Comparative analysis of Maritime Spatial Planning ... - Seanergy 2020

4.5.2 Policy recommendations• The use of GIS standard for all ocean related data and information in all North Sea countries isrecommended in order to have better exchange and communication possibilities, the use of theGIS standard for all ocean related data and information in all North Sea countries isrecommended.• Data should be regularly updated, publicly available and managed and published in a centralisedway.4.6 CROSSBORDER AND REGIONAL COOPERATIONAll North Sea countries are active in the regional cooperation initiatives in the domain of protection ofthe marine environment, such as OSPAR, Bonn agreement. More recently, a new type of regionalcooperation has emerged around the issue of offshore grid development (North Seas CountriesOffshore Grid Initiative, ENTSO-E).4.7 IMPLEMENTATION OF MSPBelgium implemented a zonal delimitation for offshore wind with a legally binding instrument (RoyalDecree). This created the necessary legal certainty and attracted many ORE developers. Denmarkhas adopted a comparable zoning approach by appointing specific ORE locations, but thegovernment has not yet approved the ORE zones to date. An adequate legal framework for MSP hasbeen equally adopted recently (the “Integrated Marine Strategy”). Germany has adopted a MaritimeSpatial Planning plan for its EEZ, in which designated priority areas for offshore wind are defined. TheNational Water Plan of the Netherlands sets a comprehensive legal framework for MSP. The zoningof ORE areas is included in this Plan.4.8 CONCLUSIONThe North Sea basin has the most advanced practices in MSP and the highest installed offshoreenergy capacity to date, as well as the most ambitious NREAP 2020 targets, as illustrated in table 3.Deliverable D 2.384 | P a g e