CaMPAM Expert Group Members short biographies

Transcription

1 CaMPAM Expert Group Members short biographies 1. Ramon de Leon A native of Uruguay, Ramón de León first moved to the Caribbean in Prior to coming to the Caribbean he worked as a fisheries scientist, collaborating closely with fishermen along the coastal lagoons of eastern Uruguay and doing biophysical monitoring in France, Brazil and Chile. From 2004 to early 2015 he served as manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park, a world-renowned dive destination recognized for its biodiversity conservation programs and pioneering diver tag user fee system. In this capacity he was responsible for all aspects of daily park operations. His duties encompassed management of staff, budgets and park resource conservation efforts; law enforcement; design and coordination of research and monitoring programs; coordination of outreach and education; and maintenance of the park. Ramón's long-term involvement in the dive industry made him a good fit as manager of a multi-use marine park where the primary stakeholder is the dive industry. Ramón regularly supports professional development of other park managers in the Wider Caribbean. A long-time conservation practitioner, Ramón possesses expertise in marine protected area design, capacity building and management; sustainable financing mechanisms; biophysical and socioeconomic monitoring; management effectiveness evaluation; fisheries management; sustainable tourism and climate change adaptation. He has a keen understanding of how to effectively engage community stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and promote alternative livelihoods that foster sustainable use of coastal and marine resources. Together with other key members of the management team of Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA Bonaire) the non-profit charged with managing the Bonaire National Marine Park and the Washington Slagbaai National Park Ramón has played a leading role in shaping the foundation s long-term vision, conservation policy and legislative priorities. He has been lecturer in CaMPAM regional courses on MPA management and mentor of MPA managers. 2. Sonia Jind Sonia believes environmental conservation requires social innovation. If we want to keep global hope spots thriving, and rebuild damaged ecosystems, we need to inspire change and reconnect people with the natural world. We need to move beyond managing resources, towards seeing ourselves as part of a large, complex web of connections affected by climate change. The human dimension of ocean conservation (i.e. how to motivate change, connect people, and communicate science in a creative way) is her foremost passion. She leverages expertise in marine biology, marine

2 management, and communication to promote healthy oceans and resilient coastal communities. She has over four years of independent research experience in Canada, Latin America & the Caribbean. She holds a Masters in Marine Management and honors BSc in Marine Biology and Psychology. She was the MMA Coordinator at Sustainable Grenadines Inc. and PADI Dive Master. She has participated in a project funded by CaMPAM. 3. Lucia Prinz Maria Lucia Prinz is a seasoned tourism enterprise development specialist with more than 16 years of hands-on experience training and assisting MSME tourism enterprise growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. She developed a Tourism Operations and Management training for rural, often marginalized MSME tourism enterprises methodology through which communities and enterprise owners can be comprehensively trained in creating sustainable tourism businesses. The methodology covers tourism product creation, training in management and operations, client service in different aspects of the enterprise, and sales and marketing; focused on practical, relevant, and user-friendly tools, the course helps local managers coordinate everything from reservation and payment systems to tour logistics and financial procedures, and culminates with a customized operations manual for the particular tourism business. More than 15 years of experience in sustainable tourism. She has been lecturer on sustainable ecotourism associated with conservation areas and business planning in several CaMPAM regional courses on MPA management. 4. John Knowles John Knowles is an applied scientist for the Nature Conservancy s Caribbean Division with 11 years of conservation experience working in the insular Caribbean, 4 of which he spent living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Since 2008, John has offered broad support for the Caribbean Division and partners, working with a team of scientists on advancing innovative conservation techniques. He works through collaborative partnerships on the topics of marine spatial planning, protected area system design and coastal resilience. He also works to advance how spatial information managed, improved upon and/or collected by the Conservancy s Caribbean Division is accessed, viewed and used by local NGOs, park managers and governments to make better decisions. Core conservation layers that John guides the effort to maintain accurate and up-to-date include protected area information and extents and health of marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves. Before joining the Conservancy, John obtained the degree of Master of Environmental Management from Duke University s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. While completing his degree at Duke John spent six months in Barbados working with four large hotels on reducing their beach front light pollution and volunteered for the Barbados Sea Turtle Project. John graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Biology and Environmental Sciences. His hobbies are kayaking, learning French and sailing. He is currently based in North Carolina, USA. He has collaborated with CaMPAM in activities related to its MPA database and Decision Support Systems. 5. Alessandra Vanzella-Khouri A Colombian from San Andrés Island, a biologist by profession and conservationist at heart, with a Masters degree in marine microbiology. For almost 30 years has worked on marine environmental

3 issues of Latin America and the Caribbean, the majority of those associated to the Caribbean Environment Programme of the UN Environment (UNEP) with headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica. During her work with UN Environment developed and coordinated activities with governments and organizations in the Wider Caribbean for the conservation of marine biodiversity, sustainable use of coastal and marine resources, protected areas, conservation of threatened and endangered species, marine pollution management, governance of the Caribbean marine environment, and related topics. Coordinated on behalf of UN Environment the negotiations for the regional treaty on biodiversity for the Wider Caribbean (SPAW Protocol in 1990) part of the 1983 Cartagena Convention and subsequently led its activities and programmes until her early retirement in In 1997 she developed the Caribbean Network and Forum for Marine Protected Areas Management (CaMPAM), which today includes hundreds of members and has trained over one thousand marine protected areas practitioners from all countries of the Wider Caribbean (campam.gcfi.org/campam.php). She has led, coordinated and/or participated in numerous intergovernmental and non-governmental meetings and conferences under the aegis of the UN and other relevant organizations to negotiate and develop regional and subregional environmental agreements, initiatives and projects related to the marine and coastal environment of the Wider Caribbean. She has worked in close collaboration with governments and organizations, including the Secretariats of the Bonn, Ramsar, Biodiversity (CBD), and CITES Conventions, the Inter American Convention on Sea Turtles, the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI), the International Whaling Commission and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). She has written and co-authored numerous papers on these topics and among her contributions towards sustainable development in the region, one could mention the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme, the Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Mammals in the Wider Caribbean, technical manuals for sustainable tourism activities, and reports on status and value of coral reefs of the Caribbean In 2016, she was awarded at the IUCN World Conservation Congress the Fred Packard Award for her outstanding service to protected areas and conservation and her longstanding work with the Caribbean Marine Protected Area Management Network and Forum (CaMPAM). Alessandra has been and/or is member of several international committees and initiatives: - World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Caribbean WCPA Network of IUCN - Caribbean Network and Forum for Marine Protected Areas Management (CaMPAM) - Wider Caribbean Sea Turtles Network (WIDECAST) - Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) - International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) - Group of Experts on Marine and Coastal Protected Areas of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (as observer) - International Advisory Board of the GEF/World Bank Project San Andres Archipelago Biosphere Reserve: regional system of marine protected areas (Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, Colombia) - Advisory Board of the European Union project Cooperation with Northern and Southern Transatlantic Dimension of Marine Protected Areas Alessandra is mother to three children: Nabila, Luca and Simon. 6. Newton Eristhee

4 Newton Eristhee is a Caribbean citizen with intimate knowledge of the unique socioeconomic and political climate in the Eastern Caribbean. Newton s MSc degree from the University of the West Indies is in Marine resource and Environmental management. He has more than 15 years experience in the management of coral reefs and artisanal fisheries across the Caribbean, from the Southern Grenadines to as far North as the British Virgin Islands and Jamaica. He has facilitated and participated in the implementation of numerous regional fisheries, conservation and marine protected area initiatives in the Caribbean. As the manager of the Soufriere Marine Management Association in St. Lucia, he successfully implemented innovative sustainable financing mechanisms for the marine park and developed closer partnerships between the private sector and the local community. More recently Newton s work has focused on Ecosystem- Based Adaptation and during the past four years he played a critical part in the implementation of the Caribbean Fish Sanctuary Partnership initiative (C-FISH) in Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His strategy of engaging, mentoring and empowering local people to take ownership of managing their resources resulted in successful interventions in marine protected areas in the Eastern Caribbean. He conceptualized and developed the CARICOM Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in Sustainable Seamoss Production that allows artisanal seamoss farmers to gain an internationally recognized qualification at the level of an associate degree. Together with the Saint Lucia Technical Education Vocation Training (TVET) council, private and public sector partners, he is about to work on developing a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Coral Restoration. His passion is for working with communities, enhancing livelihoods, strengthening cooperatives and building strategic partnerships with governments and the private sector. He is currently the Operations Director of CLEAR Caribbean. He is working on a number of coral restoration and community livelihood enhancement projects in Saint Lucia and the Southern Grenadines. 7. Martha Cecilia Prada Triana, Ph.D. I was born in Ibagué, Colombia, but developed my professional career while living in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, also known as the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. I am a marine biology graduate from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University Foundation in the Bogotá and Cartagena campuses. Years later I obtained my PhD in Biological Oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus. Most of my professional experience was related to research on tropical marine ecology topics, including mangrove ecosystems, fisheries management and marine conservation policies and planning, in particular those associated with coral reefs, and its complex reef biodiversity. Usually, my work has been complemented by applications of GIS systems and mapping tools allowing for incorporation of spatial and temporal dimensions into ecological aspects. With more than 25 years of experience, I have been able to extend the oceanic and remote work carried out in the San Andrés archipelago to other Caribbean and Pacific sites such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Panama among other countries. These works often required the support and collaboration of multidisciplinary groups, thus I have been recognized as a person that knows how to work as a team player and able to carry out participatory tasks such as the development of multiple management and conservation plans, not only in Colombia but also in Panama and Jamaica. My interest in teaching and sharing experiences is increasing over time.

5 I was a member of the GCFI board of directors twice, a mentor for the UN Environment CEP / CAMPAM since its origin and most recently I have worked as the coordinator of the XII edition of the Training Course for Caribbean Marine Protected Areas, held in Dominican Republic in September/2016. Currently, I am the coordinator of an international project that it is being implemented by the Caribbean Office of the United Nations Environment Program and supported by the Italian government, which aims to the application of the ecosystem based management concepts and tools in the Wider Caribbean Region. Simultaneously I am providing technical support for public and private projects in Puerto Rico and Colombia, among others. 8. Maria Pena Maria Pena s interests are in the biological and socio-economic aspects of marine resource management. She is Project Officer at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. In this capacity she has been involved in, assisted with, implemented and mana ged numerous externally funded marine resource management projects in the wider Caribbean including socio-economic monitoring at marine protected areas (MPAs) and coastal sites; fisheries management planning; MPA management effectiveness evaluation; marine resource governance; climate change adaptation and disaster risk management in fisheries and aquaculture; and more recently, gender in small-scale fisheries. She is the current Regional SocMon Coordinator for the Caribbean, responsible for promoting and supporting the use of SocMon in the region. Her experience with the Global SocMon initiative includes assisting with the inaugural SocMon Caribbean regional workshop (2003); conducting numerous trainings in support of, and managing NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)-, NFWF- and TNC-funded socio-economic monitoring projects in the region, and promoting SocMon at numerous marine training courses and conferences. 9. Orlando J. Cabrera Viña Born in Caracas, I am a geographer by profession with a master's degree in geological sciences, both studies carried out at the Central University of Venezuela. With more than 15 years of experience in the implementation of environmental impact studies, research in coastal geomorphology, natural hazards and costal management in coastal areas of Venezuela. To successfully complete these investigations participated in CaMPAM 2007 Training of trainers program on MPA management. I have worked with multidisciplinary groups with which I have performed successfully. In 2016, under the auspices of the GEF / UNDP, I developed the methodology for the selection and ranking of new priority areas for the conservation of Venezuelan marine and coastal spaces, and this work resulted in the study of proposals for coastal marine ecological corridors which is expected to materialize for this year. I am currently a professor of coastal geomorphology at the Central University of Venezuela and my interest in teaching and sharing experiences is increasing over time. 10. LIgia Collado-Vides, Ph.D. Dr. Collado-Vides works at Florida International University at Miami. She is a marine botanist with a PhD degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. With a research emphasis in ecology of tropical marine macroalgae, commonly known as seaweeds she has more than 50 peer review

6 publication and an active research group. She has experience in the tropical macroalgal flora of seagrass and reef communities in the Caribbean and south Florida. Her research focuses on evaluating the effects of land-based stressors on coastal ecosystems and their potential impact in coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems. She uses macroalgal diversity, abundance, distribution and nutrient content in different spatiotemporal scales to evaluate drivers of phase-shifts in these ecosystems. She is also interested in the effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems, and her laboratory is conducting research on the role of calcareous green algae in the carbon budget of Florida Bay and the Mexican Caribbean. She is estimating the organic and inorganic carbon produced by these rhizophytic algae along a salinity and nutrient gradient, as part of the Florida coastal Everglades LTER. Dr. Collado-Vides is interested in conducting research that is directly applicable to marine conservation, and management of coastal ecosystems, particularly in Marine Protected Areas in south Florida and the Caribbean. Through her teaching practice, at university or region-wide level, she educates people about environmental problems and solutions. She evaluated in 2016 CaMPAM network and training program for the SPAW and she is familiar with its activities. 11. Ricardo Gomez Lozano Mr. Lozano has been involved with management of natural resources for nearly 25 years. Since 2002 he has worked in a number of different protected areas across Mexico, both terrestrial and marine, for the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas. In 2008 he became director of the Cozumel Reefs National Park. In 2013 he became Regional Director of the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexican Caribbean supporting the management and conservation of 25 natural protected areas in three states, protecting more than 8.5 million hectares. Mr. Lozano has represented Mexico as Co-President of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and it has served as co-chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Development of Regional Strategy for the attention in the Greater Caribbean of the Invasive Lionfish. He holds a Master of Science from the Faculty of Sciences UNAM Marine Mammal Lab, is a graduate of the Strategies and Tools for Conservation by the Technologic de Monterrey in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Simon Bolivar University. Recently he has been collaborating in different regional initiatives to strengthen connectivity and eco-regional conservation. In the Selva Maya he collaborates with Belize and Guatemala to establish a trinational reserves; with Cuba and the United States he is promoting the creation of a network of marine protected areas, in coordination with NOAA and the System of Protected Areas of Cuba. 12. Roland Baldeo Mr. Baldeo was a Fisheries Officer with the Grenada Fisheries Division for over two decades and possesses extensive experience working with small-scale artisanal fishers in coastal areas. For more nearly 5 years and until 2016 he coordinated the Marine Protected Area program in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, during which time 3 MPAs have been designated and placed under active management. Under his leadership, the comanagement approach to MPA management was successfully implemented in Grenada, where stakeholders and adjacent community persons are all actively involved in MPA management. He is currently the president of Grenada Coral Reef Foundation. Most recently he completed the "Parks, Biodiversity and Management of Ecotourism" program in the United States. As a trained Fisheries Technologist, Mr. Baldeo has conducted numerous training programs in safety at sea and fishing technology for small-

7 scale fishers within the Caribbean region and out of this region. He is motivated and has a passion for the establishment of MPA's around the tri-island state as a result of seeing firsthand the decline in reef ecosystems over the past three decades. 13. Ruben Torres, Ph.D. Dr. Torres is currently the Director of the La Caleta Marine Park, an award winning protected area in the Dominican Republic. He has served as the Director and President of Reef Check Dominican Republic since He previously served as the Conservation Director for the National Aquarium of Santo Domingo and has been involved in a wide range of environmental consulting projects. He is Founder and CEO of Torres Environmental Consulting (TEC UNLIMITED). He is a member of the Committee on International lionfish Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the Global Network of Coral Reef Monitoring (GCRMN) and a certified PADI diving instructor. Dr. Torres has implemented/coordinated many UN Environment, USAID, among other partners projects related to MPA and fisheries management such as fishermen and MPA staff international and national exchanges between Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Bonaire, among others. He has also coordinated locally three CaMPAM Training of Trainers Program on MPA Management. He has collaborated with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to implement national and regional projects. He has led dozens of Reef Check training courses around the world, conducted extensive coral reef monitoring throughout the Dominican Republic, and has published widely in the field. He was a CaMPAM mentor since the beginning of the program. 14. Will Heyman, Ph.D. Heyman joined LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc. as Senior Marine Scientist in January He held prior positions as Associate Professor of Geography at Texas A&M University ( ), and as Senior Scientist for the MesoAmerican Reef Program of The Nature Conservancy ( ). Heyman has been involved with marine protected areas (MPAs) for over 25 years, largely focused in the Caribbean but recent focus has been in US waters of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Heyman recognized early in his career that fishermen are often the most knowledgeable resource users yet can be the most ardent force against MPAs. His approach, therefore has been to work with fishermen to identify resource use patterns and hotspots, and to study them cooperatively. To do so, Heyman works collaboratively to characterize the complex physical-biological-social interactions in the sea that create the resource hotspots on which humans depend. The best example of this approach is his work on reef fish spawning aggregations. Heyman has been instrumental in the design and scientific backing for over 20 marine and coastal reserves in Belize, Mexico and the US. Each of these MPAs was supported by studies of geomorphology, biology, ocean physics, and resource use patterns. Most importantly, an ecosystem-based, citizen science approach has been used for each one such that declaration of these reserves was completed with the strong support from local resources users, especially fishermen. Heyman is a loving husband to Pegan Heyman and father to sons Grayson and Ry.

8 15. Lindy Clyde Knowles Lindy Clyde Knowles is a conservation ecologist presently employed at the Bahamas National Trust as the Senior Science Officer attached to the Science & Policy division, an organization he has been with for the past 8 years. Lindy has earned an AS Degree from the then College of the Bahamas (now University) in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, a BSc. In environmental Science from the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus, Jamaica) and most recently obtained a MSc from the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus), Barbados, in Natural Resource & Environmental management in a coastal ecosystem. His MSc thesis focused on the use of remote sensing and groundtruthing to map the shallow water reef system on the island of Barbados. Lindy returned to the BNT as the senior Science Officer to continue working with colleagues and partner organizations to effectively manage the national park system of The Bahamas. He has done this through on surveying of the resources, using GIS technology in delineating boundaries and with community outreach to ensure that areas are protected and managed. He has worked with the team that was responsible for the expansion of the marine protected area (MPA) system in The Bahamas (14 new areas and 4 expanded areas) as part of The Bahamas goal of protecting 20% of its nearshore environment. Though he tries to be a generalist, he has special interest in the marine ecosystem (primarily mangroves and coral reefs). It is Lindy s hope that the research being conducted does lead to better management of resources for the future generations of Bahamians. 16. Miguel Alamilla Born and raised on the small Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, Belize, Miguel Alamilla grew up as a fisherman. In 1997, just after obtaining a Bachelor s Degree in Biology, Miguel initiated his work experience as manager of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. In 2008 he obtained a Master s of Science Degree in Coastal Zone Management from the University of Ulster. For over twenty years he has acquired vast experience and knowledge on marine resource management and biodiversity conservation. As a marine protected area manager, he has firsthand experience in development and implementation of essential management programs such as enforcement, environmental education and environmental monitoring/research. Furthermore, in 2008 and in 2015 Miguel lead the efforts that resulted in the expansion of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve to over ten times its original coverage. Also, through tourism management initiatives and implementation of a user fee, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve is one of the few marine protected areas in the region that is financially sustainable. He has also worked with fishermen of the island by initiating the process of organizing them into a local fishermen association and developing an alternative livelihood program. Miguel has also served as a mentor, trainer and advisor to other protected areas in Belize. In 2011 he developed the Ambergris Caye Marine Turtle Program in the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, which is now the most successful and comprehensive study on sea turtle nesting in Belize.

9 17. Rich Wilson Founder and Executive Director, Seatone Consulting Founder and Executive Director of Seatone Consulting, Rich Wilson is an award-winning consultant, trainer and facilitator with nearly twenty-five years of experience in resource conservation, sustainable business and public engagement in natural resources management planning. Rich brings a collaborative approach to his work that creates durable alliances between resource managers, the private sector, conservation non-profits and resource users. He specializes in situational assessments, multi-stakeholder consensus building and conflict resolution, and protected area management effectiveness evaluation. Prior to founding Seatone Consulting in 2010, Rich worked as an international program manager with the Coral Reef Alliance; a dive team leader with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Ecosystem Program; and a park ranger with the U.S. National Park Service. Rich has worked extensively across the Caribbean on program design and implementation, sustainable tourism, and protected area capacity development, and regularly leads trainings in the region for the next generation of conservation leaders. In addition to leading Seatone Consulting projects, Rich facilitates multi-stakeholder engagements as senior mediator with the Sacramento State University Center for Collaborative Policy. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from California State University, Chico. He is on the National Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals of the United States Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, and is a Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) with the International Association of Facilitators. He has also completed training with the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution and the International Association of Public Participation. 18. Hyacinth Armstrong-Vaughn Hyacinth holds an MA in Environmental Policy and has spent most of her professional career involved in environmental conservation. Her work has centred on improving capacity of institutions, communities and individuals to better manage our natural resources, especially in protected areas. Hyacinth started in Tobago with the Buccoo Reef Trust building their environmental education programme and honing her project management skills. In 2009, Hyacinth expanded her portfolio by managing the ICRAN Coastal and Marine Management and Education in the South Eastern Caribbean project, which facilitated capacity building, networking, and resource mobilization for MPAs in Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Her interactions with the wider Caribbean resulted in the production of Sanctuaries of the Caribbean, a short film that showcased the marine protected areas of the south eastern Caribbean. Hyacinth is currently a Protected Areas Officer with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and coordinates the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme (BIOPAMA) for the Caribbean. She is based at the Centre for Resources Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

10 19. Maximilien Pardo Spanish born in Belgium, Maximilien Pardo moved to the Caribbean in He has been working for the United Nations for the past 10 years. He is currently the UN Environment Country Program Coordinator for Haiti. Prior to Haiti, Maximilien conducted several fisheries related research activities in Mali, Ecuador and South Africa (for the International Ocean Institute for instance), focusing on conflicts over scarce freshwater resources, relevance of traditional marine ecological knowledge and coastal fisheries co-management schemes. After the Haiti 2010 earthquake, Maximilien supported the small island developing state to decentralize development interventions and to reverse environmental degradation trends. From 2011 to 2015, Maximilien has led the development of a UN coalition in the South coast of Haiti to promote integrated development at sub-national level and ensure environmental sustainability. The UN Environment marine programme in South Haiti supported the Government in declaring the first 9 marines protected areas of the country in 2013, and the establishment of the first marine field unit within the Ministry of Environment. The approach has been to use MPA management as a tool for poverty reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable fisheries management, and tourism promotion. With partners, he is currently supporting the development of a Haitian Biodiversity Fund and the establishment of a National Environmental Information System for Haiti. Maximilien is also assisting the Government of Haiti in becoming a Contracting Party to Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol (Cartagena Convention on protection and development of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean Region). From 2016 to 2017, Maximilien has been the co-chair of the UN Resilience working group contributing to the development of the new UN planning cycle in Haiti through a United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF). The core of his work has been mainly on coastal areas and socio-economic engineering for natural resource management. He has addressed biodiversity conservation by making connections : Connecting biodiversity to sustainable development, connecting hills to reefs; connecting increased understanding to improved environmental practices; connecting protected area management to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. He holds a Masters in Anthropology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) with a focus on social ecology, as well as a Masters in International Development from both the Université de Louvain (Belgium) and the University College of Dublin (Ireland) with specialization on how to bridge the humanitarian-development gap. 20. Tomás Camarena Luhrs, Ph.D. For more than 30 years he has worked with multiple issues concerning the management and conservation of marine resources. His experience includes several years in scientific research, in scientific cruises, applying mathematical models, eco-integration, developing statistical analysis and monitoring of fisheries, biological parameters and population dynamics, in Senegal and the Mexican Caribbean. Tomás has been deeply involved in the management of fisheries and marine protected areas.

11 He has been director of four MPAs, having coordinated the development of three Management Programs in the Mexican Caribbean, and one in the Gulf of Mexico, always working with interdisciplinary groups of scientists, end-users and other stakeholders. Tomas has extensive knowledge of conservation and sustainable development topics and has been successful in obtaining funds as well as in proposing and implementing environmental policies that have been and are in use. He has worked in international NGOs in the field of environmental monitoring and management of natural coastal-marine resources; he has contributed to the creation of conservation and sustainable development projects and has established close relationships with regional, national and international agencies and institutions. He speaks French and English, in addition to his native Spanish. He holds a master's degree in biological oceanography and a doctorate in biological oceanology from the University of Western Brittany, Brest, France. He is a certified dive instructor and yacht captain. 21. Tadzio Bervoets Tadzio was born on St. Martin to a local St. Maarten mother and a Belgian father. He attended first the Sister Borgia School and graduated from the St. Dominic High School. He earned a Bachelor s degree in International Relations and NGO Management from the University of South Florida and a Master s degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam University in environmental resource management with a specialty in coral reef ecosystems. Tadzio began his professional career in Bermuda advising the Government on Coral Reef Conservation as a project lead on the Coral Reef Ecosystem Valuation Project of the British Government for Bermuda. He then moved to Tanzania where he developed incentives for local fishermen to become marine park rangers as well as conducted socio-ecological research on the management of the Chumbe Island Coral Reef Reserve. He returned to the Caribbean to serve as the marine park manager in St. Eustatius. Soon after, he began his present position as the Director for the St Maarten Nature Foundation where he was instrumental in establishing the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area, St. Maarten s first National Park. Tadzio is also on the Executive Committee of the National Development Plan responsible for Environment, on the St. Maarten Millennium Development Goal Action Group and Acting Chair of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. He is also board secretary of the Animal Defenders Foundation. 22. Billy D. Causey, Ph.D. Currently, I serve as a Senior Policy Advisor for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Marine Protected Areas Center. Previously, I worked for 11 years as the Southeast Regional Director for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I have managed National Marine Sanctuaries (MPAs) in the Florida Keys since 1983, when I became the Manager of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. As the manager of this marine protected area I developed the education, science and enforcement programs and sustained an interagency partnership between the state and federal governments. I served as the Superintendent of the 2900 square nautical mile Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary from August 1991 to September 2006, when I assumed the position of Regional Director.

12 I served as the lead National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official in the development of the management plan for the Keys Sanctuary, which is one of the largest marine protected area in the United States. I served as the liaison with local, state and other federal agencies responsible for management of natural resources in the Southeast Region. My academic interests are in coral reef ecology, coral reef fishes, sustainable management, marine zoning, climate change and marine policy. I have observed and studied coral reefs since 1962, when I explored coral reefs off Veracruz, Mexico. I have been diving on the coral reefs of the Florida Keys since 1968 and have lived in the Keys since I have authored numerous papers and book chapters, with a primary focus on the impacts of elevated sea surface temperatures on the coral reefs of the Wider Caribbean. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Corpus Christi in 1967, and a Master of Science degree from Texas A&I University in Three years of post-graduate work at the University of South Florida introduced me to the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem. In May of 2006, I was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of South Florida. I have received numerous awards for my work in coral reef conservation, but I have been most highly recognized for my experience in marine protected area management and policy development. I spearheaded the efforts to establish a comprehensive marine zoning plan for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, including the nation s largest network of fully-protected areas. I am a founding member of CaMPAM and since its formation in 1997, I have served as an Advisor and assisted in the preparation of various training programs. In recent years, I have focused on several initiatives around the Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean where MPAs and networks of MPAs are being considered for management of coastal and marine resources. I currently serve as an advisor on several international MPA initiatives. I can be reached by at Billy.Causey@noaa.gov. 23. Lázaro Márquez Llauger Lázaro has a degree in Physics from the Moscow State University; and Master of Sciences at the University of Pinar del Río, and also holds the scientific category of Associate Researcher. Since 2002, he is Director of Guanahacabibes National Park and coordinator of Peninsula of Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve, W Cuba. He has passed graduate courses on the use of remote sensors for environmental studies in the tropical zone, statistical methods applied to the management of biodiversity, management of tropical wild areas, carrying capacity in protected areas and research methodology with emphasis in experimental design. He is main author or co-author for several scientific articles published in national and foreign journals, in which he has dealt with topics related to management in protected areas, biodiversity, work with local communities, sustainability indicators and climate change. He is the main author of the file proposals for the declaration of three marine protected areas in the western region of Cuba and he has also been in charge of the drafting of management plans for four protected areas. As a researcher he has been in charge of specific results in territorial and national projects on protected areas and he has coordinated marine turtles and coastal vegetation monitoring programs. He has participated in scientific events in Cuba and abroad, and in experience exchanges with protected areas staff from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States. He has been member of Cuban official delegations in important international meetings on protected areas. He is experienced on marine protected areas design, participatory planning, assessing

13 of management effectiveness, sustainable tourism, adaptation to climate change, disaster management in protected natural areas and integrated coastal management. 24. Craig Henry Mr. Craig Henry is a native of Saint Lucia. He currently serves as a Programme Officer within the Conservation Department of the Saint Lucia National Trust. He is the site manager at the Trust s southern office (the Maria Islands Interpretation Centre) located on Sandy Beach in Vieux Fort. Craig leads all of the Trust s work in the South that entails, in the main, collaborating with government agencies, NGOs, livelihood groups and communities which are affiliated with the Pointe Sable Environmental Protection Area (PSEPA) with an aim to promote sustainable use of resources within the protection area. The PSEPA is located along the south-eastern coast of the island which features some of the island s most valuable built and natural heritage resources. The scope of engagement with these groups include organizing stakeholder consultations; assisting livelihood groups in applying for grant funding and in the implementation of projects; conducting assessments of the resources within the PSEPA; organizing public education and outreach programmes and supporting monitoring and enforcement activities. The PSEPA has benefitted tremendously from the generosity external agency funding and technical support particularly within the past five years through project grants and from experts who provide hands on assistance. Since he joined the Trust in 2013, there has been an increased level of management action as he been a very willing and eager partner facilitating much of the progress achieved by the Trust. He views all partnerships (both local and external) as invaluable linkages to forwarding the conservation agenda whether it is protecting marine turtles; preserving and restoring mangroves; promoting sustainable livelihoods or generating public interest. To him these linkages are not just professional but also special friendships networks to be cherished. Craig holds a first degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in International Relations both of which he obtained from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. Craig is also a qualified teacher and taught for over a decade at the primary school level in Micoud where he currently resides. He has served at the community level as a councilor on the Micoud North Constituency Council and also as Vice President of the Micoud Youth and Sports Council. Mr. Henry has a passion for education of the young; the environment and nature; international affairs and community service. 25. Sherry Constantine, Ph.D. Dr. Sherry Constantine is currently the Senior Program Manager for the Eastern Caribbean with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In this position, she is responsible for project management including projects related to coastal resilience, effective management of protected areas, and expansion of the marine protected area networks, marine spatial planning, conservation finance and ecosystem-based adaptation. She is also responsible for ensuring that TNC in-country infrastructure and activities meet specific country legal, labor and tax requirements in Grenada. She worked previously as a Biologist with the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Executive Director of the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards, and the Managing Director of CePro Consultants limited. She is a Saint Lucian who has a Master s Degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of the West Indies and a PhD. in Biology (focus on Ecology and Marine Biology) from the University of Miami. She has spent the past seventeen (17) years working on environmental and marine conservation projects in a number of Caribbean islands including

14 Saint Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and the Bahamas. She is a Fulbright scholar and a certified Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute (PMI). Dr. Constantine recently completed the management of the 4.5 million Euro, four-year Climate-Resilient Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network (ECMMAN) project involving the six independent OECS states of Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the Building Capacity for Coastal Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in SIDS funded by the United Nations Environment Program in collaboration with the Government of Grenada. Dr. Constantine brings to the team her experience in working with diverse groups of stakeholders in many Caribbean countries, skills as a certified project manager, and technical competence in the areas of fisheries biology, ecosystem-based adaptation, marine and coastal area management, and the ecology of nearshore marine and coastal ecosystems. 26. Alida Ortiz Sotomayor, Ph.D Dr Alida Ortiz Sotomayor, a retired professor from the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao with a degree in Marine Sciences has dedicated most of her professional life to the promotion of marine literacy and education among teachers and nonscientists. She has collaborated with other educators in the production of teaching materials on coral reefs and related ecosystems for K-12 students and personnel in Marine Protected Areas in the Caribbean. She served as consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Jamaica and the USAID in capacity building programs, in the areas of integrated coastal area management, for the tourism sector and for the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (C.A.S.T.), in training hotel personnel in environmental protection practices in the daily operations. Currently is a Graduate Lecturer at the Metropolitan University, San Juan, and Chairperson of the Outreach and Education Panel of the Caribbean Fishery Management Council. 27. Lauren Wenzel Lauren is Director of the U.S. National Marine Protected Areas Center within NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Her work focuses on connecting and strengthening the marine and coastal protected area programs in the United States and internationally through capacity building, information and tools, and communication and engaging stakeholders. Lauren's focus is on building partnerships among federal, state and tribal marine and coastal programs and stakeholders to demonstrate and communicate the value of protecting the ocean's most important places. Lauren has been with the MPA Center since Before that, she worked to develop and implement Chesapeake Bay watershed plans to reduce nutrient pollution and on

15 Smart Growth practices to foster more liveable and environmentally sustainable communities at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She received her M.S. from the University of Michigan in Natural Resources Management, and her B.A. from Oberlin College. 28. Gonzalo Cid, Ph.D. Dr. Gonzalo Cid is the coordinator for international activities at NOAA s National Marine Protected Areas Center at the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Gonzalo has worked for NOAA for more than 16 years, serving for more than 12 years as an international specialist for the National Ocean Service s International Program. Gonzalo has a science background and has worked on international issues concerning marine protected areas (MPAs), land-based marine pollution, coastal zone management and marine spatial planning, capacity building, bilateral partnerships, and multilateral environmental/marine agreements. He has worked extensively in several Latin American countries and other regions in the world. A native of Chile, Gonzalo holds a BS and MS degrees in marine biology and oceanography respectively, from the University of Concepción in Chile, where he specialized in climate time-series analysis and coastal nanoplankton dynamics. He received a Ph.D. in marine policy from the University of Delaware with a research focusing on trade agreements and coastal management. He has also received specialized coastal management training in the United States, Japan, Spain, and Italy. Gonzalo has written several publications and technical reports, conducted trainings in both English and Spanish on coastal management, and served as a delegation member for multiple international marine-related convention meetings. Before joining NOAA, he worked as an academic research assistant and coordinator for UN-based projects. 29. David Alonso David is a Colombian marine biologist with MSc in Marine Sciences and Technologies applied to the Management of Coastal Areas and their Resources at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. He works at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research -INVEMAR since 1996 and is currently Coordinator of the Research Program on Biodiversity and Marine Ecosystems. He has participated as a coordinator and researcher in more than 25 research projects, working on integrated management of coastal zones, marine conservation, especially marine protected areas and the consolidation of the National Marine Protected Area Subsystem in Colombia. He has advised the design, creation and expansion of new MPAs in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Colombia. He is member of the IUCN Expert Assessment Groups - Green List (EAGLs) since 2013 when Colombia started as one of the pilot countries. 30. Michelle Schärer-Umpierre, Ph.D. Michelle Schärer-Umpierre is a marine biologist with expertise in fisheries science from Puerto Rico. Her specific areas of interest include fish spawning aggregations, marine ecosystems, endangered species

16 and passive acoustic research. Dr. Schärer graduated from the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico with a PhD in Biological Oceanography and an MS in Biology. During the last decades she has led multiple scientific research for local and federal resources agencies in Puerto Rico as wells as within academia. Many projects have been designed through nongovernmental organizations such as debris assessment and removal, marine protected area compliance as well as education and outreach. Some results of research projects include a review of marine protected areas for fisheries in the US Caribbean, the evaluation and management of fish spawning aggregations, fisheries-independent sampling of deep-water snappers and groupers, an assessment of the social-ecological system of La Parguera, the description of novel techniques to assess spawning aggregations of grouper with passive acoustic signals, global fin print shark and ray study, coral reef monitoring, the landscape ecology of marine habitats and their importance for fish connectivity, characterizations of critical habitats and essential fish habitat for commercially important species, and developing biological criteria to determine coral reef condition in the Caribbean. She has been involved in fieldwork directly conducting multiple dives at research sites with a variety of colleagues. Her experience in the development of artisanal fisheries in Brazil and Puerto Rico has led to a better understanding of the sustainability needs in order to harvest stocks of important marine resources. She was also an instructor of the Spanish version of the CaMPAM training of trainers in 2016 in the Dominican Republic. 31. Kimberly Baldwin, Ph.D. Dr. Kimberly Baldwin uses geoinformatic tools to strengthen collaborative resource mapping, planning, management and monitoring applications across the Caribbean. She is passionate about applying holistic ecosystem-based approaches to better understand the marine environment, coastal communities and associated resource use patterns. As a broadly trained fisheries scientist and marine biologist, Dr. Baldwin s interests have diversified over the years seeking to bridge the practical, methodological and theoretical by drawing on a number of disciplines including geography, information systems, anthropology, sociology, governance, natural resource management and ecology. Dr. Baldwin applies a collaborative approach and mixed methods to allow for appropriate stakeholder engagement, two-way learning and wide participation in the development of spatial information and the application of environmental management. Dr. Baldwin possess nearly 20 years of experience working in the Caribbean and her interdisciplinary research interests range from: marine habitat, resource and space-use mapping; fisheries, ecology and socioeconomics; environmental management, monitoring and impact assessments; Participatory GIS; remote sensing and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drone mapping applications; spatial modeling, advanced spatial analyses and geodatabase construction. She has also conducted various Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) projects in the Caribbean ranging from the transboundary Grenada Bank of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica s Pedro Bank and the South Coast Marine Park in St. Vincent. Kim is the Director of Marine and Spatial Information Solutions which offers a number of environmental management, GIS, UAS or drone and participatory mapping services as well as training courses to build the Caribbean region s capacity for the use of information technologies. Dr. Baldwin is also a Post-Doctoral Research Associate and GIS Lecturer at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at

17 the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. 32. Maria del Carmen Garcia Rivas, Ph.D. Maria del Carrmen graduated from the School of Sciences, UNAM, Mexico with a Biology Degree and the Master's degree in aquatic resources and systems, and a doctorate in Resource Management and Sustainable Development of the College of the Southern Frontier. She has been an educator and researcher on marine mammals for over the last ten years. She has practiced scuba diving since 1981, reaching the degree of instructor of three-star diving and scientific diving by the FMAS. In 1996, she joined the Protected Natural Areas system as deputy director of Isla Contoy National Park, after being director of the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve and of the Xcalak Reef National Park for 10 years and then of the Whaleahark Ballena Biosphere Reserve. She is currently the director of the Isla Contoy National Park and the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park. Since the declaration of Tulum, she has been involved in the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Mesoamerican Reef. Her work as director of natural protected areas has focused mainly on stopping illegal fishing of the queen conch, a species at extreme risk due to illegal fishing. Since 2008 she coordinates the Committee on Environmental Crimes constituted by four agencies enforcement agencies, four environmental poolicy agebcies, three NGOs, fishing cooperatives, tourism service providers, researchers and entrepreneurs, with a work strategy to combat poaching. It has also promoted fishing and responsible tourism with exchange of experiences among fishermen and the implementation of good practices. She is co-author of the Public Use program manual derived from the Mesoamerican Reef System project, as well as the Tourist Carrying Capacity Manual of the System of Natural Protected Areas of Cuba. She has promoted the value of the fishermen traditional knowledge and local service providers by integrating them into monitoring campaigns, environmental education, pest control and coral reef surveillance. She is currently developing community strategies to reduce pressure on public use, hotel management, training of park wardens, and, since 2015, she has been involved in the development of sargassum control activities. 33. Georgina Bustamante, Ph.D. Dr. Georgina Bustamante is an independent consultant on marine protected area science, practice and education. Since 2008, she is the coordinator of the Caribbean MPA Management Network and Forum (CaMPAM), the network of marine protected area practitioners of the Caribbean created in 1997 by the Secretariat of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol (SPAW) of the Cartagena Convention coordinated by the Caribbean Environment Program of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP) to build the capacity of MPAs. She graduated very young (21) as a marine biologist from the University of Havana, Cuba in 1973, and received her doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in Biology in 1987 from the Cuban Academy of Sciences with a thesis on coastal fish ecology. She worked for 20 years ( ) in Cuba as a marine scientist and in as the deputy director in the Institute of Oceanology of Cuba. During these years, she collaborated with scientists of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1994, she moved to the United States and worked as a marine conservation scientist and program coordinator for The Nature Conservancy's Latin American and Caribbean Programs until She also held an Adjunct Associate Professorship at the University of Miami, Biology Dept. while working at TNC's Florida and Caribbean Marine Conservation Science Center ( ). Since 1995, Dr. Bustamante has been involved in