CPACC: Report 5

Meeting on the Implementation of Component 5:
Coral Reef Monitoring for Climate Change
October 8, 1997, OAS Headquarters, Washington, DC

Three countries have been chosen for the Coral Reef Monitoring Pilot component; Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Belize. Present at the meeting were:

Claudio Volonte, CPACC Technical Coordinator, OAS
Eleanor Phillips, Fisheries Department, The Bahamas
Jeremy Woodley, Centre for Marine Studies, UWI Mona, Jamaica
Janet Gibson, Coastal Zone Management Project, Belize

Mr. Volonte gave a brief overview of how the project will be managed.

Discussion
Each of the participants presented a brief overview of the status of Coral Reef monitoring activities in their respective countries. This information will update the Project Document. In Belize's case a decision has been made to use the video transect method and the CZM project has invested in the necessary hardware to carry out this program in collaboration with the fisheries Department. However, manpower has been a constraint and only a limited amount of data has been collected thus far. In addition Belize has three official CARICOMP monitoring sites. Belize is also interested in a rapid assessment method called Atlantic and Gulf Reef Assessment (AGRA) proposed by Dr. Ginsburg of the University of Miami.
Component 5 was then reviewed and the following points were covered:

Technical Aspects:
Monitoring methods and site selection were discussed as well as scale and frequency of monitoring. It was agreed that it would be advantageous to use the CARICOMP sites within each country as part of the CPACC network of sites to help ensure some long term continuity in the program.

The Sub-regional Workshop:
A tentative date was set for the 15th of February 1998 in Belize. It would be a three day workshop with 3 to 4 representatives from each country attending. It was felt that having a field exercise, possibly at Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, would be useful. A document summarizing the current status of coral reef monitoring will be prepared in time for the meeting. Topics for the workshop will include:

review of existing methods, local and regional
review of institutional capacity, governmental and non-government
agreement to be reached on methods and needs
long-term sustainabilty of the program after CPACC project ends

The Sub-regional Workshop would be followed by in-country workshops to conduct training in the chosen methodology for participating government agencies, NGOs, divers associations, and staff of marine areas.

Public Awareness: To be carried out primarily through NGOs in each country. They will identify the most effective medium to use and the issues to be addressed.

Recommendations:

Ensure as much groundwork as possible prior to the Sub-Regional Workshop;
An output of this project component could be a manual clarifying possible methodologies applicable under different situations;
Each representative to investigate possible venues for the Sub-regional workshop.

World Bank Meeting on Coral Reefs
The three representatives also participated in the "Conference on Coral Reefs 1997" held the 9-11th of October at the World Bank. The following points of interest arose from the meeting.

One of the major activities of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) is the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN);
ReefBase, established by ICLARM, has recently published a manual, Aquanaut Survey Manual, which the project should review;
The reefs of Belize and Bahamas are considered "healthy" by the ICRI;

The representatives from Bahamas and Belize learned more about the video transect monitoring technique from an expert in reef monitoring from the College of Charleston.

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