Through its role as a Centre of Excellence, the Centre will support the people of the Caribbean as they address the impact of climate variability and change on all aspects of economic development through the provision of timely forecasts and analyses of potentially hazardous impacts of both natural and man-induced climatic changes on the environment, and the development of special programmes with create opportunities for sustainable development.
Introduction:
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the Caribbean region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and on the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change in the Caribbean.
It is the official repository and clearing house for regional climate change data, providing climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. It has also been recognised by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as a Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few. This reputation is a major honour for the Centre, and it should be a great source of pride for the people of the Caribbean as well.
Regional Training Workshop in Coral Reef Monitoring
Objectives The objective of the workshop is to train participants from the Eastern Caribbean and Tobago in the video monitoring protocol developed under CPACC with a view to establishing a long-term monitoring programme, which will over time be expected to show the effects of global warming factors on coral reefs. The training being supported by CCCCC/MACCC will facilitate the expansion of the Coral Reef Monitoring for Climate Change Impact programme to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and Tobago and intends to accomplish the following:
Bring the member countries up to date on the achievements of CPACC, the development of MACC and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) as well as the vision for addressing the climate change issues of the region.
Train the participants in site selection, video monitoring, benthic substrate identification, data processing, data analysis and report preparation.
Review strategies for participating countries to mainstream coral reef data into the national decision making process.
Establish a core group of resource persons to support the implementation of the monitoring programme in the participating countries.
Components of the Training Programme
Site Selection - The site selection protocol is based on a draft document originally developed by Jeremy Woodley, past Director of the Centre for Marine Sciences and modified based on the experiences encountered during the pilot study.
Video Monitoring – The protocol originally developed by Jeff Miller of the USGS in the US Virgin Islands uses high resolution video technology to monitor the benthic cover on the reef.
Data Processing and Analysis. Non-overlapping images are captured using image capture software (Pinnacle Studio). The determination of coral cove is achieved using the CPCe software, which generates random dots on the images for identification. Data is stored in Excel spreadsheets for further analysis.
