In the context of the MarSP project - Macaronesian Maritime Spatial Planning, the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs promotes three workshops on maritime spatial planning in the Azores on May 17.
 
These meetings, which will take place simultaneously in the cities of Lagoa, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta, aim to present this process at regional level, putting it to discussion and public participation.
 
The Regional Director for Sea Affairs stressed that, through MarSP, "we will have the opportunity to move forward with the planning of maritime space in the Azores by including it in a European initiative that ensures a diversified technical team and follows the best practices."
 
Filipe Porteiro stated that these workshops are intended to promote "an active participation of all parties involved in this process, namely on the part of companies, fishing associations, public entities and associations, among others."
 
The workshops include practical exercises in order to understand maritime spatial planning processes as well as the discussion and validation of some decisions taken by the technical team.
 
The directive 2014/89/EU states that European Union member states should begin and conclude their planning process by 31 March 2021.
 
MarSP is a European project coordinated by the Regional Fund for Science and Technology. It aims to implement maritime spatial planning plans in Macaronesia, i.e., the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries. This project includes mechanisms for cross-border cooperation, taking into account the political, socio-economic and environmental contexts of each archipelago.
 
Under this project, the Azores have a budget over 700 thousand Euros until the end of 2019.
 
As Filipe Porteiro stressed, maritime spatial planning is "a fundamental mechanism for the promotion of a sustainable sea economy in the context of mitigation of potential conflicts between sectors and interests."
 
Participation in these workshops is free, but is subject to prior registration, which must be made by Friday, May 11, at the email [email protected].