PRESS RELEASE – Marine specialists will gather in Saint Lucia from February 20-21 for a Data Management Workshop that seeks to improve current data collection processes and facilitate the efficient use of marine data across a range of sectors.
The two-day workshop, hosted by the OECS Commission, will be delivered by the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) of the National Oceanography Centre, United Kingdom, as part of the United Kingdom Government’s Commonwealth Marine Economic Programme.
The programme will focus on three main areas:
Marine data management training;
Managing national marine data; and
Building regional marine data networks.
Following the training, participants will be better prepared to improve data management practices within their respective organisations so that marine data are not accidentally lost; data are well described and easy to find; and data are easy to re-use in the future.
This workshop will assist OECS Member States in advancing implementation of the Marine Research Strategy and Marine Data Standards approved by the 62nd Meeting of the OECS Authority pursuant to Goal 6.2 and Action 6.1 of OECS Eastern Caribbean Regional Oceanscape Project (ECROP), approved at the 57th Meeting of the OECS Authority. The workshop will also support implementation of data management access and exchange arrangements for the State of the Marine Ecosystems and Shared Living Marine Resources in the CLME+ region.
The training aims to facilitate better use of marine data across sectors, thereby enhancing the economic return of the investment in data collection.
Sessions will be conducted using a blended approach of didactic presentations and practical sessions and allow time for discussion.
Financial support for the Marine Data Management Workshop is provided by the United Kingdom Government funded Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme and by the UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project.