9. In introducing his presentation on planning, Mr Doulman noted that there were many different types of plans and that they were developed for different reasons and with different levels of complexity. He added that planning was undertaken to assemble ideas in a coherent manner; to try to take account of future uncertainties when operating in a dynamic and changing environment; to ensure proper budgetary control and scheduling of funds; to avoid haphazard implementation of activities; to ensure that activities had a greater chance of success; to provide clarity and transparency; to provide continuity in the event of personnel changes and to improve management.
10. Mr Doulman further noted that a good plan should provide:
an assessment of the situation “on the ground”;
goals/objectives;
a set of actions to be undertaken;
priorities;
an indication of the human and financial resources required and how they would be sourced;
assignment of roles and responsibilities for key persons and/or institutions;
responsibility for coordination, communication and decision-making;
establishment of timelines for major activities;
specification of expected outcomes including “indicators” for each outcome;
monitoring of implementation, and
provision for review and revision.
11. Mr Doulman expressed the view that an action plan could be considered a method or approach for implementing a suite of activities to address a certain situation or a particular problem such as IUU fishing, reducing fleet sizes, management of shark populations and reducing the incidental catches of seabirds in certain longline fisheries either individually or as a combined plan. In developing an action plan, he added that it would be important to:
specify clearly the nature and extent of the problem to be addressed and its environment;
what actions should be taken to prevent or avert the problem;
what resources would be needed;
responsibility for undertaking actions;
where and when the actions would be undertaken;
the need to ensure that actions were consistent with prevailing policy and legislation;
international cooperation when addressing extraterritorial issues, and
periodic review to assess progress to determine whether the action plan had achieved its goals.
12. Discussion following the presentation focussed largely on policy and legal considerations relating to the legal authority of a NPOA-IUU. It was noted that national plans should be legally enforceable.
