Introduction
After the successful North Sea vision 2050 trajectory, the consultation between the many stakeholders from different fields and sectors is now continued in the independent and participatory Think Tank North Sea. This Think Thank North Sea is developing a broadly supported long-term vision around the core principles that will enable good management and use of the Belgian part of the North Sea in the future (2050). The annual focus of the TTNS is determined by a bottom-up survey of stakeholders from the quadruple helix (policy, private sector, science, citizens). In 2019, this resulted in the setting up of two thematic working groups: 'Working with nature' and 'Living with climate change'. The driving forces behind this initiative are the Operational Directorate Natural Environment of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS/OD Nature) and the Flemish Institute for the Sea (VLIZ).
Details
On Friday 29 March 2019, the working groups 'Working with nature' and 'Living with climate change' were kicked off at the RBINS. Both working groups have already met, but it is still possible for interested parties from science, policy, the private sector or citizens to join this process by committing themselves to future working group meetings. The final conclusions of this first cycle are expected by the end of 2019.
For information about participation in the working group ‘Working With Nature’, please contact the chairman of the working group, Steven Degraer (sdegraer@naturalsciences.be, +32(0)2 627 44 89).
For information about participation in the working group ‘Living With Climate Change’, you can contact the working group chair, Tina Mertens (tina.mertens@vliz.be, +32(0)59 34 21 33).