Previous Story
CRMO officials prepare for conference
|
Posted on Jan 11 1999
Officials of the Coastal Resources Management Office are preparing for the 16th Annual Pacific Basin Coastal Zone Management Conference to be held in Guam on Jan. 25 to 28.
According to Peter Barlas, deputy director, the conference is an event where directors from the Pacific Islands get together to formulate solutions to their common problems.
“We get to listen and communicate with other islands’ coastal resources management program and we get to discuss what similar problems we share and the strategies we used to solve these problems,” Barlas explained.
Topics for the entire conference are selected and will be discussed by a panel. This year’s topics are divided into four panels — partnerships, information, communications and technology.
Each panel will have resource speakers. Speakers in the partnerships panel will discuss how to involve the community in coastal management.
Topics to be discussed by the information panel deals on how to determine information needed in order to make informed decisions, where to get the information, how to avoid being swallowed by the information overload available and how to share the information with others that may benefit from it.
The communication panel will look at all formats of communication and ways in which CRM officials can better reach out to include the entire community through the dispersal of knowledge.
The technology panel will look at the uses of the new technology and its limitations and will spark the participants to look beyond the “glitz and glamor” of technology to better understand how it can serve the CRM needs.
Guam Governor Carl T. C. Gutierrez will give his opening remarks and will be joined by Jeffrey Benoit, director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and Clifford Guzman, director, Bureau of Planning.
Participating islands are the Territory of Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, CNMI, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
CRMO Director Felipe Atalig, Barlas and three others will represent the CNMI to the conference.
