Times of the Islands Winter 2020/21

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources
In order to deliver the training, a series of workshops
was focused on each participant developing their own
practical projects over the project’s lifetime. The collaborative
training workshops were held in Tortola, British
Virgin Islands in December 2018 and Providenciales,
Turks & Caicos Islands in March 2019. A master class for
selected participants was also held at the Environment
online, long-term monitoring projects for mangroves, forests,
beaches and coastlines, charcoal burning, carbon
storage, ecosystem loss and species range predictability
are possible.
A foundation for a simplified terrestrial habitat map
was also established, which can be updated by DECR
internally using QGIS software. The project also made
Systems Ltd. headquarters in Aberystwyth, Wales in June
2019. Separate follow-up workshops were held in Tortola
and Providenciales in February 2020.
Within the TCI, staff members from both the
Department of Survey and Mapping and Department of
Disaster Management and Emergencies also participated
in the training. Exposure to the wildly different terrains
of the steeply-sloped, 500 meter high British Virgin
Islands and the low, flat, rolling Turks & Caicos Islands
allowed expert Environment Systems and JNCC trainers to
show participants how the same techniques can be used
regardless of terrain, but also how to finely-tune interpretation
of imagery data in their respective territories.
The training sessions mainly focused on teaching
the use of open-source Geographic Information System
(GIS) software QGIS. This free program, under constant
improvement by users, allows the DECR to use high quality
mapping software without having to pay and renew
costly annual licensing fees. Using satellite imagery purchased
by the project and open-source imagery available
possible collection and interpretation of satellite imagery
and field-collected data from shallow marine areas, which
brilliantly complement the concurrent “Developing Marine
Spatial Planning (MSP) Tools for Turks & Caicos” project
between the South Atlantic Environmental Research
Institute and DECR, also funded by Darwin Plus. The project
also supplemented DECR’s capacity by supplying both
hardware for data storage and manipulation and software
in the form of years’ worth of satellite imagery from several
sources.
Development of skills for mapping Turks & Caicos
Islands terrestrial and marine areas and interpretation of
satellite imagery allows DECR and partner organizations
to make solid, evidence-based environmental decisions,
especially relating to recovery and resilience from hurricanes
and other severe weather events related to climate
change. DECR Director Lormeka Williams investigated
the use of GIS and satellite imagery in mapping locations
of illegal charcoal production in Providenciales. DECR
Terrestrial Ecologist B Naqqi Manco generated habitat
Times of the Islands Winter 2020-21 37