Expert Workshop Advances Cooperation on Cumulative Impact Assessment Across Northern European Sea Basins

From 1–3 July 2026, experts from across Europe gathered at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in Hamburg, Germany, for an Expert Workshop on Cumulative Impact Assessments (CIA). 

Organised by the Greater North Sea Basin Initiative (GNSBI) Working Track on CIA and the NESBp project (Work Package 3), the event marked an important step towards strengthening cooperation on cumulative impact assessment across the Northern European Sea Basins. Alongside those attending in person, a number of participants also joined the workshop online, enabling broader participation and exchange across the region.

The workshop brought together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and representatives of regional organisations, national authorities, and academia to exchange expertise and build stronger links between science, policy and practice.

Building a Community of Practice

More than a technical meeting, the workshop marked the first gathering of a new Community of Practice across Northern European Sea Basins on Cumulative Impact Assessment. Participants from organisations including GNSBI, NSEC, OSPAR, HELCOM, ICES, national administrations and European projects explored how strengthened collaboration can improve the consistency and effectiveness of CIA methodologies across borders.

The programme focused on the current state of play of cumulative impact assessment, emerging tools and methods, joint ambitions, long-term strategic needs, and opportunities for more efficient coordination between countries and institutions on shared challenges and potential new collaborations.

Learning from experience

Throughout the workshop, participants showcased the latest developments in CIA tools and examples of practical applications. Case studies demonstrated how scientific advances are already supporting or on the way to support more informed maritime spatial planning and ecosystem-based management. Such as the developing CIA for scenario planning by Denmark, common challenges of CIA by Cefas, CIA application in Germany, the use of CIA for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by Wageningen Marine Research and the advice on CIA to GNSBI from ICES.

Project experiences highlighted were NESBp, GES4SEAS, MSP4BIO, BLUE4ALL, BLUE CONNECT and SEABAS. Illustrating how knowledge developed through European projects can contribute to more robust and evidence-based cumulative impact assessments. 

Towards more coherent approaches

A recurring message throughout the discussions was that many attendees are working towards similar objectives in different contexts, often using complementary approaches without fully capitalizing on opportunities for collaboration.

Participants agreed that more harmonised and aligned CIA frameworks and results are achievable through stronger communication, regular knowledge exchange and closer interaction between researchers, practitioners and policymakers. Such collaboration will help reduce duplication of effort, improve methodologies and foster greater consistency in assessing cumulative environmental pressures across sea basins.

Lasting outcomes

The workshop concluded with a shared ambition to maintain momentum beyond the meeting itself. By establishing a Community of Practice and thereby strengthening professional networks, participants laid the foundations for continued collaboration on cumulative impact assessment across the Northern European Sea Basins.

The knowledge exchanged and recommendations developed during the workshop will feed directly into the future work of both the GNSBI Working Track on CIA and the NESBp project. Supporting the development of aligned approaches that underpin sustainable maritime spatial planning and evidence-based decision-making across Europe's seas.