Waitt Institute

THE WAITT INSTITUTE CONDUCTED WORK RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE OCEAN PROGRAMS IN NINE COUNTRIES IN 2021: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, AZORES, BERMUDA, CURACAO, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, FIJI, MALDIVES, TONGA, AND SAMOA. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE ONGOING CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SLOWED THE PACE OF OUR WORK, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS DESPITE THIS AND PROVIDED FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO OUR SITES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: WE SUPPORTED ONGOING CAPACITY BUILDING FOR OUR LOCAL NGO PARTNER, FUNDED A FULL-TIME PROGRAM MANAGER, TRAINED 3 FISHERIES OFFICERS, AND LAUNCHED A RADIO CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON FISHERIES REGULATIONS. AZORES: WE SUPPORTED AN ISLAND-WIDE ENGAGEMENT TOUR TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR OUR PROGRAM WHICH SUPPORTS CREATING MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AS WELL AS WORK WITH LOCAL FISHERIES. WE BOLSTERED PROGRAM CAPACITY THROUGH HIRING LOCAL STAFF TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM.

BERMUDA: WE LAUNCHED A ROBUST AWARENESS CAMPAIGN WITH SEVERAL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BEACH CLEAN UPS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE BERMUDA OCEAN PROSPERITY PROGRAMME. WE HIRED CONSULTANTS TO SUPPORT BLUE ECONOMY PLANNING AND DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR A BLUE INVESTMENT FACILITY. WE ALSO SUPPORTED A PILOT-SCALE FISHERIES PROJECT AND SUPPORTED DRAFTING AN ASSOCIATED POLICY DOCUMENT. CURAAO: WE FINALIZED THE DRAFT MAP FOR THE OFFSHORE SANCTUARY THAT IS NOW AWAITING LEGAL ADOPTION. WE SUPPORTED A SITE MANAGER WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT. FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA: WE COMPLETED THE LEGAL ASSESSMENT AND POLICY PATHWAY MEMO AS WELL AS A FISHERIES CHARACTERIZATION REPORT. WE ALSO CONDUCTED AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS ACROSS ALL FOUR STATES. WE ARE SUPPORTING THE MICRONESIA CONSERVATION TRUST TO ENGAGE IN MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING WORK AND LOCAL ENGAGEMENT.

FIJI: WE SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN DECEMBER TO SUPPORT THEIR NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY WHICH INCLUDES MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING, SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES, AND BLUE ECONOMY WORK. WE BEGAN WORK PLAN DEVELOPMENT WITH GOVERNMENT PARTNERS. MALDIVES: WE LAUNCHED AND COMPLETED A 5-COURSE TRAINING PROGRAM TO BUILD LOCAL CAPACITY. COURSES INCLUDED CORAL REEF ASSESSMENT, FISHERIES, AND SPATIAL PLANNING CONTENT. WE ALSO COMPLETED A LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK ASSESSMENT AND ESTABLISHED A MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING WORKING GROUP TO PROGRESS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARINE SPATIAL PLAN. WE COMPLETED THE SECOND EXPEDITION TO STUDY THE SOUTHERN ATOLLS. WE ALSO SUPPORTED LOCAL SITE STAFF FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT. SAMOA: WE FACILITATED ONGOING WORK PLANNING AND COMPLETED THE FIRST ROUND OF MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING CONSULTATIONS. WE INITIATED WORK TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE FINANCE PROFILE AND SCIENCE STRATEGY.

SEYCHELLES: WE SUPPORTED CONTRACTORS IN DEVELOPING A BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE SEYCHELLES CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION TRUST (SEYCCAT). TONGA: SUPPORTED THE VAVA'U ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ASSOCIATION IN CONDUCTING NATIONAL CONSULTATIONS ON THE MARINE SPATIAL PLAN. SUPPORTED ONGOING IMPLEMENTATION OF 6 SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS WITH ONE MORE AWAITING APPROVAL.