GCFI: 67th Conference at Accra Beach Resort, Barbados

The 67^th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) Conference is being held in Barbados from November 3rd - 7th at the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa, under the auspice of the The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus - with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) being the local organiser.

The theme for this year is "Small islands, big issues: applying fisheries and marine science to solve problems and create opportunities". The conference is one of the largest and best-known multi-disciplinary marine science conferences in the wider Caribbean region, and will consist of a series of technical sessions throughout the week, focused on a number of thematic and programmatic areas: fisheries livelihoods, Small Island Developing States, data limited stock assessment, reefs and associated ecosystems, climate change vulnerability and adaptation, and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) science and management amongst others.

INTASAVE Caribbean (CARIBSAVE) will be participating in the poster session being held on Tuesday, November 4th between 6.00pm and 9.00pm, with the following presentations:

1. Strengthening Climate Change Resilience in Caribbean Coastal Communities: Insights from Regional Capacity-Building Initiatives


2. Understanding the Social Dimensions of Marine Protected Areas in Jamaica: Fishers' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Fish Sanctuaries


3. Community-based Approaches to MPA Research and Monitoring

CARIBSAVE will also be participating in one of the conference's side events - a workshop titled "MPAs as a tool for responsible fisheries and sustainable livelihoods in the Caribbean", organised by FAO, WECAFC, GCFI and UWI-CERMES, in collaboration with CARIBSAVE, C-FISH, TNC and NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

The aim of the workshop is to contribute to successful fisheries-oriented MPA management in the countries of the Caribbean region by facilitating an exchange of experiences and views among MPA managers and practitioners, fishers and fishing communities, governments representatives – including fisheries, parks and environment departments and agencies – academia and NGOs. Accordingly, the workshop will attempt to identify issues, best practices and critical processes for planning and implementing MPAs in the context of fisheries, in particular with regard to small-scale fisheries.

Further information on the conference can be found via the conference website: http://www.gcfi.org/Conferences/67th/Barbados_en.html.

(Photo: Simone Lee/CARIBSAVE)

Press Release: Major Study Highlights Threat to Caribbean’s Coral Reefs and Opportunity for Saving Them

Written by:

Dr Owen Day (Director of Ecosystem-based Adaptation and the C-FISH Project, CARIBSAVE) and 

Dr Ulric Trotz (Deputy Director, Caribbean Community Climate Change Center)

(Excerpt from the press release...)

A BBC news item called “From Despair to Repair:  Dramatic Decline of Caribbean Corals Can Be Reversed” published last week is a resounding call to action for anyone interested in the future of the Caribbean . The news item was based on the publication of an important report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which found that most Caribbean coral reefs may disappear in the next 20 years, primarily due to the loss of grazers.

The report, Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012, is the most detailed and comprehensive study of its kind published to date – the result of the work of 90 experts over the course of three years.

It contains the analysis of more than 35,000 surveys conducted at 90 Caribbean locations since 1970, including studies of corals, seaweeds, grazing sea urchins and fish.  This landmark report highlights the risks faced by coral reefs from climate change, but emphasized that restoring populations of parrotfish and reducing excessive coastal pollution would halt their decline and help them recover by making them more resilient to the impacts of climate change, such as mass bleaching events caused by rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification caused by the dissolution of carbon dioxide in the ocean.

Caribbean coral reefs, spanning a total of 38 countries, generate more than US$ 3 billion annually from tourism and fisheries.  Their loss would be disastrous for the economy of Caribbean islands, which rely on tourism as their main source of revenue.  Beach erosion would accelerate, as reefs would no longer be able to protect the shoreline from storms.  The Caribbean’s famous white sand, which is constantly being produced by living coral reefs, would also eventually disappear.   The loss of reefs would also mean the loss of countless jobs in fisheries, and further threaten the region’s already vulnerable food security.

“The rate at which the Caribbean corals have been declining is truly alarming,” said Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme. “But this study brings some very encouraging news: the fate of Caribbean corals is not beyond our control and there are some very concrete steps that we can take to help them recover.” The authors explain that climate change does pose a serious threat to coral reefs by making oceans more acidic and causing coral bleaching, it is the loss of parrotfish and sea urchins – the area’s two main grazers – that has, in fact, been the key reason of coral decline in the region.  Reefs protected from overfishing, as well as other threats such as excessive coastal pollution, tourism and coastal development, are more resilient to pressures from climate change, according to the authors.

(Continue to read the full press release on the recently relaunched C-FISH website here: http://c-fish.org/major-study-highlights-threat-to-caribbeans-coral-reefs-and-opportunity-for-saving-them/)

Forest Area Management Capacity Building in Jamaica

The Dolphin Head Forest Area is a key biodiversity area (KBA) in Jamaica which has regional and global significance with respect to species biodiversity. This forest area is recorded to have a higher density of local endemic plant species and rare or threatened flora per unit area than anywhere else in Jamaica. The protection, conservation and sustainable management of the forest resources are therefore critically important to local and international stakeholders.

The CARIBSAVE Partnership, with funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, has embarked on a project entitled "Strengthening Institutional Capacity of the Local Forest Management Committee - Management Plan Implementation in the Dolphin Head Key Biodiversity Area in Jamaica". In this project, CARIBSAVE is partnering with the Dolphin Head Local Forest Management Committee (LFMC). This volunteer organisation was recognised in the 2013 Dolphin Head Forest Management Plan (DHFMP), drafted by the Forestry Department, as championing forest stewardship amongst local community members.

In order to secure the sustainability of this organisation and support the objectives of the DHFMP, the goal of this project is to strengthen the Dolphin Head LFMC's capacity to deliver critical forest management functions to the KBA. The project activities include a capacity needs assessment, training sessions and the development of a medium-term action plan to evaluate and build institutional capacity. Using the conservation priorities identified in the action plan, additional projects will be developed to continue the institution’s essential stewardship role in the Dolphin Head Forest Area. The project will be executed over a one-year period until July 2015.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. More information about the Fund and associated activities can be found online at www.cepf.net.

For further information this initiative, please contact Dr. Donovan Campbell at donovan.campbell@caribsave.org.

(Image: Yard Edge-www.yardedge.net)