The first AGRRA Workshop was held February 1-5, 1999 in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles and sponsored by the Bonaire Marine Park. Fifteen visiting scientists from the Caribbean and North America participated in interactive discussions and in-the-water field activities on assessing reef condition using the AGRRA Protocol, analyzing the results, and applying the results for the management of coral reefs. They also used the AGRRA method to evaluate Bonaire's reefs at various dive sites and found the reefs surveyed in Bonaire are in good condition (e.g., low recent coral mortality, low macroalgal overgrowth) with stable healthy populations of fish.
The Bonaire Marine Park is an excellent example of an effective protected area that balances the needs of the natural environment and the local community and stands as a role model for the Caribbean. It is obvious the success of the Park is a team effort between the local community and the Bonaire Marine Park. For more about the Bonaire Marine Park visit their website at www.bmp.org.
The best measure of the success of the Bonaire Workshop is that several participants were encouraged to lead AGRRA assessments of the Flower Gardens, Cayman Islands, Tobago, and St. Vincent. This positive result inspired a second training workshop to be held in May in Akumal, Mexico with scientists and managers from countries bordering the Mesoamerican Reef System.
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