The current policyscape affecting land-sea interactions in the European Union

Coastal areas are the most populated and exploited territories by human activities, whose intensification strains terrestrial and marine ecosystems' environmental health and biodiversity. These anthropic dynamics interact with each other and with natural resources and geochemical processes that are fundamental assets for the land-sea continuum. These interconnections are addressed by the concept of Land-Sea Interactions. Although their consideration is required in the planning of the maritime space of European Union waters, clear indications of what exactly they comprise and how to manage them are yet to be produced. The scope of the research is to provide an overview of the current trans-sectoral policyscape of existing European acts that support the management of land-sea interactions. The resulting policy mapping, organized according to human activity clusters and common policy goals, describes a complex interlinkage among regulations and directives that also helps highlight the policy gaps to date in developing a blue economy (e.g., tourism and offshore energy production).