Coral Cay Conservation

2008 is the International Year of the Reef and Coral Cay Conservation is honoured and delighted to announce that the visit to Tobago in March by Their Royal Highnesses’ The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will include a meeting with CCC volunteers, to learn more about the successful coral reef conservation programme being conducted there in collaboration with our partners. More information

The UK partnership between Coral Cay Conservation, Blue Ventures and Project Aware Foundation will announce details on a range of awareness raising activities to take place during the International Year of the Reef 2008 campaign. Want to find out more? Come to the CCC/BV stand at the London International Dive Show at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre on Saturday 8th March; 9.30am to 6pm and Sunday 9th March; 9.30am to 5pm.

Coral Cay Conservation's Planned IYOR 2008 Activities

CCC aims to promote IYOR 2008 through a broad range of activities that include but are not limited to:

• Promotion of the IYOR through the CCC website (www.coralcay.org) and the bi-annual newsletter 'Reef and Leaf'.
• Tri-partite agreement between PADI Aware, CCC and Blue Ventures with the aim of promoting IYOR and raise funds for IYOR promotional events
  • Series of articles in national press
  • Collaborative fundraising event(s)
  • Public lecture series
  • School presentations

• CCC attendance and participation at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) 2008
  • Presentation of scientific results through poster and oral presentations
  • Promotion of IYOR at the CCC stand during the ICRS fair

• Providing assistance to the Shangri-La Resort chain in developing educational coral reef awareness materials for hotel guests.

Southern Leyte Coral Reef Conservation Project, Philippines (SLCRCP)

The SLCRCP was initiated in 2002 and has been undertaken with the objective of assisting the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte (PGSL) in the conservation of the coral reefs of Sogod Bay for the long-term benefit and food-security of the residents of the Province. The project is a tripartite agreement between the PGSL, CCC and the Philippine Reef & Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PRRCFI). It aims to achieve the primary objective through:

• An Environmental Education and Awareness programme for the local stakeholders, schools, colleges, universities and Local Government Units (LGUs) of the Province,
• Capacity building of technical skills amongst the employees of the Provincial Government of Southern Leyte
• Resource appraisal of the current status of the coral reefs of the bay

The project will promote IYOR activities through:

• Collaborative educational projects with the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI)
• Working with the Southern Leyte State University where CCC is actively involved in the BSc Marine Biology curriculum.
• Collaboration with the local dive centres in creating awareness of IYOR for tourists and through the organisation of beach and reef cleanups.
• Helping the PGSL promote its whale shark tourism in a sustainable manner
• CCC's teacher training ('train the trainer') programme and open days for local schools and colleges
• Ongoing CCC scholarship programme for PGSL employees and university students

Tobago Ecosystem Mapping Project, Tobago (TCEMP)

The TCEMP project is a collaborative, two year project between the Buccoo Reef Trust (BRT), the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and CCC and forms part of the Caribbean-wide Integrated Watershed and Coastal Area Management in Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean (IWCAM) programme. The TCEMP project is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and aims to provide a baseline dataset on the current status of the coral reef, mangrove and sea grass ecosystems surrounding Tobago in order to create effective integrated coastal resource management plans for Tobago's threatened natural resources. The TCEMP also has strong community education and capacity-building components. CCC will be promoting IYOR 2008 in Tobago through:

• Participation and co-organisation with the BRT in the bi-annual Sea Sun and Science program geared towards creating awareness of tropical marine biology and conservation through a series of lectures, field trips, workshops, boat trips, try-dives and games.
• Participation at annual science fairs, food fairs in collaboration with the THA, BRT and Save Our Sea Turtles (SOS) NGO.
• The various CCC scholarship programmes
  • One-day Coastal Zone Management (CZM) workshops
  • Two-week Reef Check Scholarship Award programme
  • Four Week Reef Conservation Scholarship Award programme

• Teacher training weekends in collaboration with the BRT and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE)

  Development of Tobago specific coral reef Awareness posters for local schools

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