Connections 7 October2005

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

The first semester in the 2005-2006 academic year has
Socioeconomic information for
started with a CERMES graduate student intake of over
25 people pursuing MSc degrees in four specialisation
fisheries management planning at
streams. In this issue we will share some of the finer
the Negril Marine Park in Jamaica
moments of their orientation session and tell you what
The Counterpart Caribbean 4C's (Caribbean Coastal
faculty have been up to. New CERMES projects too!
Co-management and Coral Regeneration) programme,
Orientation and aquatic skills!
funded by the European Commission and implemented
in part by CERMES, continued in Negril, Jamaica. MSc
New CERMES students completed a week of aquatic
student Katherine Blackman conducted research and
skills soon after their orientation field trip of a land and
held stakeholder workshops as part of her work on the
sea tour around the island. On this whole-day tour they
socioeconomic information needs of the Negril Marine
were (re-)introduced to Barbados from natural resource
Park fisheries management plan that is currently being
and environmental management perspectives.
drafted under this project due to end early in 2006.


She is seen (at left)
presenting some of
her results to staff
of the Negril Coral
Reef Preservation
Society (NCRPS),
the umbrella Negril

Environmental


Protection Trust
They are seen (courtesy of David Gill) paying close
(NEPT) and Negril
attention to explanations about the coastal features at
project officer of the Caribbean Regional Environmental
the Crane and Tent Bay given by CERMES faculty. In
Programme (CREP). The Fisheries Division of Jamaica
the aquatic skills week-long session many brushed up
and other parties (governmental and non-governmental)
on their basic swimming skills, whilst others took the
also participate in this project. Dr. Patrick McConney of
plunge to obtain SCUBA diving certification.
CERMES is the lead technical coordinator. Papers on

what has been accomplished to date will be presented
at the 58th meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries
Institute coming up soon in San Andres, Colombia.
Presenting issues of governance
The governance of marine resources in the Caribbean
is one of the critical areas of research at CERMES, and
one that urgently requires input from academics as well

as policy and planning practitioners. Over the past few


months the Director of CERMES, Dr. Robin Mahon, has
Besides being lots of fun (a good way to start a degree
had the opportunity to share thoughts on the topic at
programme), the students got a taste of what they need
various international meetings. These included:
to be proficient in to safely conduct research in the field.
· The IOC/IUCN/NOAA/UNEP Large Marine
CERMES secretarial upgrade
Ecosystem 7th Consultative Committee Meeting, 5-6
Our hard-working departmental secretary, Bibi Selman,
July 2005 in Paris, France, where he presented a
obtained her BSc in Social Science (specialising in
talk on `Governance for Caribbean fisheries'
Management, Accounting and Psychology) from the
· The MARE People and the Sea Conference in
UWI Cave Hill Campus. Hearty congratulations Bibi!
Amsterdam, July 7-9, 2005 where he presented a

---

paper entitled `Governability of fisheries in the
Biodiversity and bleaching events
Caribbean: a preliminary assessment'; and
Dr. Hazel Oxenford attended the Technical Working
· The Third Meeting of the Interim Scientific, Technical Session for the preparation of Barbados' Third National
& Advisory Committee (ISTAC) to the Protocol
Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, hosted
Concerning Pollution from Land Based Sources and
by the Ministry of Housing, Lands and the Environment
Activities (LBS Protocol) in the Wider Caribbean
(Environment Division).
Region, Mexico City, Mexico, August 22 ­ 26, 2005

that concerned transboundary governance issues.
Hazel and her assistants are also monitoring the current
· The FAO FishCode STF Project and WorldFish
severe coral bleaching event in Barbados along with the
Center `Workshop on Interdisciplinary Approaches to
government's Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU).
the Assessment of Small-Scale Fisheries', Rome,

Italy, 20-22 September 2005. The workshop was
held to develop a research framework for a four-year
project on small-scale fisheries to be carried out by
these agencies and collaborating organisations.

Sustainable Grenadines promotes
primary school education on reefs

CERMES and the Sustainable Grenadines Project have

received funding from the US National Fish and Wildlife
Sea temperatures in excess of 30°C are currently being
Foundation (NFWF) for a project to put the "People and
recorded at patch reefs on the west and south coasts,
Corals" workbook in the Grenadines' primary schools.
and on west coast bank reefs down to 20 metres deep.
The extent of bleaching is now as high as 70-80% of
The workbook was developed by
live coral at all sites (bank, fringing, patch reefs) and is
the Caribbean Conservation
affecting virtually all hard coral species, soft corals and
Association (CCA) for Caribbean
anemones. CERMES will continue to monitor the event.
primary schools. It includes a

variety of information and
CERMES project officer goes global
learning activities to make
students aware of the many
Maria Pena, a CERMES graduate and our project
goods and services that coral
officer, has been accepted to participate in the UNEP
reefs provide and how to protect
Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Fellowship
them. This education pack has
Programme. She joins the Expert Working Group
been in high demand.
consisting of Lead Authors, Coordinating Lead Authors
and Contributing Authors for the production of Chapter
The project will purchase workbooks for schools, train
5 on Biodiversity for the GEO-4 to be produced in 2007.
teachers in how to use them and monitor how well they
The GEO is the practical implementation of UNEP's
are received by both teachers and students in the
mandate to keep the global environment under review.
Grenadines. It is expected that all fourteen Grenadines

primary schools from both countries will be involved in
CERMES new regional project on
this project. We hope that this will build future capacity.
MPA management effectiveness
Land degradation issues discussed
This new project, to be lead by Dr. Patrick McConney,
For small islands like Barbados land degradation is a
will contribute towards building regional capacity in
very serious issue that must be addressed at policy
MPA management effectiveness evaluation methods in
level. Dr. Leonard Nurse represented CERMES at the
the Caribbean. MPA managers and other stakeholders
"National Consultation for Finalization of the Barbados
at 3 MPAs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica
National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and
and Belize have agreed to participate. This project will
Land Degradation" held at the Savannah Hotel on 8th
build capacity where there is a demonstrated need and
September 2005.
a genuine commitment to improvement. Integration with
the university's communications, teaching and research
Also there was MSc student Terry Bradshaw who is an
programmes will add to the project's regional impact
intern at the United Nations Development Programme
through the sharing of lessons learned and the output
(UNDP) doing research on land degradation under the
products. Participatory approaches will facilitate
guidance of Dr. Reynold Murray. Terry is comparing 3
stakeholder involvement and encourage adaptive
study sites in Barbados and examining the implications
management to ensure that the best practices are
for sustainable land management policy. This should be
institutionalized based upon the lessons learned and
of considerable interest to other places in the region.
skills acquired during the project which ends in 2007.

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

---