The Maritime Space management Plans (MSP) have as a general purpose the coexistence of different uses in marine waters in ways that guarantee the achievement and the maintenance of the good ecological status of the sea and the preservation of the landscape and of the cultural heritage. The Plans for the three Italian maritime areas are geared towards the growth and development – which must be balanced and projected over the medium to long term – of the maritime sectors, mature or emerging, in ways to enhance the vocations of the territories and the well-being of coastal communities and of the whole national community.

Given the strategic objectives defined on a national scale and the specific objectives set out in the maritime areas, the guidelines provide for the identification of measures and actions aimed at achieving them (D.P.C.M. 1 December 2017, par. 20), to which indicators will be associated in order to be able to follow up on the monitoring during the implementation phase and to be able to proceed effectively in the event of misalignments between the expected objectives and what is produced.

The specific purpose of the MSP measures and actions is the unitary management of the interactions among the uses and of the interactions between uses and transversal objectives.

The analysis of both current and to-be-developed uses confirmed that the primary need to which the MSP must respond is precisely the unitary management of the interactions among uses, to reduce conflicts, and to strengthen the synergies between uses and transversal objectives.

In fact, there are several combinations of uses in each sub-area and in each Production Unit (PU), which must be regulated directly by the Plans or by the competent administrations following the recommendations and guidelines of the Plans themselves, above all: where multiple priorities have been assigned in the same PU; where other uses compatible with priority or limited use are indicated; where the vocation is for generic use.