Stakeholder workshop in Riga

The first stakeholder meeting was organised in Riga, as part of the three-day project partner workshop. In addition to the BONUS BASMATI researchers, there were representatives from the Latvian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, as well as participants from VASAB and Baltic Environmental Forum.

The event started with a presentation of the local BONUS BASMATI case study. The Latvian case study covers the Latvian territorial and EEZ waters, including both the open Baltic Sea coast and the Gulf of Riga.
The case study investigates the valuation of alternative sea use options in light of designating the marine protected areas (MPAs).

After the presentation, group discussions were organised to collect views on the stakeholders’ interests and end-users’ needs in relation to the planned Latvian case study results and the spatial decision-support system, Baltic Explorer. The discussions provided the project with valuable insights into the challenges and expectations of the maritime spatial planners.