One Ocean event delivers a broad and deep conversation

Thank you to all those who attended and participated at the One Ocean discussion earlier this week. It was a tight squeeze with over 50 attendees present to hear our three speakers: Bronwen Golder, Director of the Global Ocean legacy from the Pew Charitable Trusts; Ann McCrone, Marine Advocate at the World Wildlife Fund New Zealand and James Palmer, Deputy Secretary, Sector Strategy from the Ministry for the Environment.

After three ten minute presentations, we presented a straw-man goal followed by two questions to the audience. The straw-man goal was: A management framework that is collaborative, integrated and durable, based on a collective commitment to a healthy and productive ocean. These following questions had been developed in discussion with the three speakers the night before, the raw responses from participants can be accessed by clicking the links:

Question 1: What aspects of the current framework are working (a) effectively or (b) ineffectively towards this goal?

Question 2: What (a) research, (b) processes, (c) instruments or (d) institutions might best inspire and inform progress towards this goal?

These questions initiated an interactive feedback phase where guests jotted down their comments on colour coded post-it notes which were then collected up and displayed on the entranceway wall. As people moved through from the Willis Bond boardroom to the Institute’s offices for pizza and refreshments they were invited to add red stickers to the comments they felt were most important. The raw responses from participants can be accessed by clicking the links above.

We hope to publish a think piece in July; synthesising these comments and outlining how the Institute hopes to contribute to this discussion. There was a wealth of knowledge in the room, and we hope that the guests enjoyed their time as much as we did. To find out more about the Institute’s One Ocean Project and the outcomes of the discussion evening, please take a look at our One Ocean Project page.