Long-term vision North Sea 2050

On December 20th of 2017, Belgian Secretary of State Philippe De Backer presented his long-term vision "North Sea 2050" to the public in Zeebrugge, Belgium. "I have brought everyone, from entrepreneurs to scientists, from administration to interested citizens, together around the table, to discuss the long-term goals we aim for with our North Sea. Each had a lot of knowledge and insights in their own domain, but information was insufficiently shared. During one year the stakeholders worked at developing a long-term vision," says De Backer. The three pillars are co-use of space and the constant research into a positive impact, the naturalness of the North Sea, and the division of space in the North Sea. All findings in the vision text have been scientifically tested, which makes it unique.

Secretary of State De Backer states that "North Sea 2050 will become the touchstone for future projects in the North Sea and will become the framework when developing the Marine Spatial Plan, the sea map of our North Sea. Because the North Sea is too valuable to be handled carelessly, Think Tank North Sea was founded, at the request of the participants of North Sea 2050." The website of Think Tank North Sea (in Dutch) can be visited here: http://www.thinktanknorthsea.be/.