Sustainable management of our marine resources requires cooperation across borders and across sectors, regarding Marine spatial planning (MSP) (Reimer et al., 2023). MSP is a process for analyzing and informing the spatial and temporal distributions of ocean uses to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives (Ehler & Douvere, 2009). Activities in the marine domain, such as oil and gas extraction, fishery, establishment of renewable energy infrastructure and shipping activity, can influence activities or the natural habitat of marine species in neighboring coastal states (Foley et al., 2010; Thiagarajan & Devarajan, 2025). Once stakeholders across borders and across sectors understand the importance of cooperation, how can we secure that they are using the same authoritative data when engaging in cross-border cooperation? Do they have the same picture, the same situational awareness?
The aim of the NordicSpatial project was to facilitate a holistic approach for cross-border marine spatial planning, in contrast to single-country and single-sector planning practices, and to harmonize data sources to create a shared, consistent understanding of the marine environment across national boundaries. The project was initiated by the Norwegian Mapping Authority, and had participants from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, and Norway. It was financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, with an economic frame of DKK 10,905,000. The project was started in 2022 and ended by December of 2025.
This report shares the results of the NordicSpatial project.