On the 9th October 2019, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) held a thematic workshop on “Marine Nature Conservation” in Hamburg. In addition to the competent environmental authorities BfN and UBA, representatives of environmental associations and BSH colleagues from the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) coordination unit and the maritime environmental protection department took part. The workshop focused on the requirements for the revision of the maritime spatial plans from a nature conservation perspective. These included the objectives and principles of spatial planning and requirements for the methodology of updating, for example with regard to the consistent implementation of the ecosystem approach.
Essential requirements are spatial definitions for nature conservation areas and areas with a special ecological function, the exclusion of certain uses within protected areas, and ensuring the networking of ecologically significant areas. The relationship between marine spatial planning and the MSFD was also intensively discussed.