Capacity Building and the Green Paper

"Principles of good governance suggest the need for a European maritime policy that embraces all aspects of the oceans and seas. This policy should be integrated, intersectoral and multidisciplinary, and not a mere collection of vertical sectoral policies…..."

"Continued investments in knowledge and skills are key factors for maintaining competitiveness and ensuring quality jobs."

"At the core of a new maritime policy must be the building of a mutual understanding and a common vision among all the decision-makers and players of the various policies impacting on oceans and seas, including maritime transport and ports, fisheries, integrated coastal zone management, regional policy, energy policy and marine research and technology policies. This means joining the dots between different policies with a view to achieving the common goal of economic expansion in a sustainable manner, which is the key challenge of a future Maritime Policy."

"Given the interaction of coastal and maritime issues across the land-sea interface, an overall EU maritime policy has a major stake in the success of ICZM. Consideration should therefore be given to an EU-wide mechanism for comparative analysis and an exchange of best practice."

Source: The Green Paper

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We are witnessing the creation of an all-embracing European Maritime Policy as well as a European Marine Strategy. Both of them emerge as a result of the importance attributted to the European maritime dimension in the coming years. The vision is that of a Europe with a dynamic maritime economy, responsive to sustainable principles and in harmony with the marine environment.

This is an ambitious and forward looking vision. In this context, the development of technical, human, and institucional capacity at the local and nacional levels, as a foundation for effective policy implementation, is a must. Capacity building efforts will be required, among others, on critical aspects of marine policy making, on ICZM, and in particular, regarding the implementation of an ecosystem-based spatial planning approach and of an integrated management approach which cuts across tradicional sectoral policies. Needless to say, these innovative strategies being considered in the new maritime policy and strategy will place a heavy burden into the existing educational and training institutions and resources.

This challenge becomes even more apparent when looking at the Green Paper’s set of general principles for maritime policy making, namely: (i) procedures to should ensure the integration of the best technical and scientific advice available; (ii) all relevant stakeholders should be consulted; (iii) institutional competences and means for cooperation, collaboration, coordination, and integration should be identified; (iv) sea related issues should be promoted in EU policies paying particular attention to the coherence among objectives; and (v) targets against which to assess implementation performance should be included. Nevertheless, the document does not contemplate the fact that, in order to deal with the difficulties of introducing this set of principles into traditional sectorial frameworks, a new generation of policymakers, planners and managers and/or the reorientation of existing ones will be paramount.

Furthermore and despite the planning and management challenges that the development and implementation of such an ambitious policy might entail, the document does not reflect on the need to assess the capacity building needs (see needs assessment) of the policy-makers, the planners and managers that will be preparing and pushing the process at different levels (from policy training, for high level decision-makers, to technical training and basic skill development geared to operational personnel 1).

Following current trends in understanding capacity building (see The Capacity Building Concept), the Green Paper should aim to promote a policy that would support the necessary human and institutional development putting greater emphasis on the capacity development process itself, on local ownership of its process and on equal partnership in its support 2.

The following is only a quick glance at the Green Paper from this capacity building standpoint, which looks at how the document deals with the human and institutional development issues that such a maritime policy will face. Bearing in mind that the Green Paper dovetails with the Lisbon Strategy, a future maritime policy might consider to incorporate a 'capacity building' component that provides the framework for “developing a thriving maritime economy, in an environmentally sustainable manner” 2

Human development:

Though the Green Paper mentions the importance of developing knowledge and skills as key factors for maintaining competitiveness and ensuring quality jobs, as well as improved working conditions and career prospects, it falls short in the identification of specific knowledge, skills and attitudes (K/S/As) necessary for tackling specific tasks in e.g. ecosystem management, or for the formulation of integrated policies. In the Green Paper, the only sector discussed in depth is the maritime industry.

Considering the decline of European personnel taking jobs aboard vessels and its relevance for the survival of the maritime industry, the Green Paper recognizes that one of the main challenges of the future maritime policy is that of supporting the management of change, to facilitate retraining and professional reorientation, including cases of restructuring and job losses.

In this regard, and based on the results of the EC Employment Report, an entire section of the Green Paper is dedicated to the development of Europe's maritime skills and expanding sustainable maritime employment, which focuses on the need to attract highly qualified seafarers, particularly officers, pilots, engineers, shipyard managers, ship safety inspectors and instructors.

New human capacity building needs may be identified within two major areas. First, sectoral-associated human development needs such as in tourism, ports or energy. In this case, in addition to new skills related to a particular sector, the individuals should be trained into the cross-sectoral elements of the new maritime policy and how they impinge into their respective sectors. Second is the development of training courses and/or educational resources in cross-sectoral, integrated approaches and professional skills. This is the case, for instance, when the Green Paper states that a comprehensive system of spatial planning should be put into place as soon as possible for European coastal waters in order to set up a stable regulatory environment for sectors such as shipping, port infrastructure and offshore resource exploitation, including fisheries, where large investments are being made in innovative products designed to last for many years. Obviously, both spatial planners and managers should be adequately trained with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes (K/S/A) to be able to deal with the complexity of developing such an integrated system and with the different issues that will emerge during its implementation against a culture of sectoral, competitive and non-coordinated institutional structures.

The Green Paper does recognize that if Europe is to rise to the challenge of finding a better relationship with the oceans it is not only the industrial sectors that will need to innovate, but also policy-makers. To regulate maritime activities there is a need to develop both universally applicable rules and more specific ones that account for each part of the oceans and seas. In this regard, the main challenge to policy-makers -explicitly stated in the Green Paper-, lays in the global nature of the oceans, which leads to both complementarity and competition between nations.

Institutional development:

There are two dimensions regarding institutional development. One at the EU level, and the other at the national/local level. The Green Paper considers that in the EU, the above stated maritime policy making principles can be implemented partly through existing institutions, including the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions. Nevertheless, it also recognizes that appropriate cross sectoral bodies will have to complement the existing sectoral advisory bodies set up by the Council or the Commission.

The Green Paper also stresses the need for the Commission to continue taking steps towards strengthening its internal coordination on ocean and sea affairs in order to allow for a further integration of policies. In this regard, it offers the example of a structure at the level of the UN, where the UN-Oceans office has been created to better coordinate ocean-related policies in twelve different countries.

At the national level, and according to the definition by the Urban Capacity Building Network, institutional development involves regulatory changes that enable organizations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their capacities. The Green Paper proposes a regulatory framework that places a particular premium on participation by stakeholders in the rule-making process. All those involved in the different agencies and countries must take the appropriate action proposals. To keep decisions at a level closest to the stakeholders, action at EU level should be undertaken only where it adds value to the activities of others. The capacity building process should also be considered within and take advantage of this type of regulatory framework, based on local ownership and supported by equal partnership.

The Green Paper recalls that in May 2002, the European Parliament and Council adopted a recommendation whereby Member States should develop ICZM strategies with their regional and local authorities as well as stakeholders. The full implementation of these new responsibilities requires capacity building approaches and strategies to increase regional and local governance capacity for coastal resource management, including technical capacity and financial resources. International experience in this field indicates that the process of capacity building could be rather long. In the case of the Philippines, capacity building approaches were developed to achieve the following objectives: a) foster a critical mass of local leaders in CRM, b) Promote CRM in the daily operations of local government as a basic service, c) Develop and increase the technical capacity of local CRM core groups, d) Catalize multisectoral and multi-institutional collaboration to sustain capacity building efforts, and e) Benchmark local government performance in CRM through monitoring and evaluation.

Existing experience in the creation of institutional arrangements for integrated coastal management as well as ocean management initiatives in Europe, should also be considered as successful examples in integrating diverse sectors and interests as well as the local community, in the planning and implementation process. There are excellent examples within Europe of the creation of coordination mechanisms and consultative approaches that cuts across traditional sectoral boundaries.

The private sector: promoting clustering

The Green Paper also recognizes the potential of clustering, which is the ability of organizations with different objectives to work together so that each one reaches its own goals with less effort. Although many clusters are actually concentrated in coastal areas, the maritime economy has impacts beyond the coast, and connections with players in distant regions also need to be established.

In order to promote clustering, a common understanding of the inter-relationships between maritime sectors must be developed. Pooling of education and training is identified as one of the key factors in achieving this common understanding.

The relevance of awareness raising

Following the Commission’s belief that there is much to be gained by encouraging a sense of common maritime identity, the Green Paper hopes to contribute to a new awareness among Europeans of the greatness of their maritime heritage, the importance of the oceans in their lives and their continued potential to provide us with increased wellbeing and economic opportunities.

Expected benefits of this new awareness are an increase of both job creation and stakeholder participation: a better perception of maritime activities, an appreciation of their potential, which will result in a greater interest in choosing a maritime related career. A sense of common identity may well be one important side effect of bringing stakeholders together to participate in maritime planning processes.

Additionally, the creation of a sense of such a common identity is fundamental if Self-regulation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are to have important and complementary roles to play within the future regulatory framework.

The Green Paper reflects upon the current role of the existing platforms (see Informal Capacity Building) such as aquariums, maritime museums, and Non-Govermental Organizations (NGOs), and proposes new actions.

Regarding the current situation, more efforts should be undertaken to increase the educational efforts carried out by aquariums as well as by other educational entities to increase the public’s general knowledge on the fragility of the oceans, the activities that threaten them and what efforts are underway to safeguard them. Maritime museums may help to understand the achievements of the past, but have more difficulty in passing on a sense of the advanced technology which characterises maritime activities today. Associations dedicated to keeping alive the traditions of the past often do not link them with the commercial reality of the present, never mind the excitement of the future potential of the oceans.

The Green Paper proposes a series of measures to reclaim the maritime heritage of Europe, which will lead to a better understanding of the importance of the oceans and seas and their contribution to our health and well being, both physically, psychologically and economically. This will be done through awards for institutions that promote an integrated maritime vision, inventories of archaeological sites -such as the EU Atlas of the Seas data bank, to preserve the maritime culture through tourism and as educational material. It also suggests the development of synergies between EU member states and the different companies both private and public and NGOs, working in this area, to help increase the number of activities in this sector. These actions will lead not only to better and more adjusted policy making, but also to the development of a common vision of the role of the oceans in or lives and the need to maintain and restore this element for our future wellbeing.

Some recommendations

To help identify needs and improve the Marine Policy approach to capacity building, the following activities should be conducted:

• Reflect on how emerging EU Maritime Policy goals can be supported through a realistic, well planned capacity building strategy for Europe

• Undertake national self-assessment capacity building needs

• Take stock of ongoing efforts to assist national capacity building

• Prepare a capacity building strategy and a specific action plan at the national and local levels to provide enhanced and sustained support to institutions in the process of developing human, technical and institutional capacity

Discussion questions