The Report of the 2010 Caribbean Marine Atlas (CMA) Review and Planning Workshop as well as Saint Lucia Coastal Atlas Stakeholders Event is now available as IOC Workshop Report No. 235. During the 2010 CMA Review and Planning Workshop participants assessed progress of the CMA project at the national as well as regional level. In particular they (i) Received a review of the progress of the atlas and were given a demonstration of the atlas prototype; (ii) Gained a better understanding of the challenges, benefits and goals of web atlases and environmental data dissemination platforms in general; (iii) Identified the necessary inputs (area of focus, data partners, themes, functionality) for the development of their respective national atlases; (iv) Determined the steps required to implement a national atlas (workplan) and developed a tentative timeline (schedule). Additional training requirements were also identified (to be addressed in 2011).
The Saint Lucia Coastal Atlas Stakeholders Event aimed at sensitizing the local marine and coastal zone stakeholder community to the national marine atlas project and its progress, receive feedback and identify potential partners. The event was well attended, with representatives from government (Fisheries Division, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Marine Police, Survey Department, Physical Planning Unit, Crown Lands Division), private sector stakeholders (Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority, Soufrierre Marine Management Authority, Watercraft Committee, Rodney Bay and Marigot Bay Marinas, Saint Lucia National Trust) and international governmental organizations (UNEP CEP, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States). The stakeholder workshop itself was found to be a highly useful tool in the national atlas development process. Such workshops not only make potential stakeholders aware of the initiative and its goals, but also permit the national coordinators to receive feedback from national atlas users on the types of information and functionality they would like a marine atlas in their country to have, and identify potential data and management partners. Furthermore the events can raise support for the project from multiple sectors and high-level administrators, providing momentum for its development and enhancing the chances that the project will be successful. More from the Caribbean Marine Atlas web site.
