Although some Caribbean reefs, including many in the Virgin Islands, have been monitored and studied over the years, others haven’t, and almost nowhere has there been any research about the interaction between reefs and people who live near them.
Yet people are strongly impacted by — and have a strong impact on — coral reefs.
That’s the idea that sparked the Future of Reefs project, a Newcastle University-based study that hopes to pave the way for managing coral reefs in the face of climate change.
“The heart of it is joining up ecological work and social facts,” said Sarah Young, who is heading the project in the VI, at a Wednesday evening meeting in the East End/Long Look Community Centre.
The group will be conducting interviews in EE/LL to get a perspective on an area where lots of fishing takes place. They’ll also be working in Cane Garden Bay to get the perspective from a heavily tourism-based area.
Later in the project, divers will join the team to do some first-hand research on the state of local reefs.
The VI is the last stop for Ms. Young and the rest of the team, who have already worked in several other Caribbean jurisdictions, including Barbados, Belize, Honduras and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The group will hold another community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Cane Garden Bay Community Centre.
See the Jan. 30, 2014 edition for full coverage.
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