. First meeting and discussion among planners, but also with stakeholders to get their perspective on LSI. Mapping and comparing terrestrial and maritime planning systems, regulations and legal frameworks. Comprehensively assembling existing information. Common conceptual framework to systematise reflections and discussions of interactions, pressures and policies. Promoting cooperation on LSI issues across borders through joint case work in PBS (learning by doing). Beyond the project: capacity development and guidance for implementing LSI. Sharing and reflection across cases using a common analytical framework (oral/written). Developing and discussing recommendations across situations and cases.

Note: AX: Åland; EE: Estonia; FI: Finland; LV: Latvia; LSI: Land-Sea Interactions; MSP: Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning; SE: Sweden. PBS: Pan-Baltic Scope project. Source: own research, extracted and processed from Morf et al. (2019b).

Morf, A. (ed), Cedergren, E., Gee, K., Kull, M., & Eliasen, S. (2019b) Lessons, stories and ideas on how to integrate land-sea interactions into MSP, Pan Baltic Scope Report, Stockholm: Nordregio. 2019b http://www.panbalticscope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/LSI-report-Pan-Baltic-Scope.pdf .

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