Hope Spots

Nomination Guidelines

Knowing what you need beforehand will allow you to save time and complete the form more easily. Please write in your own words and make sure you save regularly using the ‘save’ button to avoid losing your work. This will also allow you to revisit the nomination if you don’t complete it in one go.

• Tip! It’s important that you take the time and effort to fill in the form well, otherwise we are likely to ask you to give additional information or defer the nomination- all of which takes more time and effort from everyone. Two points we find nominators don’t give enough attention to is the importance of having other local partners and giving us enough information about your site and what you want to do here. If you seriously want to make a difference in your Hope Spot, both are essential and the council will consider these points seriously.

• Here is a word doc. version of all the questions for those who want to prepare their nomination offline.
• The form will give you a choice of two paths—one where we ask for basic information (suitable for the general public) and another where we ask for much more (suited to a nomination from a knowledgeable non-scientific, scientific professional or NGO). We know that there are different levels of knowledge and all are equally valid, especially when collected together.
• So if you want to give us the basic information, only the questions in bold need to be prepared. Otherwise have a go at all the questions, bold or otherwise. Once you get to the nomination form itself, the second question asks you, “How much information can you provide us?” This is where the two paths separate: those who want to give basic information, chose the ‘I can provide some information’ option and those happy to provide lots of information, choose the ‘I will have a go at all your questions’ option. The more information we get, the better Dr. Earle and the Hope Spot Council can make an informed decision.

You will need to prepare the following information to fill out the nomination form (Remember, bold is for basic information; otherwise please answer all the questions in the nomination form):

1. Name of the proposed Hope Spot
2. Decide how much information you can provide?
   • “I can provide some information” will indicate you have the basic information we need (all the questions in bold on this page).
   • “I will have a go at all your questions” will indicate you have in depth, scientific knowledge and can provide some information on all the questions in this list.
3. Contact information: Name, physical address, email, phone number
   • This information will only be used for contact purposes between Mission Blue and yourself unless otherwise authorized.
4. The location of the Hope Spot on a world map (provided in the form) with an estimate of the size of the area.
   • Please be as precise as possible and indicate the measurement of the area (km or mi.).
5. Why this proposed Hope Spot is special?
   • Please provide a full description of what habitats and species make this special. Describe why it should be accepted as a Hope Spot for biological and/or cultural reasons. Use the space provided to write a full description which will allow the decision making council to assess the potential of your nomination fully. At the end of this guide is an example*. (Max 2000 characters)
6. Using the questions in the table below or in the downloadable word doc. tell us about the special features of your proposed Hope Spot. Indicate: presence (yes); absence (no); and unsure (unsure) along with justifications for your choices. See an example to the first question and please provide evidence to justify this choice using quantitative and/or qualitative data. (Max 2000 characters) 
   

    

   How is your Hope Spot special? Does it…

              How is your Hope Spot special? Is it…

             How is your Hope Spot special? Is the site…

7.     What organizations are currently involved in supporting this Hope Spot proposal and who is their primary contact(s)? This can include governmental or non-governmental organizations, if any. Contact details will be kept in confidence unless otherwise authorized and used only for validating information.

8.      How is the Hope Spot threatened and what is its current level of protection?

• Please indicate the threats and if the protection is legal with basic information about the designating body, if there are management plans in place, etc. (Max 1500 characters)

9.       Your concrete goals for the proposed Hope Spot if Mission Blue officially accepts it

• E.g. Do you plan to eventually get legal protection? Use it for educational purposes? Bring it into the social media spotlight? etc. (Max 1000 characters)

10.      Any governmental interest in this proposed Hope Spot and how it might “fit in” with existing marine protected areas of the country of jurisdiction (if any)

• This can range from no interest whatsoever to its use as traditional fishing grounds, etc. (Max 1000 characters)

11.       Any other sources of information on the proposed Hope Spot, e.g. articles, stories, scientific papers, reports & photos you might have available

• Any information provided here can be used by the council to support your justifications in the criteria table or add extra information not already requested. (Max 16 megabytes)

12.    Additional comments.

• This is a chance to add any additional comments (e.g. If you think your proposed Hope Spot has funding requirements to be successful, if many volunteer hours have already been spent on conserving this area and how many can be counted upon in the future, etc…) (Max 2500 characters)

13.   How your proposed Hope Spot will provide HOPE for the future. You can be as creative as you wish here.