Over the next week, Anguillian divers from the Department of Natural Resources and the National Trust will be participating in a 5-day training (March 18-23) focussing on practical techniques as well as theoretical analysis for monitoring coral reefs, as part of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). The GCRMN was established by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in 1995, with the primary task of reporting on the condition of the world’s coral reefs. Since then, GCRMN has produced a range of reports on coral reef statuses and trends, supported countries globally to set up regional hubs, and developed a comprehensive range of guidelines and protocols for coral reef monitoring.
The upcoming coral reef training has been organised by the UK Government’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and will be delivered by Dr Dan Bayley and Mr. Simon Browning (SAERI Falklands Ltd- SFL). “It is a pleasure to be in Anguilla to deliver this training,” commented Dr Dan Bayley, coral reef specialist from SFL. “We are especially pleased to be sharing skills and expertise across the UK Overseas Territories and are looking forward to working with our colleagues here on island.”
The JNCC in collaboration with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and other UK agencies are developing an initiative with Overseas Territories(OTs) to improve understanding of the status of coral reefs, the pressures affecting them, the current national and regional policies in place, and the actions necessary to ensure their long-term protection. Ms Bryony Meakins, who leads the JNCC project, stated: “We are really pleased to be working with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour and the National Trust of Anguilla on this project, to be able to implement some of the priority areas of conservation relating to coral reefs in Anguilla”. As a result of this initiative, Caribbean and Western Atlantic OTs have developed Coral Reef Action Plans that outline tailored priority areas for coral reef conservation that help to underpin conservation efforts in country and across the region. Funding has been secured through the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to support implementation of the Action Plans in 2021/22.
Management decisions require data and evidence before appropriate actions can be taken. The status of coral reef monitoring programmes across the OTs range the spectrum from fully operational through to soon-to-be-established. The rapidly emerging threat of stony coral tissue loss disease, in the Caribbean, has increased the requirement for people capable of undertaking coral reef surveys, designing monitoring programmes and implementing adaptive management strategies to support coral reef conservation. Therefore, Ms Melissa Meade, Director of the Natural Resources in the Government of Anguilla, highlighted that: “This is a wonderful opportunity for upskilling of staff within the department, with critical skills that will benefit our environment (terrestrial and marine) and enable us to live more sustainably”.
The training event is being hosted at the Anguilla Community College and contributes to the courses that the Mid Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (MAERI) aims to deliver. Dr Kenneth Williams, President of ACC, explained that the “Anguilla Community College (ACC) is committed to helping solve issues that adversely affect Anguilla and the Caribbean. ACC, as a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institution, is focused on training and education that protects and develops Anguilla, and is pleased to be a partner with JNCC, the Department of Natural Resources and the UK Government in delivering this training”.
TRAINERS:
Dr Dan Bayley, is a Senior Quantitative Marine Ecologist with SAERI and an honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London (UCL). He has over 15 years’ experience in marine conservation across public and private environmental sectors. He specialises in coral reef monitoring and assessment and is a member of the IUCN coral specialist group and the International Coral Reef Society’s Education Committee. His PhD was in tropical marine ecology and developed emerging technologies to monitor coral reef systems and to support effective marine conservation. He worked for five years in science-policy with JNCC and CCW (NRW), advising the government on marine protected area design, evidence gathering and management. He is an experienced PADI Divemaster and scientific diver. Over his career he has worked as a field researcher in locations across the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic/Caribbean region, including recent work leading surveys of reefs in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Mr. Simon Browning graduated from Swansea University (BSc Hons) in Environmental Biology, and spent two seasons as a marine biologist at the Sherkin Island Marine Research Station in Irelend. He trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst with a successful career in Central America, Kuwait, The Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. Simon was awarded a Queen’s commendation for his valuable sevice to the UK, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. For the past 10 years he has worked in Environmental Protection. Simon worked in the British Indian Ocean Territory as Senior Fisheries Officer, and spent time on Ascension Island conducting science field work, before accepting the role as the Fisheries Protection Officer for the Falkland Islands. Simon worked with the Antarctic Research Trust providing research support on Rock Hopper Pengiuns, Magallanic Pengiuns and other bird surveys. He worked with APEM Ltd as one of Europe’s top 10 environmental consultancy companies, specalising in fresh water ecology. Before joining SAERI, he was with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds working as the opertational safety officer for the eradication of mice on Gough Island. Simon has been diving for over 30 years conducting marine science survey dives in the United Kingdom, Falkland Islands, Ascension Island, British Indian Ocean Territory and the British Virgin Islands.
– Press Release
16 March, 2022
