According to members of Government's Central Policy Unit, the group responsible for canvassing residents, certain people they spoke with said they were used to such matters being handled differently.

"Some people have said Bermudians aren't used to being consulted. They're used to having things done to them by whomever has the power, or the majority, or the money," said Ross Andrews, co-ordinator of the Sustainable Development Project.

"So what we're doing is partly an attempt to break through that impression.

"We have to consult first on what people see as the issue and then set some goals. We want a cohesive society. We want a strong and stable economy. We want to maintain all the good stuff so you can have a sustainable communities plan, a sustainable economic plan, a sustainable transport plan, a sustainable consumption plan.

"But to get there is not for me to say. It's not for the project team ? as only four Bermudians ? to say this is the way Bermuda should be. And Government has made it clear that they don't think it's for them to say at this point, 'This is where we think we're going and this is how we think we're going to get there', because then that vision is a vision that's only owned by certain people.

"Once we've got that information about what Bermudians want to keep and what they want to change, then we're in a much better position to say okay, the vision for the future which you all seem to want is this.

"We want to do that rather than what's historically happened around the world ? 'We're the governing classes. We tell you what you want. You do it'. There's 60,000 people on this island. Surely they can work together for the common good. And part of this plan is to ensure that people do work together for the common good."

Residents were first encouraged to engage in debate over the future of the island through a series of public meetings held last month. Since then, they have been invited to lend their opinion via e-mail, and will soon be asked to share their views on an artists' rendition of the island's challenges, to be mailed to householders with a litany of detailed facts.

"All the countries in the United Nations agreed in Johannesburg in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development ? it was the largest meeting ever. People got together to discuss global, sustainable development ? to have in place, and be influencing, a national strategy for sustainable development by 2005."

Asked why the matter had not been addressed earlier, Mr. Andrews said it had become more important with the development of "unsustainable trends" world-wide.

"There are many unsustainable trends and they have to be dealt with as a whole," he explained. "Globally, the big issues are poverty ? you can't have rich and poor worlds coexisting without dramatic consequences ? there are more people using more natural resource.

"There's a greater sophistication of chemicals ? that we generate ? and they have a greater impact on the environment. Basically, there's a need to look at how six billion people interact with the environment with the knowledge that in a few years time there's going to be ten billion and eventually there's going to be 12 or 13 billion ? the population of the world could double.

"That impacts on the environment and on the planet that supports us. Climate change is coming. There are already water shortages around the world and then there's the economics of it all."

As such, Mr. Andrews insisted, it was important that each nation addressed problems from a global and local perspective. "You just need to read through the paper for a couple of days to be able to pick up some of the main trends. In the long term, they lead to more problems. If the economy's depending on a stable society and a healthy environment do you want to cover it in concrete?

"Do you want a situation where more people feel marginalised in Bermuda? Because if you do, you start losing economic benefits. It just can't go on. In Bermuda, we're at a crossroads. We've got some choices to make."

Team member Erica Smith, seconded to the Central Policy Unit by the Department of Planning for her expertise in that area, said residents had voiced much dissatisfaction with certain aspects of Bermuda.

"Some of the most common complaints involve the housing, the lack of open space, over development, health care, the plight of the seniors, education and social exclusion," she said. "Many Bermudians feel that they're not a part of Bermuda. They feel they don't have a stake in the future of the island with regard to owning a piece of the rock or getting a step up on the career ladder. So they're opting not to come back when they go away to school or, if they are here they opt out and manifest that in anti-social behaviour."

In meetings with the public, some alarming statistics have been shared. According to Ms Smith, roughly two-thirds of the island has already been developed on. While the remaining third is Open Space, some 40 per cent of that comprises the island's golf courses.

Added Mr. Andrews: "An area the size of Ferry Reach is lost every three years to development ? 13.7 per cent of Bermuda is covered, literally, in concrete. That's an area the size of Devonshire. Only four per cent of Bermuda's land area is protected and nature reserves."

The problem would not be solved by Government buying undeveloped land he explained as, residents might prefer to see the public purse spent on other causes.

"Part of this is going through the prioritisation exercise ? what do you actually want and when do you want it," he said. "Affordable housing is an issue that comes up and up and up. How do you address affordable housing at the same time as open space. There are ways ? you build on previously built sites. You fill in the gaps between houses and you keep big chunks of land open ? but they have to be done in consultation with the population of Bermuda."

He described the project as a "catalytic" one, saying all answers would not be revealed in a matter of months.

"This is about providing a framework for decision making. We can't make every single decision that Bermuda's going to have to make for the next 600 years, today. But what you can do, is say these are the basic principles which will guide our decisions.

"When we set the parameters, we can set out what the priorities are. At the moment, there's economic diversity, economic opportunity, training and learning. So you have some kind of career progression for Bermudians. Equality of opportunity is really important."

Added Ms Smith: "The actual planning is probably going to set out short, medium and long term actions and solutions but also piggybacking on that, Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of a Sustainable Development Unit at the centre of Government.

"So there'll be life in this project beyond the life of this particular project. Someone will be monitoring the progress that we've made against set objectives and targets and will be making sure people are implementing and maintaining those actions. But as Ross said, it's catalytic. It will change.

"So Bermuda's going to have to change those goals and objectives as things change but there should be some unit there for people to monitor and make recommendations on."