[Coral-List] New Grenadines MPA Network

[Georgina Bustamante]

Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas Established

 

[Hillsborough] (JANUARY 28, 2011) Sandy Island/Oyster Bed,
Moliniere-Beausejour and Tobago Cays Marine Parks this week came together in
Carriacou for their first networking meeting and are pleased to announce the
establishment of the Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas.

 

Seeking to share experiences across national borders, the staff and board
members of the three marine parks updated each other about their activities
and reflected on achievements made and lessons learned so far. This is the
first such face-to-face meeting of the staff of all three parks.

 

Moliniere-Beausejour park warden Mr Cecil McQueen commented "We work with
common objectives and this is a tremendous opportunity to meet our
counterparts in Carriacou and in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We can
learn so much by exchanging information and working together to solve some
of the important issues we face".

 

Representatives of the governments of both St. Vincent and the Grenadines
and Grenada attended this first networking meeting. Also represented were
St. George's University, the University of the West Indies, the Caribbean
Marine Protected Areas Management Network and Forum (CaMPAM), SusGren and
the Environmental Law Institute. Minister for Carriacou and Petite
Martinique Affairs, Mr George Prime, opened the meeting and welcomed the
spirit of collaboration between the neighbouring parks.  

 

The staff of the three marine protected areas had the opportunity to express
to potential partner organisations their needs and desires for future
cooperation. Mr Roland Baldeo, Marine Protected Area Coordinator from the
Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Grenada
explained "As our reefs and oceans face increasing threats from overfishing,
pollution and climate change we need to join forces. The three marine
protected areas have undertaken to share information and collaborate
together to promote the conservation and sustainable use of our marine
resources."

 

The first step that will concrete the network is a day-trip for wardens from
Sandy Island/Oyster Bed and Moliniere-Beausejour MarineParks to visit their
counterparts in Tobago Cays Marine Park. There they will learn more about
office and visitor centre operation, they will participate in patrols, share
knowledge of mooring maintenance and see first-hand the environmental
benefits that can accrue in a longer established marine park. 

 

This initiative is a joint effort made possible with support from the US
National Fish and Wildlife Service and the UNEP-Caribbean Environment
Program through the Small Grant Program coordinated by CaMPAM and GCFI with
funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the
Caribbean Challenge initiative. For more information please contact SusGren
(susgrenpm at vincysurf.com telephone 784.485.8779) or CaMPAM
(emma.doyle at gcfi.org).

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