"Together we know more and a sea of knowledge leads to a sea of opportunities for a sustainable blue future. With these words, Secretary of State for the North Sea, Philippe de Backer, concluded the North Sea Vision 2050 trajectory and paved the way for the 'Think Tank North Sea'.
This Think Tank North Sea is, now that the first call for themes is over, ready for the next phase. In the past period, possible working themes for the Think Tank North Sea were submitted from different sources. These proposals were then carefully reviewed and tested against the proposed criteria by the steering committee. This resulted in three overarching 'cluster themes': Marine food impact, Living with climate change and Working with nature. For a full description (Dutch) you can click on the subject of each theme.
How can producers and consumers of marine food reduce their impact on the natural marine ecosystem and how can policy convince them of this potential?
How will global warming affect our Belgian coast and how can we communicate findings and recommendations to the general public in an optimal way?
How can we find solutions to major social issues by working together with the North Sea ecosystem and how can we create a basis for this among all stakeholders?
Now that three cluster themes have been defined, the members of the steering committee invite representatives from science, policy, industry, civil society organisations and the general public to vote on the theme that interests them. The voting will be closed on Thursday 28 February (4 pm). A working group will be set up for the themes that can count on sufficient commitment. Just as within the North Sea Vision 2050 - trajectory, the underlying objective of these working groups is to obtain a (scientifically) substantiated 'good governance' for the BPNS, from today to 2050.
The first thematic working groups will be launched at a kick-off event on 29 March 2019 at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels. More details will follow.
Voting for the themes is possible using the following link and by clicking the registration button.
In case of questions about the Think Tank North Sea: info@thintanknorthsea.be
Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee | InnovOcean Campus | Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, België
Tel.: +32-(0)59-33 60 00 | e-mail: compendium@vliz.be
