About the Summit
Mark your calendars! October 26-29, 2004 at the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews, NB!
The Gulf of Maine Summit: Committing to Change will be convened October 26-29, 2004 at the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The Summit will bring together coastal experts, concerned citizens, fisheries and aquaculture representatives, businesses and leaders from around the Gulf of Maine to celebrate 15 years of partnerships, assess current environmental conditions, share knowledge and together develop plans for future actions needed to continue improving the environmental quality of the Gulf.
Purposes of the Summit include:
• Building on the many local watershed forums that have been held since 2002.
• Developing a vision and plans for improving the environmental quality of the Gulf.
• Advocating for enhanced science, management, and policy.
• Celebrating 15 years of cooperation and policy development in the Gulf of Maine
• Integrating local, traditional, and historical knowledge with scientific knowledge to describe the condition of the Gulf of Maine.
Prior to the Summit a State of the Gulf Report will be produced based on a blend of information from both local watershed forums and scientific literature. The report will document environmental, economic, and social trends and conditions for three primary areas – contaminants, fisheries, and patterns of development. Using this report as a basis for discussion, Summit participants will work together to develop a clear vision of the future of the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy region and design specific actions and strategies to get there. By developing a series of indicators we will be able to track our progress for years to come.
Issues on the agenda include:
- Priorities for the Gulf of Maine Council's 2006-2011 Action Plan.
- Mechanisms/tools to enable and assist communities to move forward on local-level recommendations to protect and enhance the Gulf and its watershed.
- Improvements to reporting mechanisms and indicators to be used for future reports.
- Priorities for research in the Gulf of Maine.
- Priorities to integrate environmental monitoring and ocean observing via the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System.
- Improvements to state, provincial, and federal coastal & marine regulatory and planning programs.
The Summit promises an action packed agenda that seeks full participation from individuals working at all levels as stewards of the environmental health of the Gulf region. One way that the plans crafted at this meeting will be used is for consideration for the Councils next five year action plan. If you are committed to the on-going health of the Gulf of Maine's resources, attend the Summit and be a part of the plans for the future.
Summit Organizers
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