From 13 to 14 February 2019, the final conference “Connecting Seas” of the two Interreg projects “NorthSEE” and “Baltic LINes“, organised by aconium GmbH, took place in Hamburg. More than 200 participants from 14 different countries in the North Sea and Baltic Sea region took part in the conference. The event was aimed at representatives from governments, the shipping, energy and environmental sectors, as well as transnational organisations and initiatives, NGOs and research institutions. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) hosted the conference as lead partner of the two Interreg projects funded by the European Union.
The event focused on the status quo, development opportunities, future trends and maritime spatial planning in the North Sea and Baltic Sea region. As part of maritime spatial planning, human activities at sea should be carried out as efficiently and sustainably as possible. At “Connecting Seas”, the focus was primarily on the topics of shipping, energy and the environment. During the two days of the event, several workshops were held on topics such as environmental concerns, data in maritime spatial planning, the involvement of interest groups and possible conflicts, synergies and future scenarios.
During a guided tour, the conference participants had the opportunity to visit the 13 information stands of various countries in the North Sea and Baltic Sea region and find out about the respective country-specific maritime spatial planning. Additional panel discussions, lectures, an evening event at the International Maritime Museum and many opportunities for networking and exchange made the “Connecting Seas” conference an informative and interactive event for international stakeholders from the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions.
