The Training Programme on the Sustainable Development and Governance of the Caspian Sea was established in 2013 in collaboration with the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and the financial support of the Government of Turkmenistan.

The courses have trained more than 200 experts and facilitated the discussions in relation to the state of the environment and the regional governance of the Caspian Sea, creating the needed synergies amongst the five countries: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan.

The training will cover:

• The importance of coastal and marine ecosystems;
• Cumulative pressures on coastal and marine ecosystems;
• Data and information for regular reporting to EU Directives (Birds, Habitats and Water Framework);
• Understanding of what Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is about, what benefits it can have, and what results you can expect;
• A presentation of the basic steps of MSP processes, actors and responsibilities, legislation and finances needed, and MSP tools and techniques, with a special emphasis on Large Marine Ecosystems and transboundary and cross-border contexts for MSP;
• Awareness of what has worked and what has not in MSP practice around the world;
• Increased collective capacity to respond to change and challenges in coastal and marine environments and find practical and sustainable solutions to marine resource use through Marine Spatial Planning and Sustainable Blue Economy in the transboundary context of the Caspian Sea.

In the context of MSPglobal and with the support of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the MSP Challenge game will be used with all participants: official staff of Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Ministries in the Caspian Sea in charge of coastal and ocean governance and planning, including sectoral representatives for the most relevant maritime activities in the region.