Connections 21 December2006

An electronic bulletin about interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach at the
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES)
Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus

It's that time of the year again. It has been a pleasure
and MPA management effectiveness implemented by
sharing our news with you throughout the year and we
CERMES at coral reef sites in Belize, the Grenadines
do hope you have enjoyed learning and keeping
and Jamaica. The very well attended meeting gained
abreast of our activities. 2006 has certainly been a busy
enormous coverage by being featured in over 200
one for us at CERMES! There have been two staff
articles in the international press.
promotions to the position of Professor, the addition of a
Participants at the
new IT Technician, a full new complement of graduate
meeting were also
students eager to take on the work of environmental
taken on field trips
and natural resource management and numerous staff
to a condominium
activities with accomplishments both within the region
construction site to
and internationally. Please enjoy our final issue of the
examine numerous
CERMES Connections for the year. Happy New Year!
environmental
CERMES grand promotion by mail
mitigation

measures being
Through a grand effort in
employed to
late October, over 150
Task Force Meeting participants
prevent or reduce
packages comprising
sedimentation on
CERMES information
nearby fringing coral reefs, and to Bordeaux to examine
folders and or information
the efforts of a community-based organisation in the
flyers were mass mailed
Estate Bordeaux farming community to rehabilitate six
locally and throughout the
stormwater retention ponds built in the 1960s to retain
Caribbean in order to
stormwater runoff to mitigate downstream erosion and
raise institutional and
sediment impacts to adjacent coastal waters, and to
organisational awareness
provide supplemental water to the farming community.
of our graduate teaching
programme and outreach
activities at CERMES.
Special thanks are
extended to the Faculty of
Pure and Applied
Sciences which facilitated the actual mailing of these
Maria Pena in the process of
the mailing of this
carting the promotional
material to the Faculty Office
promotional material.
Status of coral reef ecosystems in
the Caribbean, and management
Water retention pond in the Estate Bordeaux community
At the 14th US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting 25-28
MPA evaluation workshop
October 2006 in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands,
CERMES Project Officer, Maria Pena, on behalf of Dr.
Dr. Patrick McConney organised and attended the
Patrick McConney, presented case studies of CERMES
Workshop on MPA Evaluation Products and Process,
approaches to coral reef management in the Caribbean
Punta Gorda, Belize, 4 November 2006 as part of the
in a session on the state of Caribbean coral reef
CERMES Regional Project on Enhancing Management
ecosystems. The presentation entitled, People-centred
Effectiveness at Three Marine Protected Areas in St.
approaches to coral reef management: Lessons learned
Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and Belize. The
at CERMES, UWI Cave Hill Campus, focused on
purpose of the workshop was to review both the
coastal co-management, socio-economic monitoring,
products and process of management effectiveness
fisheries planning for marine protected areas (MPAs)
evaluation in the CERMES regional MPA-ME project

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Also present were representatives from each of the
contribute to improving the effectiveness of decision-
MPA project sites ­ Meritha Baptiste (Tobago Cays
making, interventions and organisation with respect to
Marine Park (TCMP), St. Vincent and the Grenadines),
the management of fisheries and other marine
Elsa Hemmings (Negril Marine Park (NMP), Jamaica)
resources. The qualitative data obtained from this
and Jack Nightingale and Christina Garcia (Sapodilla
livelihoods analysis can be used as a common ground
Cayes Marine Reserve (SCMR), Belize). Maria Pena
for working with fishers to achieve sustainable
and Meritha Baptiste; Donna Roach (CERMES
development and utilisation of marine resources in the
graduate student)
Grenadines.
and Elsa
Donna presented an overview of "Learning from
Hemmings; and
evaluating MPA management effectiveness". Her
Jack Nightingale
presentation reported on the CERMES regional project
and Christina
for enhancing management effectiveness at three
Garcia presented
marine protected areas
evaluation findings
(MPAs) in St. Vincent and
for the TCMP,
the Grenadines, Jamaica
NMP and SCMR,
and Belize. Preliminary
respectively.
results of the evaluation,
MPA workshop participants

lessons learned from both
CERMES shines at 59th GCFI
the results and the process
and recommendations for
CERMES was well represented at the 59th annual
adaptive management
meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
were presented.
Donna Roach
(GCFI) in Belize City, Belize from 6-10 November 2006.
Patrick McConney and Hazel
The contingent comprised three staff members, Dr.
Oxenford both participated in the Symposium on "Large
Patrick McConney, Professor Hazel Oxenford and
Pelagic Fishes in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of
Maria Pena, as well as four CERMES graduate
Mexico: Current Status and Integrated Management" on
research students, Kimberly Baldwin (PhD student),
7 November. As theme speaker on Management:
David Gill, Donna Roach and Tanya Staskiewicz (MSc
Strategies, Problems and Solutions at the Symposium,
students).
Patrick gave a presentation on "Management in the Gulf
Kimberly presented a multi-authored poster on "Marine
and Caribbean: Mosaic or melting pot?" (co-authored
resource user profiles in the Grenadines Marine
with H.A Oxenford and M. Haughton).
Resource Space-Use Information System (MARSIS)"
He also presented a multi-authored poster on
outlining preliminary findings of her PhD research.
"Reforming marine resource governance: Can we cope
David's research on "A socio-economic profile of
with co-management?"
fisheries in the Grenadines" aimed to create a
Hazel Oxenford also served as an invited panellist on
demographic and socio-economic profile of fishers in
demersal connectivity at a Special Symposium on
the Grenadines. This information will help resource
"Caribbean Connectivity" and as moderator for a
managers better
session on "Fisheries Management: Strategies,
understand the
Problems and Solutions". She also presented three
social and
research posters with colleagues and students.
economic factors
that affect fisheries
Also on show was a poster co-authored by the
in the Grenadines
Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) Project
and may lead to
Unit and CERMES on "Sustainable management of the
more sustainable
shared resources of the Caribbean Large Marine
and informed
Ecosystem (CLME) and adjacent regions."
decision-making.
David Gill
Christmas wishes
"A livelihoods analysis of
Well that's it for another year. We look
fishermen in the
forward to bringing you further updates
Grenadines" was the
about CERMES and our research in
topic of Tanya's research
the coming year. To all of you, from all
paper. The aim of this
of us, we wish you
study is to provide
Merry Christmas and
relevant organisations
and persons with
Best wishes for 2007.
information that can
Until next year!
Tanya Staskiewicz

CERMES Phone (246)-417-4316; Fax (246)-424-4204; cermes@uwichill.edu.bb; www.cavehill.uwi.edu/cermes
Mailing address: CERMES, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, St. Michael, Barbados

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