Regular exchange visits and exchange of know-how between experts and site managers. These meetings are means of capacity building with harmonised values and methods taught and practiced both in Banc d’Arguin and the Wadden Sea. Common monitoring and management methods are harmonized and a shared level of knowledge and understanding is created. Participants are scientists, site managers and other experts of the respective protected areas.
The exchange visits of experts and managers are funded by the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation and partners in the countries, e.g. the national parks. From the beginning, all partners on regional and national level of the MOU understood the advantages to enhance the conservation of their WH properties and especially migratory bird along the East Atlantic Flyway.
Cultural differences lead to different understanding of nature conservation and management, e.g. the diverse views on nature conservation has to be acknowledged on both sites in order to define common goals and methods of managing the sites.
Joint dissemination of information and joint appearance at national and international level to inform on migratory birds and their habitats in order to raise awareness on the importance of their protection. Examples are an exhibition on migratory birds at the ITB Berlin 2017 and a joint flyer.
Defining common issues and joint goals.
Joint communication creates broader awareness internationally.
Signing the MoU at the Trilateral Wadden Sea Conference 2014
CWSS
In 2014, the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation, represented by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, and the Banc d’Arguin National Park signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to protect the millions of birds that travel between their sites each year.
Defining common issues and joint goals.
The MoU is the written basis of the cooperation between the two sites and four countries with regard to nature conservation and bird life. In the framework of the MoU the Banc d’Arguin National Park joined the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative.
The actual expert elicitation assessment is carried out during a workshop or series of workshops, attended by appointed marine experts in the field of marine environmental or socio-economic sciences. The experts collaborate and discuss the status and trends on the different parameters for the marine assessment and come to a consensus score. The scores are recorded during the workshop and entered into the SOME website. Notes are taken by a rapporteur on the discussion and the details of relevant reports, papers or other documents are recorded . The interaction and discussions during the workshop should allow the editorial board to identify potential authors to participate in the subsequent report-writing phase of the process.
A minimum of 20 experts, with at least 5 for each key discipline areas (fisheries and biology, physical sciences and socioeconomics).
Example of summary table on the state of marine habitats in the SOME website
GRID-Arendal
GRID-Arendal has created a pilot, web-based system to capture, analyse and display state of the marine environment assessment results: http://some.grida.no. The website allows for the real-time capture and display of data (scores for parameters, confidence, risks) during the workshop and provides an online template for the production of a State of Marine Environment Report. The content and graphics can be exported and used as the basis for a national or regional SOME report or the contents can be adapted for use within other formats as required. The database allows direct correlation to the outline of the World Ocean Assessment, thereby permitting cross-referencing and combining outcomes of the assessment to optimize it as a contribution to the international effort. Another key aspect is that the diagrams and outputs that are produced by the web site are designed for easy communication of the workshop results to policy- and decision-makers. The diagrams are simple, jargon-free and clearly communicate the main findings of the judgments made by the experts.
The system is used at the expert elicitation workshop.
