Maritime spatial plans exist for the German North Sea and Baltic Sea EEZs (2) and for the territorial sea areas under jurisdiction of the three coastal federal states (Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) (3).
The process of revising the MSP has been completed after two rounds of national and international consultations. Changes were made based on the feedback received and the revised MSP for the German EEZ in the North Sea and Baltic Sea entered into force on 1 September 2021.
More information is available at: https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/heimat-integration/raumordnung-raument... (German only) and https://www.bsh.de/EN/TOPICS/Offshore/Maritime_spatial_planning/Maritime...
The spatial regulations of the plan are also available as a Web Feature Service via https://www.geoseaportal.de/mapapps/resources/apps/meeresnutzung/index.h...
The coastal federal state Schleswig-Holstein has published a revised overall LEP (State development plan, including shares of the German territorial sea in the North and the Baltic Sea), which entered into force on 16 December 2021 (https://www.bolapla-sh.de/verfahren/08a87722-3242-11ec-badd-0050569710bc...).
Maritime Spatial Plan for the Territorial Sea of the Baltic Sea – Schleswig-Holstein
The State Development Plan for Schleswig-Holstein regulates conclusively the spatial objectives and principles for terrestrial as well as marine areas. The guiding principle is sustainable spatial development, which brings the social and economic demands regarding space in line with its ecological functions and leads to a permanent, large-scale balanced order. The different uses in the coastal zone should be balanced and adjusted to each other. Integrated coastal zone management should play an important role in this. The plan came into effect in 2010 and was last amended on 5 May 2019.
The plan takes coastal and flood defence into account.
Maritime Spatial Plan for the Territorial Sea of the Baltic Sea – Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
The Spatial Development Programme Mecklenburg-Vorpommern aims to implement the principles of sustainable spatial development which may bring social and economic requirements to be met by the territory into harmony with its ecological functions, and which leads to a long-term, large-scale and balanced spatial development. The plan was extended to the 12-nm zone between 2003-2005 and adopted in 2005. Between 2013-2015 it was revised and adopted. Accordingly, it became a legally binding act in 2016.
According to the LPIG M-V, an evaluation of the planning should be carried out after 5 years. A monitoring system is under preparation.
Maritime Spatial Plan for the Territorial Sea of the Baltic Sea – Lower Saxony
The Spatial Planning Programme of Lower Saxony includes provisions concerning wind power production and nature conservation, offshore electricity transmission, and shipping. Objectives that apply to both the territorial sea and coastal zones include sustainable development, consideration of stakeholder perspectives from multiple groups and geographies, and reversible measures. The programme of Lower Saxony was revised and amended in 2008 and 2012. There are currently three drafts in existence due to an amendment process for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016. The plan takes water management as well as coastal and flood defence into account.
The national legal basis for MSP is the general Spatial Planning Act („Raumordnungsgesetz“/ROG), which was made applicable to the EEZ in 2004. The Spatial Planning Act provides the legal basis for the “Maritime Spatial Plan for the EEZ of the Baltic Sea” and the “Maritime Spatial Plan for the EEZ of the North Sea”. The EEZ is governed at the federal level, the territorial sea is an integrated part of the (terrestrial) spatial plans of the coastal federal states. In addition to ROG, the legal basis for these plans is provided by the respective spatial planning law of each federal state.
