Work Package 6

Dissemination

Summary

This Work Package will work closely with Work package 1(Coordination) to ensure effective external relations with stakeholders. The purpose of dissemination will be to guide the project allowing it to become interactive between the project Researchers and the Stakeholder community at a range of scales and that each is able to influence the other by their differing perspectives.

Work Package Aims and Objectives in Full

The first 4 Principles of the Ecosystem Approach (UNEP/CBD/COP/5/23 Decision V/6, 103-106) are worth restating:

Principle 1: The objectives of management of land, water and living resources are a matter of societal choice.

Principle 2: Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level.

Principle 3: Ecosystem managers should consider the effects (actual or potential) of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems.

Principle 4: Recognizing potential gains from management, there is usually a need to understand and manage the ecosystem in an economic context. Any such ecosystem-management programme should: (a) Reduce those market distortions that adversely affect biological diversity; (b) Align incentives to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; (c) Internalize costs and benefits in the given ecosystem to the extent feasible.

As part of the activities taking place in the different workpackages, the partners will promote their findings by publishing the scientific results. Initially, dissemination of this type of information about the project will remain limited to the partners but finally the results will be published in scientific journals. In addition, partners will be encouraged to present their work at important international meetings. However, towards the non-scientist stakeholders, there is a need for a more coordinated and integrated dissemination. 

Clearly, for the ecosystem approach to be implemented, it is important to involve stakeholders such as regulators, ecosystem managers, developers and operators, and other users of the marine resource. We intend to implement this philosophy into this research project primarily in this WP to ensure the best obtainable deliverables, to ensure their most effective dissemination and to promote them as best available approaches for sustainable development and management. As such the dissemination activities will include educational aspects as well.

Major activities in WP6 include:

• Stakeholder meetings. Within each of the 14 countries involved in the project, participants will host meetings of industry (including producer associations), government (and government agencies) and other user (e.g. fisheries, tourism) representatives - a draft list of appropriate stakeholders is included below (B7). In order to minimise costs and maximise possibilities for interaction, stakeholder meetings will be organised at different levels, both locally and internationally.
• Local, annual stakeholder workshops: In each country a group will be formed with the national partner and selected relevant regulators, government, industry and other users. These meetings will aim at learning from each other, not only though interaction between the project participants and stakeholders, but also between the different stakeholders themselves.  Results will be actively used in the project.
• Regional, general stakeholder meeting: Towards the end of the project, the partners will coordinate regional meetings to present suitable approaches to sustainable aquaculture and present a range of aquaculture-environment interactions, and indicators and EIA tools that are available. These meetings will be organised by the partners directly as they have the strongest links with aquaculture organisations, regulators and other local stakeholders. The regional meetings involve minimal travel and hosting costs which will allow also smaller stakeholder to participate.  Special care will be taken to invite stakeholders from all member and associated states, also those that are not represented with a project partner.
• Large, international stakeholder meeting: Towards the end of the project a special meeting(s) for international stakeholders (EEA, EC, European trade organisations, etc.) and other stakeholder who have actively participated in the project will be organised, preferably in conjunction with another relevant international event.
• Publications: Apart from the scientific publications and the newsletters, the project will attempt to publish information on it findings in industrially oriented and professional magazines and general news media.
• Courses. All partners will disseminate general results obtained during the project in education (master and Ph.D. levels), but it may also be relevant to organize short courses to disseminate the results gained in the project aimed at specific stakeholder groups. These activities will require additional funding.