Tobago Cays Marine Park - Islands, Scuba Diving -

Tobago Cays Marine Park (December 19th, 2008)

Tobago Cays is one of our favourite destinations in the Caribbean. The turquoise sea, shallow waters full of rays, turtles, fish, great scuba diving, kite-surfing and many islands to venture and explore. However to keep this natural beauty for the future tourists are asked to respect the environment and follow these points.

Do:
Enjoy looking at coral, fish, plants, shells, rocks and other beautiful things in the Tobago Cays.
Enjoy windsurfing, kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling.

Don’t:
Take or touch animals or plants in the Tobago Cays. You may damage or kill them.
Whilst scuba diving in the Tobago Cays do not touch any coral.
Motorized sports such as water skiing are prohibited.

The Tobago Cays Marine Park is a non-for-profit organization which depends heavily on community support to operate efficiently. Their mission statement is “The mission of the Tobago Cays Marine Park is to protect, conserve and improve the natural ressources of the Tobago Cays”.

Tags: Caribbean Environments, Scuba Diving, Tobago Cays
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The Sustainable Grenadines Project (December 19th, 2008)

The sustainable grenadines project is a collaboration among several committees and organisations in Grenada, Barbados, Carriacou, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The project is committed to the conservation of the coastal and marine environment and sustainable livelihoods for the people of the Grenadines. This is being ac hived through capacity building and increased awareness of the environment for non-governmental organisations and community groups.

Core Projects and Activities

A brief description of interesting core projects and activities of the project:

Attachments/Exchanges

Attachments and exchanges promote learning-by-doing and expose members of active NGOs to best practices in the region. Past echanges have benefited from sailing instruction, seamoss farming, heritage park development, water taxi association strengthening, nature trail development and NGO development.

Water Taxi Project

Water taxi operators were trained in green boat operations, environmental stewardship and safety at sea and two association members were provided with office space ad equipment. Association members were trained in leadership, record keeping, office procedures, basic accounting, conflict management and negotiation skills. The training and help will help reduce the negative impact on the environment as the trained members can act as environmental stewards while earning a livelihood on the sea.

People and Corals Project

This project promoted coral reef conservation throughout the Grenadines. New coral reef conservation concepts and approaches have been introduced in primary schools. Teachers were trained and books provided for 18 schools in the Caribbean.

Reef Check Training and Monitoring

Reef Check is part of the global initiative to monitor the health of coral reefs in areas of limited economic resources. Reef sites in the Grenadines are monitored bi-annually by divers in St Vincent, Mustique and Union island who were trained in Reef Check methodology for reef survey and being monitored.

Seamoss farming

This project aims to provide an opportunity for sustainable local economic development through seamoss mariculture and processing. Training and seeding of two modules from technical experts, informing the residents of the potential of seamoss farming.