Lecturers (to be completed) > Lodewijk ABSPOEL - MSP Challenge

Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands MSP

Lodewijk (1974) is a senior policy advisor for the EU Integrated Maritime Policy, including Maritime Spatial Planning at the Dutch coordinating ministry for the North Sea. Being involved in the drafting of the EU MSP Directive (89/2014 EU) and coordinating the Dutch North Sea 2050 Spatial Agenda he has extensive experience in MSP processes. He hold a degree in business economics and change management and worked on various policy issues for the Dutch government since 2002. Since 2010 Lodewijk is involved with the seas and ocean.

“Ecologically sound is also business sound: the marine environment, to my believe, shows us the way to a sustainable future. All we need to do is listen, look and learn”.

He advocates the need to work on a common language in MSP, and considers that the wide variety of human activities at sea, against the backdrop of the invaluable ecosystem and in a cross border (and thus multi language) setting, challenges all involved to make cross cutting efforts in understanding of information shared. He has initiated the development of the MSP challenge serious games (www.mspchallenge.info), aimed at professionals, students and stakeholders. The digital version of the MSPChallenge is a prototype of a digital info-quarium helping those involved in MSP understanding ecological and human interactions.

He considers that this joint understanding is crucial and the MSPChallenge can bring together the oceans’ and coastal community, the scientific world, concerned civil servants and politicians. And that joint learning aids in the achieving the goals set under SDG14 Life Below Water for sustainably managing and developing our common heritage: the Ocean.

http://www.mspchallenge.info/videos.html