Regional companies contribute to improve marine governance

(From left) Paul Inniss, chief operating officer for Island Heritage Insurers; Professor Robin Mahon, director of CERMES at UWI, Cave Hill; Dale Miller, regional sales and marketing manager for CaribVision; and Roger Bryan, Sol's southern Caribbean gener

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, May 23, 2008 - Three pan-Caribbean corporate entities are partnering with the University of the West Indies (UWI) to support sustainable marine governance practices across the Eastern Caribbean.

Efforts by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), at the UWI’s Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, to raise public awareness on this important issue has now attracted over BDS$30,000 (US$15,000) in support from Barbadian oil company the Sol Group; Cayman-based insurers Island Heritage; and the Caribbean Media Corporation’s television channel CaribVision.

Sol and Island Heritage have given BDS$30,000 (US$15,000) in cash as a first installment in their commitment to the public outreach efforts by CERMES’ four-year Marine Resource Governance in the Eastern Caribbean (MarGov) Project. CaribVision, as official broadcast media partner in the project, will provide MarGov with an avenue to reach its 1.2 million viewers in 23 countries including continental Europe.

Speaking on Thursday during a press conference at the university to announce the partnership, CERMES director Professor Robin Mahon said the initiative should send a message to all marine stakeholders that if they were networked and informed, then they could collaborate to devise governance practices that are resilient and can adapt readily to different marine issues as they arise. 

He added that, by aligning themselves with the MarGov Project, the three companies were in fact contributing to the sustained economic viability of the 20-plus territories in which they collectively operate since marine activity directly and indirectly employs over 200,000 people in the Eastern Caribbean. 

Dale Miller, regional sales and marketing manager for CaribVision echoed Mahon’s sentiment that the Caribbean Sea was the lifeblood of the entire region and said his company was pleased to partner with any initiative that promoted sustainable use of coastal and marine life. 

Roger Bryan, Sol’s southern Caribbean general manager, said his company recognised the value of a regional project that seeks to strengthen the networking capacity of fisheries stakeholders and coastal marine resource users across communities and territorial waters, which would lead to more effective and efficient collaborations in response to marine resource issues.

Island Heritage’s chief operating officer, Paul Inniss, said his company recognised the need to further develop the regional fishing industries, through organisation and education, to help those involved play a more meaningful and proactive role in marine resource governance.

MarGov communications assistant Carmel Haynes – who will be coordinating the public outreach efforts over the project’s life – thanked the three companies and said their coming on board signalled to all stakeholders, be they other companies or the general public, that the responsibility of managing the region’s marine resources is a collective one that should not be placed squarely on the shoulders of governments.