Sandwatch Foundation partners with RECOS project in the Indian Ocean
The Sandwatch Foundation, represented by Dr Gillian Cambers was invited to participate in the First Regional Workshop for Group 4 – Environmental Education of the "Resilience of Coastal Ecosystems of the South-West Indian Ocean" (RECOS) project from 21 – 24 February 2023 in Mauritius.
|
RECOS is a 5-year project (2021 – 2026) with the overall objective to strengthen the resilience of coastal populations to the effects of climate change by restoring the services provided by coastal ecosystems. The RECOS project is administered by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM).
One of the objectives of the RECOS programme is to reinvigorate the Sandwatch programme in four Indian Ocean countries: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. In this context, the workshop adopted a Sandwatch training of trainers approach, which included a recap of the Sandwatch methodology, a review of previous Sandwatch activities in the four countries and the introduction and demonstration of a new Sandwatch application – “Beach Records”. Beach Records is a new online platform, launched in 2023, where schools, youth groups, NGOs and community groups can learn, record, share and apply their scientific observations to positive community action to enhance their beach environments and adapt to climate change. Beach Records is an archive of information about beaches https://www.sandwatchfoundation.org/beach-records1.html One of the highlights of the workshop was a virtual presentation by Mr Andy Paul, Sandwatch Coordinator for Trinidad and Tobago, who concisely described some of the challenges they had faced over 20 years of Sandwatch and how these challenges had been addressed. The workshop concluded with the drafting of an action plan for Sandwatch for 2023. |
The meeting held in Mauritius goal was to reinvigorate Sandwatch in 4 Indian Ocean countries, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros and Madagascar