Project: BALANCE

1. Develop transnational marine spatial planning tools and an agreed template for marine management planning and decision-making. It will be based on 4 transnational pilot areas demonstrating the economical and environmental value of habitat maps and marine spatial planning (exemplified through 2 zoning plans). The tools and zoning plans integrates biological, geological and oceanographic data with local knowledge from stakeholders;
2. Develop the "blue corridor" concept and promote "blue corridors" between protected sites adding spatial development dimensions to the implementation of EC Directives;
3. Assess if the Baltic marine Natura 2000 network is ecological coherent and adequately represents & protects a continuum of habitats;
4. Develop a communication strategy for stakeholder involvement to ensure that objectives and decisions address local stakeholders needs and that products is used and understood by the end of project;
5. Disseminate project outputs to key users and public through various media, including a project web site, enhancing awareness of the marine natural heritage and the benefits of sustainable resource use.

The spatial planning tools include:

1. BS marine landscapes presented in GIS maps;
   
2. A holistic approach to marine habitat mapping integrating data on benthic, pelagic & fish habitats in 4 transnational pilot areas;
   
3. Development of habitat models for areas with little biological information;
   
4. Templates for zoning plans in 2 pilot areas, including planning guidelines and criteria to evaluate management success;
   
5. Meta-database for BS marine data, outlining data formats, techniques and data availability for use by stakeholders in future planning;
   
6. Development of agreed protocols for habitat mapping based on intercalibration of existing national protocols, ensuring compatible data for future transnational mapping.