Waitt Institute

THE WAITT INSTITUTE CONDUCTED WORK RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE OCEAN PROGRAMS IN NINE COUNTRIES IN 2022: AZORES, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, BERMUDA, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, FIJI, MALDIVES, SEYCHELLES, TONGA, AND SAMOA. THESE JOINTLY-FUNDED PROGRAMS PROVIDED FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO OUR GOVERNMENT PARTNERS, WHO ADDITIONALLY PROVIDE IN-KIND SUPPORT TO ACHIEVE JOINT PROGRAM GOALS AS OUTLINED IN OUR MOUS WITH EACH GOVERNMENT.AZORES: WE SUPPORTED AN ISLAND-WIDE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY OF OCEAN USES TO INFORM THE MARINE SPATIAL PLAN AND PROTECTED AREAS. WE WORKED WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL TEAM TO BEGIN DRAFTING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTINUED TO BUILD CAPACITY BY HIRING LOCAL STAFF TO SUPPORT THE WORK. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: WE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT CAPACITY BUILDING FOR BARBUDANGO, A LOCAL NGO THAT WORKS ON A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THROUGHOUT BARBUDA.

BERMUDA: WE RELEASED THE DRAFT BLUE PROSPERITY PLAN WHICH INCLUDED A MARINE SPATIAL PLAN THAT PROTECTS 20% OF BERMUDA'S WATERS. WE ADVANCED THE BLUE INVESTMENT FACILITY CONCEPT TO SUPPORT BLUE ECONOMY PROJECTS AND SUSTAINABLE OCEAN FINANCE. WE SUPPORTED EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH TOWN HALLS, HAPPY HOURS, DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS, AND POP-UP EVENTS. FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA: WE SUPPORTED FINAL DRAFTING OF THE MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING BILL, WHICH WAS SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS. WE ALSO COMPLETED AN OCEAN USE SURVEY IN THE STATE OF KOSRAE. WE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE MICRONESIA CONSERVATION TRUST IN THEIR MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING WORK AND LOCAL ENGAGEMENT. FIJI: WE WORKED WITH OUR GOVERNMENT PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A 5-YEAR PROGRAM OF WORK AND BEGAN HIRING A LOCAL TEAM TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM. WE SUPPORTED DRAFTING OF A LEGAL ASSESSMENT AND OPTIONS MEMO FOR MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING LEGISLATION.

FIJI (CONT.): WE BEGAN WORK ON A FISHERIES CHARACTERIZATION AND SUPPORTED A THREE-DAY TECHNICAL WORKSHOP THAT COVERED VARIOUS ASPECTS OF MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING SCIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT. MALDIVES: WE LAUNCHED AND COMPLETED A COMPREHENSIVE, ATOLL-WIDE OCEAN USE SURVEY TO INFORM THE MARINE SPATIAL PLAN AND PROTECTED AREAS. WE PROVIDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR FINAL DRAFTING OF A MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING BILL AND TRANSLATION INTO LOCAL DHIVEHI. WE COMPLETED SPATIAL MODELING FOR OFFSHORE MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AND SUPPORTED AN ANALYSIS OF SEAFOOD MARKETS OPPORTUNITIES.SAMOA: WE LAUNCHED AND COMPLETED A SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION WITH LOCAL PARTNERS THAT GATHERED DATA ON THE NEARSHORE. WE WORKED WITH LOCAL PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY, LOGO, AND WEBSITE FOR THE PROGRAM. WE SUPPORTED DEVELOPMENT OF A LEGAL MEMO THAT OUTLINED CURRENT MSP LEGISLATION AND POTENTIAL PATHS FORWARD TO ACHIEVE PROGRAM GOALS. WE ALSO COMPLETED THE SECOND ROUND OF CONSULTATIONS ON THE DRAFT MSP.

SEYCHELLES: WE CONTINUED OUR SUPPORT OF THE SEYCHELLES CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION TRUST ("SEYCCAT", THE DESIGNATED ENTITY FOR NATIONAL OCEAN MANAGEMENT), IN THE PRODUCTION OF FINANCIAL PLANS FOR TWO MPA SITES AND A BLUE FINANCE ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. THE WAITT INSTITUTE'S BLUE ECONOMY TEAM ASSISTED THE WAITT FOUNDATION IN COORDINATING AND REVIEWING THE WORK WHICH WAS CONCLUDED IN 2022. TONGA: TONGA WAS HIT BY A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN JANUARY 2022 WHICH PUT OUR WORK ON HOLD FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WE PLANNED AND EXECUTED AN EXPEDITION IN TONGA'S NEARSHORE WATERS TO HELP EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF THE DUAL NATURAL DISASTERS. WE ALSO HOSTED A LEGAL WORKSHOP TO GET INPUT ON THE DRAFT LEGISLATION FOR MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING AND BEGAN PLANNING FOR MSP IMPLEMENTATION. WE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THE VAVA'U ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ASSOCIATION IN THEIR MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING WORK AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.