Bermuda’s Marine Spatial Plan Objectives
The Principles, Goals, and Objectives for Bermuda’s Marine Spatial Plan [MSP], approved by the BOPP Steering Committee, is now available to be viewed by the public.
A spokesperson said, “The Principles, Goals, and Objectives define the purpose and desired results of Bermuda’s MSP. To view the document please visit here.
“Marine Spatial Planning is a science-based and stakeholder-driven process to manage ocean space to reduce user conflict, support a thriving blue economy, and prioritize environmental health and human well-being. The newly developed Principles, Goals, and Objectives will be used to guide Bermuda’s MSP creation and implementation.
“The planning process involved considerable stakeholder and government input. The BOPP Steering Committee released the initial Principles, Goals, and Objectives for stakeholder input through an online public survey in October 2020. Anyone was invited to participate in the survey. The majority of the feedback was received from the BOPP Ocean Village, a collection of industry and organization experts in the marine space, as well as through targeted consultations over several months.
“The Steering Committee reviewed all input on the draft Principles, Goals, and Objectives over the course of four 2-hour meetings in the spring of 2021. Discussion focused on considerations such as practicability, anticipated benefits, applicability, and the ability to strengthen current marine priorities. The BOPP Steering Committee is grateful for the cumulative 70 hours of discussion by the Ocean Village during the 4-month comment period.
“The principles set the tone of the MSP and provide high-level guidance regarding its fundamental purpose. They determine the nature and characteristics of the MSP process, as well as reflect the results. The principles are further defined by goals or aspirational statements that collectively identify the desired outcomes of Bermuda’s MSP. Goals are intended to be broad, immeasurable, and abstract. For each goal, specific objectives provide defined and measurable actions to achieve the goal. MSP objectives are concrete, detailed, focused, time bound, and well-defined outcomes.
“To develop a Draft Marine Spatial Plan, the BOPP Marine Spatial Plan modeling team has collected and processed over 100 data layers, including the collection of Ocean Use Surveys from approximately 1400 Bermuda residents. These data layers will be evaluated against the MSP objectives approved by the BOPP Steering Committee, resulting in a series of scenarios for the BOPP Steering Committee to review and collate into a Draft Marine Spatial Plan.
“The Draft Marine Spatial Plan will be presented to the Cabinet prior to extensive public consultation. The Draft Marine Spatial Plan will be released to the public for feedback that will be utilized and incorporated into the final version of the Marine Spatial Plan by the BOPP Steering Committee. The Final Draft Marine Spatial Plan will be presented again to the Cabinet for official adoption.”
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