2nd Mission Arena in Riga, Latvia | #MissionArenaBANOS2

📅 Date: 25–26 April 2024
📍 Location: H2O 6 kvartāls, Riga, Latvia

Following the success of the first Mission Arena in Gothenburg, the second Blue Mission BANOS Arena will take place in Riga, Latvia, on 25–26 April 2024, back-to-back with the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment.

This Arena will focus on regional actors from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and East Sweden, with the aim of showcasing progress, identifying open needs, and planning next steps to transform the region’s blue economy into a carbon-neutral, environmentally friendly, and circular system. Participants will also vote on the regional Roadmap toward Mission Ocean and Water’s success during the final Mission Assembly.

In addition to marine issues, the Arena will also cover “Blue on Land” topics, such as lakes, rivers, wastewater, pollution leakage, and land-sea interactions. Workshop themes will address areas including:

• Fisheries & aquaculture
• Shipping and ports
• Nutrients and pollution
• Waterborne transport
• Nature protection and restoration
• Sustainable blue products

Participants are invited to join co-creation workshops, contribute ideas, and shape regional solutions across 15 specific workshop themes.

🌊 CrossGov’s Contribution

On 26 April, CrossGov will contribute to the workshop:
“Policy coherence as a platform for better integration of marine conservation in MSP and sectoral policies: Regional pilots and examples”.

Antti Belinskij and Suvi-Tuuli Puharinen from the University of Eastern Finland, representing the CrossGov project, will present lessons from the Baltic Sea and Finnish pilots. They will explore how marine policies can be better aligned to support EU Green Deal goals and enable more coherent biodiversity protection.

The session will focus on:

💡 Strengthening Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)
– Enhancing MSP as a policy instrument at EU, national, and local levels
– Coordinating more effectively with biodiversity and sectoral policies

💡 Ensuring Sustainable Funding
– Integrating funding mechanisms across MSP, MPAs, and sectoral goals
– Encouraging cross-sectoral cooperation in planning and implementation

💡 Improving Land-Sea Interactions
– Better linking marine planning with land-based activities
– Strengthening the assessment and inclusion of land-sea dynamics in decision-making

This workshop will provide an opportunity to explore how policy coherence can support the transformation of the Baltic region’s marine governance—and how lessons from pilot initiatives can inform broader EU-level strategies.

📍 Registration is open — join us in Riga to take part in the conversation and help shape the future of the Baltic Sea and inland waters.