The Turks and Caicos Government (TCIG) through the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), in cooperation with the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) and the Joint National Conservation Committee (JNCC), is supporting a Darwin-Plus project to develop Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Tools for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a stakeholder-driven science-based process to develop a strategic plan for managing and protecting the marine environment that addresses the multiple and cumulative uses of the sea and achieves ecological, economic and social objectives.
The MSP project will enable TCIG to plan for, and manage, the sustainable use of its marine environment and will create the framework and tools necessary for taking a Marine Spatial Plan forward in the TCI.
We will be holding a number of stakeholder workshops and meetings across the islands to discuss the project over the next two weeks. The meetings will be led by representatives from DECR. These meetings will help identify to create a common understanding about the nature of the marine environment - marine species, environment and activities. These include; coastlines, habitats, resource extraction, shipping, tracking data, seabird data, mammal data, turtle data, physical data, cultural heritage, socio-economic and natural capital values.
Dr Paul Brickle, SAERI’s Executive Director who will be visiting TCI for the workshops said ‘we are very pleased to be working with DECR and TCIG on Marine Spatial Planning – have developed tools for MSP for the Falkland Islands – another UK Overseas Territory, we are keen to share knowledge between Territories, and learn from each other’s experiences’.
Mrs Lormeka Williams – Director of DECR stated: “I am very excited to see this project idea coming to fruition, and look forward to the next two years of work and the great tools that will be developed to enhance the Marine Spatial Planning process on TCI”.
Hon. Ralph Higgs, Minister responsible for Environment, noted that this work is significant and will afford us the scope to make sound decisions on protection, conservation and sustainable development of the marine environment. We recognize the importance of having a baseline, of which we are able to compare and monitor any significant changes and response adequately. He wish the team every success and look forward to the end product.
Given the need to ensure sustainable development of local marine resources in balance with conservation and protection of marine stocks, species, habitats and systems, TCIG and all stakeholders have a common interest in ensuring the future development and viability of this process.
The first stakeholder workshop took place on South Caicos on the 27th January where a range of organisations came together at DECRs offices on South Caicos to talk through the project and discuss ideas for the vision for Marine Spatial Planning on the Turks and Caicos Islands.