SUPREME & SIMWESTMED

The general objective of Supreme project is to support the implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in EU Member States within their marine waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean and Levantine Seas and to launch and carry out concrete, cross-border MSP co-operation initiatives between Member States in the Eastern Mediterranean. Based on the above general objectives, the specific objectives of the project are:

• to inform awareness and understanding of the range of factors and uses potentially impacting the marine area within the Eastern Mediterranean, their potential cumulative impact on the environment and projected future trends;
• to identify spatial demands for maritime sectors at basin and marine waters scales and measures to reduce conflicts and promote synergies, including multi-use of marine areas, under an ecosystem-based approach;
• to identify and address important data gaps and support the coherence of data analysis across marine area boundaries, promoting data sharing and joint use of data through existing portals (e.g. EMODnet, ADRIPLAN, etc.), with emphasis on transboundary areas and issues;
• to explore the potential spatial requirements for marine conservation; specifically, the challenges around transboundary working;
• to promote mechanisms for transboundary co-operation on MSP implementation, involving all relevant stakeholders in the planning and, in perspective, in the management phase;
• to promote the coherent implementation of MSP and ICZM under the Barcelona Convention Strategies and Protocols and the consistent application of the ecosystem approach, both on regional/sub-regional level;
• to address concretely MSP local and transboundary issues in selected case studies areas (Northern Adriatic, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Slovenian coast, North-Eastern Ionian, and Aegean Sea).

SIMWESTMED focuses on two key objectives:

• supporting the implementation of MSP in EU Member States;
• launching and carrying out concrete and cross-border MSP initiatives between Member States.

To address these objectives the activities undertaken will focuss on the following issues:

• Initial assessment;
• Cooperation on MSP in Western Mediterranean;
• MSP process;
• Methodology for a transboundary MSP;
• Spatial demands and future trends;
• Data and information’s requirements for MSP;
• Tools and methods supporting MSP;
• Stakeholder’s engagement.

SIMWESTMED will also address case studies on transboundary pilot sites.

Project partners

• CEDEX – Study and Experimentation Centre (Spain);
• CEREMA – Expertise Centre on Risks studies, Environment, Mobility and space planning (France);
• CORILA – Consortium for co-ordination of research activities concerning the Venice lagoon system (Italy); embedding as associated partners: CNR-ISMAR National - Research Council, Institute of Marine Science (Italy), University IUAV of Venice (Italy);
• CPRM – Conference of Peripherical Maritime Regions;
• IEO – Oceanographic Institute (Spain);
• FBA – French Biodiversity Agency;
• MATTM - Ministry of Environment, Protection of the Territories and the Sea (Italy);
• MEPA – Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Malta);
• MIT – Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (Italy);
• Shom – French hydrographic office;
• UNEP/MAP United Nations Environmental Programme, Barcelona Convention – Secretariat, Co-ordinating Unit for MAP, embedding: INFO/RAC and PAP/RAC.