Maritime spatial planning goals

i. Sustainable Blue Growth

Blue growth is a key part of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy and the Europe 2020 strategy, which aim at smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The long-term Blue Growth strategy (2012) contributes to achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Integrated maritime policy supports blue growth by providing a more coherent approach to maritime issues, with increased coordination between different policy areas.

Sea basin strategies will foster cooperation between countries and ensure tailor-made development measures for the area. The EU’s Baltic Sea strategy applies to Finland.

Finland’s National Development Plan for Blue Bioeconomy 2025 will contribute to implementing the Blue Growth strategy.

Maritime spatial planning ensures that the good ecological status of the seas is compatible with achievement of blue growth goals – to promote sustainable blue growth.

Blue growth infographic

The three focuses of the EU’s Blue Growth strategy:
  1. Integrated maritime policy measures
    • Marine knowledge to improve access to information about the sea
    • Maritime spatial planning to ensure efficient and sustainable management of activities at sea
    • Integrated maritime surveillance to give authorities a better picture of what is happening at sea
  2. Sea basin strategies
    • EU’s Baltic Sea strategy
  3. Targeted measures
    • Aquaculture
    • Coastal tourism
    • Blue biotechnology (marine biotechnology)
    • Ocean energy
    • Seabed mining
    • Other strategic blue economy sectors:
      • Shipbuilding and ship repair
      • Maritime transport
      • Fisheries
      • Offshore oil and gas production

ii. Good status of marine environment

The aim of the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008) is to achieve a good ecological status of marine environment by 2020. Maritime spatial planning contributes to the implementation of Finland’s marine strategy, which presents a plan for the protection, conservation and improvement of the marine environment and marine ecosystems to ensure the good status of marine waters by 2020.

The central target of maritime spatial planning is to increase sustainability in the use of marine resources. In practice, this means safeguarding the diversity of the marine environment and ensuring the carrying capacity of ecosystems. A clean sea and healthy ecosystems produce nutrition and provide the foundation for blue business and recreation through other ecosystem services.

Maritime spatial planning ensures that the good status of marine waters is compatible with blue growth goals.

The marine strategy includes three steps:
  1. An initial assessment of the state of the marine environment, definitions of good environmental status, and environmental targets and indicators
  2. Monitoring program of the marine strategy
  3. Program of measures of the Finnish marine strategy 2016–2021

More information about the marine strategy is available on Finland’s environmental administration and Ministry of the Environment websites: