Report of the Workshop on Conflicts and Coexistence in Marine Spatial Planning (WKCCMSP)

The Workshop on Conflicts and Coexistence in Marine Spatial Planning (WKCCMSP), chaired by Andreas Kannen and Kira Gee, was held at HZG, Geesthacht, Germany, 8–12 February 2016. The meeting was attended by 15 participants and 4 guests from 9 coun-tries.Rationale• The ability to deal with conflicts constructively and effectively is a key re-quirement for effective and successful MSP as unrecognised conflicts can lead to blockages in the MSP process.Key results• Conflicts occur at individual, group, and organisational/ institutional level. They are composed of various elements that are more or less difficult to nego-tiate. Conflicts between individuals/groups/organisations can escalate and de-escalate according to certain patterns which can also be used in managing con-flicts.