Royal Gazette: Marine Spatial Plan is a generational opportunity
This letter was sent to David Burt, the Premier, and copied to The Royal Gazette
Dear Premier Burt,
Re: Bermuda’s Marine Spatial Plan — A generational opportunity
I am writing on behalf of the Bermuda National Trust regarding the Marine Spatial Plan and what I believe is a critical moment in its development.
I recently had the opportunity to meet with minister Jaché Adams, who was generous with his time and thoughtful in receiving our concerns and perspectives. I am grateful for his engagement and commitment to this important process. However, given the significance of the decisions now before the Government, I felt it important to write to you directly and to share with you the attached open letter of support for Bermuda’s Marine Spatial Plan (below).
The attached letter was endorsed by nearly 70 organisations from across Bermuda’s environmental, scientific, tourism, business, education and community sectors. Such broad support is rare and reflects a growing consensus that Bermuda’s ocean is one of our greatest natural assets and that its long-term protection is fundamental to our environmental, economic and cultural wellbeing.
My concern is not with the plan itself but with timing.
With your announced intention to step down later this year, the window for advancing this work is becoming increasingly narrow. Only with urgent prioritisation can your government complete this piece of work that has been years in the making and will leave a lasting legacy for Bermuda.
The science underpinning the Marine Spatial Plan is clear. The consultation process has been extensive, the stakeholders have been heard, and the benefits are well understood. Advancing the plan will help to safeguard Bermuda’s marine ecosystems, support sustainable fisheries, strengthen our tourism product, increase resilience to climate change, and position Bermuda to attract conservation and blue economy investment.
Opportunities to leave a lasting positive mark on Bermuda are rare. After more than seven years of work, consultation and scientific assessment, the Marine Spatial Plan presents one of those opportunities.
By moving this work forward, Bermuda can demonstrate leadership throughout the region while creating benefits that will endure for generations. Once the framework is in place, government, scientists, NGOs, businesses and the wider community can continue working together to strengthen implementation, secure funding, enhance enforcement and maximise its benefits. What cannot be recovered, however, is lost time.
As Premier, you have the ability to help bring this process to completion and secure a legacy that future Bermudians will look back upon with gratitude. I therefore respectfully urge you to seize this opportunity and support the passage of the Marine Development Act and the Marine Spatial Plan.
This is an opportunity not simply to protect our ocean, but to invest in Bermuda’s future.
Thank you for your consideration and for your service to Bermuda.
Yours sincerely,
MYLES DARRELL
Head of natural heritage
The Bermuda National Trust
Royal Gazette: Marine Spatial Plan is a generational opportunity