The aim of the Nordic Spatial project was to facilitate a holistic approach to cross-border marine spatial planning, to create a shared understanding of the marine environment across national boundaries. The project was initiated by the Norwegian Mapping Authority and includes 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, and runs from 2022 until the end of 2025.
The project responded to challenges in marine spatial planning within the Nordic and Baltic regions, where differences in legal frameworks, data formats, and planning practices make cross-border cooperation difficult. Through workshops and collaboration between national agencies, the project group has identified use cases and mapped processes, data needs, and gaps in data maturity across countries.
The project resulted in the NordicSpatial mapping tool – a free, web-based map tool for data sharing and cross-border collaboration. By allowing users to combine and visualize marine data from different national and regional sources, the tool supports a common knowledge base for sustainable and coordinated management of marine resources in the Nordic and Baltic regions. This report shares the results of the NordicSpatial project.