Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit – 2018 Action Summit Strategy Meeting

It’s been almost a year since an ad-hoc coalition of environmental activists, organizations and stakeholders held a Summit to discuss the issues affecting the health and well being of Biscayne Bay, one of the environmental jewels in the crown in Miami-Dade County.

This Inaugural Summit, held at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus last June, attracted over 250 attendees, from scientists, heads of local environmental NGOs, government officers, elected officials, college and university students, private industry executives, amongst others, and was considered a great success. The Summit was designed to help stakeholders understand the ecological importance of and challenges to Biscayne Bay, identify its main sources of pollution, identify prevention efforts, establish collaboration among stakeholders, and share ideas, expertise, resources and solutions to support the creation and launch of an 10 Year Action Plan.

Since then, the Summit Steering Committee – Albert Gomez, Camila Quaresma, Dave Doebler, Emilio Lopez, Irela Bagué, Luiz Rodrigues, Steve Sauls and Tiffany Troxler– met regularly to discuss its outcomes, to begin planning our next steps and to win Miami-Dade County’s support to approve and institutionalize long-term strategies for meaningful solutions. Progress has been somewhat slow, but it has been steady, as we have looked to implement the Summit’s recommendations published last fall by the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center on the BBMH Summit Report . Funding for the Report was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The consensus recommendations include:

• Develop a new 10-Year Action Plan
• Integrate, more actively support and implement activities of the Biscayne Bay Restoration Initiativeand NOAA’s Florida Marine Debris Guidance Plan as part of a new 10-Year Action Plan;
• Develop a research agenda to assess outcomes and support adaptive management of 10-Year Action Plan, including more comprehensive water quality monitoring and assessment;
• Develop and implement communication and public outreach campaigns as part of a new 10-Year Action Plan, including sustained coordination and information exchange through the implementation of annual summits;
• Improve the health of the Bay and experience for visitors, tourists and residents alike through the implementation of important tools such as ecosystem restoration and coastal ecosystem management. Ecotechnological remediation also shows great promise to manage stormwater and minimize potential for pollutants released into Bay. i.e. identify problem areas and apply eco-technological remediation at pilot scale;
• Develop policies and incentives to sustain the health of the Bay and develop a report card for key indicators of Bay health, including economic benefits (Medium to long-term)

Now, it’s time to come together once again and begin preparations for the 2018 Summit – The Action Summit. And this is why we are reaching out to you: we would like to invite you to join us on May 31st, from 7 to 9 pm, to share some important updates, listen to any comments you may have and to have a structured conversation to map a path forward. We hope you make plans to join us.

Goals of the May 31 Coalition Meeting include:

• Discuss Summit Recommendations and pending restoration proposals and how they relate to our BBMHS efforts:
• The Biscayne Bay Task Force– Resolution sponsored by Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and
• The Biscayne Bay Restoration Initiative– by the SFWMD
• Celebrate work that is being done to heal the bay;
• Update attendees on action since the Summit including issues pending before the Miami-Dade County Commission;
• Initiate discussions towards the implementation of the 2018 Summit.

It’s a big agenda for this meeting so we will need to be disciplined. Our thought is to hold breakout sessions to facilitate specific strategies and action steps forward. A more detailed meeting agenda will be sent to you during the upcoming weeks. But, please make sure to review the Summit’s findings and recommendations before we meet.

At this point, Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition activities remain an all-volunteer effort. That’s why this is an especially important meeting for you to attend. Please make every effort to be present so, together, we can make a difference and move our shared vision forward.

The Agenda and an Eventbrite Registration Link will be sent to you next week.

Thank you for your attention and we look forward to receiving a positive confirmation from you.

Regards,

Luiz Rodrigues, MA

Eco-Logical Solutions, LLC
Founder: Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit
Co-Founder: City of Miami Beach Sustainability Committee
Co-Founder: GMB Hotel Association Sustainable Hospitality Council

360 Collins Suite 203 • Miami Beach • Fl • 33139
M: 786.853.1855 | E: luiz@ecologicalsol.com