The first ever virtual Blue Planning in Practice (BPiP) regional workshops took place 2nd – 6th November and 16th – 20th November 2020. The workshops were organized by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the Blue Solutions Initiative to advance Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning (MCSP) in the East Asian Seas region. In order to provide the best learning experience while enabling an interactive participation format, the regional training was offered on two occasions. In total, 20 participants from COBSEA countries completed the training.
Using the fictitious country of ‘Bakul’ as an example, the virtual training used interactive practical exercises to examine different elements of the MCSP process such as identification of the need to develop blue planning, organization of stakeholder participation, analysis of current and future conditions as well as drafting and approving the plans. The training also included presentation of MCSP case studies from the Azores (Portugal), Costa Rica and Myanmar as well as former BPiP participants telling successful stories about the implementation of this training in their own context. An update on the ongoing MCSP policy review identifying enabling conditions for MCSP in the region, that COBSEA and Blue Solutions are developing, was further provided.
Among other digital tools enabling a smooth and interactive online workshop, the virtualization of mapping exercises was facilitated by using SeaSketch, an online platform for participatory MCSP.
‘We’re happy to offer solutions that not only tackles the restrictions on international travel, but that they can also be used as an additional resource once we’re able to conduct in-person trainings again,’ said Mario Caña, Ocean governance expert working with Blue Solutions. Throughout the training, participants appreciated the use of SeaSketch as well as being introduced to a range of digital tools for online collaboration.
Hear from participants about their highlights, lessons learnt and personal insights here.
On the final day, participants developed their own personal action plans to implement the knowledge and practice acquired during the workshops into their context and daily work. Among others, participants aim to disseminate the new knowledge to their colleagues, conduct pilot studies, collect spatial information, and engage with stakeholders to advance MCSP in their respective countries.
Key takeaways from both trainings concerned the importance of stakeholder involvement in the process of MCSP, operationalization of MCSP elements as well as the appreciation of digital techniques to facilitate a highly interactive training.
The training built fruitful ground for ecosystem-based marine and coastal spatial planning processes by means of interactive practical exercises. Succeeding the trainings, COBSEA and the Blue Solutions Initiative are exploring establishment of a community of practice across COBSEA countries, providing a collaboration platform to build further capacity and support development of a conducive policy environment for ecosystem-based management.
