5.6.4 Parc Naturel Régional du Golfe du Morbihan: Key stakeholders and their involvement

The VALMER stakeholder engagement process in the Golfe du Morbihan was specific to the subject chosen. There was no pre-existing forum of stakeholders. Common practice in the Golfe du Morbihan is to create “task and finish groups” for each project according to the interest of the stakeholders in the subject of the project.

Over the course of one year, around 100 people have been involved in the project.

After having identified all the potential ecosystem services of the seagrass beds and the activities that could have an impact on it, the project team invited all concerned stakeholder groups to participate to different workshops and interviewed over 50 stakeholders in the Golfe du Morbihan.

Each of the workshops included presentations of the topic, issues and project updates of the project as well as mapping and brainstorming sessions. The scenario workshop was based on the SWOT method (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and the Regnier Abacus method .

Figure: Stakeholder engagement process in the Golfe du Morbihan case study site

The stakeholder engagement process was based on three idea:

• people are fully welcome to contribute to the project with their ideas and knowledge of the Golfe
• by having an intense rhythm of meetings, a good dynamic is maintained and people do not have the feeling that the project is going slow
• transparency is ensured in the delivery of the project progress and results, including the organisation of a final open event.

This final event was run on the 4th December 2014 and was open to anyone interested. 115 people participated. The open event encompassed a mix of presentations on the project, stakeholder and managers round tables, experience transfer from other sites and time for exchange.

Figure: Seagrass event, 4th Dec 2014, Golfe du Morbihan