This BB aimed to structure the tasks related to stakeholder engagement and communication through the development of:

I) A Strategy for Public Participation based on:

• Three pillars: identification of stakeholders; engagement activities; and monitoring and evaluation of participation

• A two-way participatory approach: balance between top-down and bottom-up

II) A Communication and Dissemination Plan to set a unified tone and direction so that all activities, tools and materials work in harmony to create a shared vision to raise awareness of the initiative and its results. It also included monitoring of a number of metrics – through various channels and means – to evaluate the overall impact and success of communication and dissemination actions.

Standalone communication and dissemination plans, as well as engagement plans and reports were developed to guide and evaluate each activity implemented. The key messages from these reports were used as web news in order to communicate and report back to the stakeholders.

In the Western Mediterranean pilot, the following engagement activities were implemented:

• Institutional workshops at national and regional levels

• Training courses for governmental authorities and sectoral stakeholders

This Building Block aimed to develop a regional roadmap on MSP and sustainable blue economy agreed by the four beneficiary countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. During national activities, governmental authorities and relevant stakeholders provided recommendations, which were compiled in a summary table by thematic focus and then prioritized by the National Focal Points. The most voted recommendations were selected and rephrased (when necessary) to compose the regional roadmap.

This Building Block aimed to develop a multilingual storytelling tool to showcase both existing conditions and scenarios for the pilot in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The objective was to present the data and information in a simplified and interactive way, and as such to turn complex concepts into notions easily understood by all stakeholders.

This Building Block aimed to analyze potential future conditions of the Gulf of Guayaquil in order to build three scenarios by 2030: trend scenario; conservationist scenario; and integrated scenario. The developed scenarios DO NOT represent official proposals for the area; instead, they are a starting point for a multi-sectoral and cross-border dialogue about the desired future. A technical report was developed and made publicly available.

This Building Block aimed to analyze the current conditions of the Gulf of Guayaquil (historical bay shared by Ecuador and Peru) as an example that could be replicated in other cross-border areas. Policies, data and information on the marine environmental and main maritime uses were analyzed to identify use-use and use-nature conflicts and compatibilities, resulting in the development of a technical report publicly available.

Spatial data was compiled with the support of the National Focal Point of each country, who contacted and requested the data to the competent governmental authorities. A geodatabase with metadata was built and maps developed. Consultation activities (local and binational) were organized with stakeholders in order to review the maps and provide further information about conservation and sectoral issues. 

This Building Block aimed to develop activities to improve stakeholders’ capacities on MSP and sustainable blue economy. It helped the participants to understand the big picture of MSP, as well as the role they can play in such policy.

I) Training course for governmental representatives

included both theoretical and practical sessions. The first covered topics such as the concepts of MSP  and sustainable blue economy, as well as stakeholder participation and data and information. Moreover, the competent authorities had the opportunity to discuss national initiatives on MSP. Putting theory into practice, participants were divided into groups to play the MSP Challenge Game, representing planners and stakeholders. They were asked to define the vision, objectives, indicators, actions and stakeholders of fictitious countries to simulate an MSP process. After, they developed sectoral plans and used the tokens of the game to negotiate space and develop an integrated plan. They also had to link aspects of the plan with the achievement of the SDGs.

II) Seminars for sectoral stakeholders

They presented the concepts and importance of integrated policies such as MSP and blue economy, focusing on conflict resolution and opportunities. They also provided a chance for governmental representatives to disseminate national policies.

This BB aimed to structure the tasks related to stakeholder engagement and communication through the development of:

I) A Strategy for Public Participation based on:

• Three pillars: identification of stakeholders; engagement activities; and monitoring and evaluation of participation
• A two-way participatory approach: balance between top-down and bottom-up

II) A Communication and Dissemination Plan to set a unified tone and direction so that all activities, tools and materials work in harmony to create a shared vision to raise awareness of the initiative and its results. It also included monitoring of a number of metrics – through various channels and means – to evaluate the overall impact and success of communication and dissemination actions.

Standalone communication and dissemination plans, as well as engagement plans and reports were developed to guide and evaluate each activity implemented. The key messages from these reports were used as web news in order to communicate and report back to the stakeholders.

In the Southeast Pacific pilot, the following engagement activities were implemented:

• Stakeholder meetings, especially for the mapping exercise in the Gulf of Guayaquil
• Institutional workshops at national and regional levels
• Training courses for governmental authorities and sectoral stakeholders

An institutional support is required for the beneficiaries to promote the products they make through this solution, in local, regional and national markets. Since a single farmer cannot meet the quantity demand of the market and the distributors look for bulk quantity, a functioning co-operative has to be formed at the local level. This cooperation serves the purpose of collecting the products, negotiating the price with the distributor, supervising the manufacturing and distributing the profits.