In response to the need for long-term, region-wide comparative studies on the biodiversity and productivity of Caribbean coastal ecosystems, the CARICOMP program began at workshops held at West Indies Laboratory in St. Croix in 1982 and at in Jamaica in 1985 where the scientific and management rationale for a cooperative research network of Caribbean marine laboratories, parks and reserves was established. An international Steering Committee was selected
which subsequently negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the directors or administrators of 24 sites in 16 countries specifying the responsibilities of the site to the network and the contribution of the program in equipment
and logistical support. Each site selected a Site Director with the responsibility of implementing the program.
In 1990, 1992, and 1993 workshops were held to coordinate the program and to draft and fine tune the CARICOMP Level I Methods Manual, consisting of a minimum number of observations and simple equipment which would permit all members to
participate. A CARICOMP Data Management Centre (DMC) was established at the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica in 1992. Data collected from CARICOMP sites are sent to the DMC for processing
and preliminary analyses and storage. The DMC distributes summaries to the sites. In addition to providing centralized data processing and storage, the DMC coordinates regional investigations of transient oceanographic, biological and meteorological
phenomena and serve as a clearing house for new ideas and methods.
The CARICOMP network of cooperating marine laboratories, parks, and reserves will attempt comparative analysis of data from a broad spectrum of coastal zones, where the structure and
function of the component ecosystems differ and the magnitude of terrestrial influence varies. Such a comparison is possible only if comparable data sets are collected using common methodology. The Level I Manual of Methods stresses the importance of
relatively simple techniques, using readily available equipment which is easily maintained, in order to guarantee frequent, regular, and consistently reliable data collection throughout the region.
INTRODUCTION
The Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) Programme is a regional scientific effort to study land-sea interaction process, to monitor for change, and to provide appropriate scientific information for management. The Programme focuses
on understanding the productivity, structure and functions of three important coastal ecosystems: mangroves, seagrasses and reefs, throughout the region.
The Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) Programme was launched in response to the need for long-term, region-wide comparative studies of the biodiversity and productivity of Caribbean coastal ecosystems within the COMAR (Coastal
Marine) project, established by the general Conference of UNESCO in 1980. The programme was developed through various planning sessions and visits to potential funding sources, starting with a first workshop in 1982 at the St. Croix West Indies Marine
Laboratory in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Within the wider Caribbean region there is a general consensus that in many localities these coastal systems are changing for the worse. The ultimate causes are explosive population growth and anthropogenically driven changes, including heavy tourism
development. Because the underlying causes of this decline are diverse, there is no agreement on how the ecosystems can be stabilized and restored, or even on what constitutes sustainable development.
The programme was therefore conceived as a Caribbean-wide initiative to identify the factors responsible for sustaining mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reef productivity, to examine the interaction between these ecosystems, and to determine the
role of the terrestrial and oceanic influence on them.
Scientific monitoring of these three ecosystems is performed on a daily, weekly and twice annual basis throughout the region using the same monitoring protocol.
Twenty-nine marine laboratories, parks and reserves, in 13 islands and 9 mainland countries have now joined the CARICOMP Programme which has a central CARICOMP Data Management Centre (DMC) at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. Summaries of all data are distributed to each site by the DMC which also coordinates investigations of transient regional phenomena, such as mortality in sea fans and coral bleaching.
RATIONALE
"Mangrove wetlands, seagrass meadows and coral reefs dominate the land-sea margins in the Caribbean tropics. They harbour high biological diversity and, together with the land nutrient run-off, they form the basis of the coastal marine
productivity."
As the primary productivity of mangrove, seagrass and coral reef ecosystems is assumed to be the basis of present and potential future yields of shallow water marine resources in the region, a primary goal of CARICOMP is to determine the
regulate the variability of organic matter production by these systems. In order to do this the programme is documenting and monitoring the distribution, structure and function of the major coastal ecosystems and the extent to which these attributes are
influenced by contact with land and human settlements.
It has become increasingly apparent that Caribbean coastal ecosystems are degrading because of increasing anthropogenic stresses which are superimposed upon natural local, regional and global trends. The long-term monitoring capability of
CARICOMP can provide base-line data on Caribbean coastal biodiversity and also document threshold responses of ecosystems to global change including human impact and climate change.
The Programme serves as an infrastructure for large-scale geographic
studies in comparative ecology and for co-ordinated observations of regional phenomena such as mass mortality of
Diadema or coral bleaching. Finally, the Programme assists in capacity building within the Caribbean region
and enhances management and conservation by making appropriate data and expertise available.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The CARICOMP program is generously supported
by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for Phase I (1991-1994) and Phase II (1995-1999).
We are grateful to the U.S. Coral Reef Initiative of the Department of State, the U.S. National Science Foundation,
Division of International Programs and Division of Ocean Sciences, for support for workshops
and automated monitoring equipment. CARICOMP is a project of the UNESCO/COMAR
(Coastal Marine) COSALC (Coastal Systems of Latin America and the Caribbean) program.
Continued support by the UNESCO Coastal Regions and Small Islands Unit (CSI)
is gratefully appreciated.
The directors and administrators of each site and the home institutions
of the CARICOMP Steering Committee make a substantial commitment of funds and effort without which the
program could not succeed.
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