Germany (Mecklenburg)

In Germany, while marine planning in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is the responsibility of the Federal Government, marine spatial planning in the territorial sea (out to 12 nautical miles or about 22 km) is the responsibility of the German Federal coastal states (Länder).

The legal basis for regional plans is the Federal Regional Planning Act (Raumordnungsgesetz). Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Baltic Sea) and Niedersachsen (North Sea) have expanded their existing terrestrial spatial into the territorial sea.

What stimulated spatial planning in the state waters of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern?

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV) is the first German coastal state that has integrated marine issues into its regional development program. Under its Spatial Planning Act (Landesplanungsgesetz), MV extended its 2005 Spatial Development Programme to ‘‘ensure conflict management between the demands of new technologies, tourism and nature protection and traditional sectors like shipping, fishing and defense at an early stage.’’ The guiding principle of the plan was “sustainable spatial development” in which social and economic demands need to be consistent with ecological functions.

Development of spatial planning in the state waters of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has a territorial sea of about 5700 km2—about a fourth the size of its land area—and a coastline of about 380 km. About 900,000 people live in its administrative districts along the coast. Within of government of MV the Ministry of Traffic, Building and Regional Development, Spatial Planning Department (Ministerium fur Verkehr, Bau und Landesentwicklung) is responsible for developing the marine spatial plan.

The most economically-important human activity in the territorial sea of MV is tourism. Other activities include shipping and transportation, areas for military operations, offshore wind parks, and mineral extraction, as well as laying of cables and gas pipelines. Several, often conflicting, user demands have evolved in this area over time. To reduce these conflicts the MV Spatial Development Programme 2005, has identified:

Suitable Areas:	Areas suitable for defined uses, e.g., offshore wind farms, that are excluded outside these areas;
Priority Areas:	Areas reserved for defined uses, e.g., nature and landscape conservation or well as sand and gravel exploitation; other uses are excluded; and
Reserve Areas:	Areas for defined uses with priority, e.g., tourism, nature and landscape conservation, as well as sand and gravel exploitation.

Areas have been allocated for wind farms and related power cables, other cables and pipelines, nature protection, tourism, sand and gravel extraction, and fisheries and aquaculture. Areas already designated for shipping routes, military practice, and special protected areas were incorporated from other plans.

Further information

Last updated: 28 January 2010