Government officials in the Virgin Islands (VI) spanning several departments were trained in a two-day workshop to preview the underwater survey processes that were used to create the updated Coastal Resources Atlas. Photo: GIS

The two-day training was part of an ongoing programme that started back in 2019 for the “underwater survey training” which took place during that period. The workshop is part of two Darwin Plus-funded projects along with the Joint Nature Consultation Committee (JNCC), National Oceanic Centre (NOC) and MSP Global Inc. all based in the United Kingdom. Photo: GIS

Officials from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Town and Country Planning Department, the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands, the Lands, and Survey Department, and the Virgin Islands Shipping Registry participated in the workshop.

This comes as the Virgin Islands officially received the completed Coastal Resources Atlas product which is a detailed map of the entire VI territorial sea area comprised of coral, sand, mud, rock, rubble, seagrass, and other marine habitat types. 

 “The Coastal Atlas and MSP Tool Training workshop will no doubt be of great benefit for participating officers, who in turn will be able to assist in the protection and preservation of the BVI environment. The BVI/UK partnership lends opportunities to our public officers so they can achieve this objective of protecting the environment,” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Mr. Ronald Smith Berkeley said.

Environment Officer with specialization in Geographical Information Systems for Environmental Management, Mrs Rozina Norris-Gumbs said that there was a need for an update of the data that was being used for the past 15 years which covered a small portion of the coastal areas of the Virgin Islands.

More information on marine resources available 

“At the end of this training we hope to be able to learn how to input accurate information into this tool, so we are able to obtain answers that we may have about our marine resources such as preventative measures that would not put unnecessary stress to sensitive areas, and what harmful activities to refrain from that would negatively affect our natural environment,” Mrs. Norris-Gumbs said.

The training was conducted by Dr. James Strong, a member of the National Oceanic Centre in the United Kingdom, Mr Shane Pinder and Neil Thurston of WSP Global Inc who designed the MSP toolbox utilizing geographical information systems (GIS) software.

Officers also received training in the utilization of the newly acquired MSP tool which will be able to assess the effects of human activities such as pollution, development practices, illegal fishing, recreation, etc. on our marine habitats.

The two-day training was part of an ongoing programme that started back in 2019 for the “underwater survey training” which took place during that period.  The workshop is part of two Darwin Plus-funded projects along with the Joint Nature Consultation Committee (JNCC), National Oceanic Centre (NOC) and MSP Global Inc. all based in the United Kingdom.

The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources continues to manage the natural resources of the Territory in a manner that ensures long-term sustainability.