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CARIBBEAN COASTAL DATA CENTRE NORTHERN CARIBBEAN NODE COORDINATOR OF THE GCRMN |
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THE GLOBAL CORAL REEF MONITORING NETWORK (GCRMN)
GCRMN, an operational unit of ICRI - the
International Coral Reef Initiative, was established to
improve management and sustainable
conservation of coral reefs for people
by assessing the status and trends in the reefs and how people use and
value the resources. It seeks to do this by providing many people with the
capacity to assess their own resources, within a global network, and to
spread the word on reef status and trends.
The
GCRMN has brought together a global network of people, governments,
institutes and NGOs monitoring coral reefs and their user communities in
over 80 countries or states. They have formed partnerships with existing monitoring
programs including Reef Check, a global program and CORDIO, CARICOMP and
AGRRA which are regional activities; and, coordinates mechanism for
publishing and disseminating the data obtained from these programmes to
decision makers and the general public. In
order to accomplish these objectives the GCRMN has committed itself to:
linking all levels of monitoring, and existing monitoring projects into Regional Nodes for the resolution of problems, and sharing of experiences and expertise;
providing data storage and assistance through ReefBase, the global coral reef database; and the Caribbean Coastal Data Centre
(CCDC);
assisting countries and regions produce national and regional Status of the Coral Reefs reports; and
The GCRMN
functions through independent Nodes, which are networks of countries and
states assisted by one of these which has additional capacity. The Nodes
are coordinated through the Global Coordinator of the GCRMN based at AIMS
and ICLARM, with the task of assisting all Nodes with funding
applications, representing these Nodes on international forums and
producing the Status of Coral Reefs of the World reports every two years.
CCDC'S INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GCRMN The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre (CCDC), was appointed as the coordinator for Northern Caribbean and Atlantic Node of GCRMN. The countries that fall under this node includes the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands. To fulfill its functions as coordinator, to improve the level of collaboration among institutions engaged in coral reef monitoring, as well as assisting in increasing the regional capacity for assessing reef health in the long-term, the CCDC, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). Under this agreement the CCDC is now responsible for: Analysing experience, capacity and needs for reef monitoring at each country. Coordinating coral reef monitoring activities during 2002 throughout the sub-region. Coordinating the preparation of reports by country representatives on current status of reefs in each country. Preparing reports on current status of reefs in the sub-region, which will feed into the biennial publication by GCRMN / ICRI, "Status of Coral Reefs of the World”. Formalising the structure of the node through the establishment of letters of agreement between CCDC and member countries of the node. Coordinating the development a draft project proposal to secure the sustainability of the node.
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