[Coral-List] Post ITMEMS CSI & Coral Reefs Field Workshop

[David.A.Gulko at hawaii.gov]

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Post-ITMEMS  Workshop  "CSI for Coral Reefs" field training 
workshop.
   Cozumel, Mexico, 21 - 25 October 2006.  We have a few positions left 
for a multi-day field training workshop we are going to hold in Cozumel 
immediately after the upcoming ITMEMS meeting.  This workshop is designed 
to train marine resource managers, MPA staff, enforcement officers, 
resource trustee field biologists and other interested parties in the use 
of stadardized Crime Scene Investigative field techniques for assessing 
damage to coral reefs (and other nearshore marine habitats) due to 
short-term anthropogenic events.  The workshop will involve the use of 
SCUBA diving and numerous crime scene scenarios for the participants to 
practice the techniques on.  For more information and to register see 
http://www.itmems.org/csi.htm. (see   [2]http://www.itmems.org/   for more 
  information   on   the International   Tropical  Marine  Ecosystems 
Management  Symposium  3 [ITMEMS]).


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CSI for Coral Reefs:
Investigative & Enforcement Forensics Field Training Workshop

October 21 - 25, 2006; Cozumel, Mexico

A Four-Day Field Workshop for Coral Reef or MPA Managers, Enforcement 
Officers, Field Biologists & Interested Parties

This unique four-day field-based training workshop is being offered as a 
Post-ITMEMS activity, and is designed for coral reef and MPA resource 
managers, environmental assessment specialists, marine field 
investigators, advanced students and litigators. Participants will learn 
how to conduct field-based coral reef impact and natural resource 
investigations on a variety of anthropogenic events to support mitigation, 
mediation, negotiation and prosecution. It will run from mid-day Saturday, 
October 21, through late day on Wednesday, October 25, 2006.

Taught in, around, and adjacent to, the nearshore coral reef waters of the 
island of Cozumel, Mexico. The workshop will involve lectures and 
demonstrations related to the relatively new field of coral reef forensic 
investigations, along with hands-on in-water field crime scene 
investigations, guided by international professionals in wildlife 
enforcement, coral reef ecology, and marine natural resource 
investigation.

Regardless of region, most coral reef ecosystems around the world are 
under various levels of impact from illegal fishing, vessel groundings, 
destructive fishing, physical damage, coastal pollution and runoff, 
overfishing, illegal international trade, over-lapping (and often 
conflicting) use by various user groups, bleaching, chemical spills, alien 
species-associated phase shifts, and nutrient-associated phase shifts. Few 
areas have trained field investigators and well-developed natural resource 
programs to properly assess and handle the wide variety of anthropogenic 
events occurring; in most cases, such short-term human impact events often 
overwhelm the capabilities of resource managers to maximize prosecution, 
mitigation, negotiation, mediation, or litigation success. This takes on 
even greater significance relative to multi-country joint-investigations 
relative to shared coral reef impacts and illegal trafficking in coral 
reef products.

The four and a half day training workshop is to be held immediately after 
the ITMEMS meeting and would be organized as outlined below:

   1. Background talks on investigative strategies, field risk management, 
ecological risk assessment, coral reef forensic techniques, treating data 
as evidence, incorporating reef ecological issues/impacts into an 
investigation.
   2. Practice field investigation sessions with staff evaluation.
   3. Instruction on using various components of a coral reef 
investigative toolkit. 

A key feature of the Training Workshop will be a number of marine-based 
"crime scenes" that the participants will investigate using the equipment 
and techniques learned during the workshop. The scenarios will be as 
realistic as possible and will involve actual field investigations and 
analysis by participants who will be trained to work as investigative 
teams, using standardized marine CSI protocols and equipment.

Instructional materials, reference materials, and use of underwater 
investigative equipment will be provided, along with SCUBA tanks, basic 
SCUBA gear rental, and boat transportation. Participants are responsible 
for meals, hotel, air transportation to/from Cozumel, sunscreen, and 
having an open and curious attitude regarding conducting field 
investigations of coral reef events to support risk assessments, 
mitigation, litigation, mediation, or prosecution.

Coral Reef CSI Workshop Details

The four and a half-day workshop will be field-intensive involving 
afternoons spent in the water solving a variety of coral reef impact scene 
scenarios. Participants should be SCUBA-certified and able to SCUBA dive 
comfortably in the ocean and conduct investigative activities under 
various environmental conditions.

Cost per person: Hotel runs between$140 - $440 USD (depending upon whether 
single or double occupancy and type of room) + your food for the 4 
night/4.5 day workshop.


Workshop costs covered by our grant support includes boat transportation & 
diving costs, SCUBA gear use, training materials, course certificates, and 
the opportunity to work fin-to-fin with a range of international marine 
and coral reef investigative professionals.

Some of the Major Topics to Be Covered:

    * Introduction to Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) on Coral Reefs
    * Setting an Event Perimeter and Securing the Scene
    * Coral Reef Investigation Field Kits
    * Conducting Rapid Ecological Assessments (REAs) to Support 
Investigations
    * The Role of Ecological Risk Assessments on Coral Reefs
    * Sampling for Coral Reef Laboratory Forensics
    * Collecting Physical Evidence Underwater & Documenting Damage
    * Chain-of-Custody Issues 

Partial funding to support this workshop is made possible through generous 
grants from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) International Programs Division and NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation 
Program. Additional support comes from the U. S. Department of Interior 
Fish & Wildlife Service.

To register, please copy the form below into an email, fill it out, and 
send to gulkod001 at hawaii.rr.com. The workshop will have a limited number 
of participants and registrations will be evaluated in the order received.

For more information, please contact Dave Gulko (gulkod001 at hawaii.rr.com) 
or Patricia Ramirez Romero (pattdf at gmail.com).

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Workshop Registration Information:

Copy the form below into an email, or download it, fill it out, and email 
to gulkod001 at hawaii.rr.com

Name:
Organization:

Position Title:

Address:
Country:
Postal Code:

Email:
Direct Phone Contact:

    * SCUBA (Certification agency & level):
    * Snorkelor Only 

I have formal background, or am directly involved, in the following:

    * Coral Reef Resource Management
    * Coral Reef Monitoring
    * Natural Resource Enforcement
    * MPA Management

    * Government Agency
    * University
    * NGO
    * Private Company 

Why do want to participate in this Field Training Workshop?




What do you bring to the workshop that will contribute to its success?