Caribbean Coral reef monitoring workshop

The GCRMN in the Caribbean currently suffers from reduced functionality, at three levels of action: data collection, information archiving and dissemination, and internal network communication. Those weaknesses are often coupled with challenges of securing adequate funding as a means to support systematic and sustainable coral reef monitoring. This has potentially contributed to losses of information and capacity building due to major gaps in the exchange of approaches and expertise within the region. To address these dysfunctions and the urgent need for a more effective coral reef monitoring in the wider Caribbean region, a workshop was convened in Curacao during August 6th -8th 2014, with funding provided by the SPAW-RAC, UNEP-CEP and The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. This event was organized under the leadership of the latter two institutions, along with NOAA, the Wait Foundation, the GCRMN science coordinator and the UNEP Coral Reef Unit.