Grenadines MarSIS
Marine Resource and Space-use Information System

Grenadines MarSIS Research Overview

Marine resources are of vital importance to the people of the Grenadines, yet planning and management of the use of marine resources of the Grenada Bank is becoming increasingly complex.

  • Not only are marine resources distributed across the Grenada Bank but they are shared between two nations and a variety of resource users from the nine inhabited Grenadine islands.
  • Management thus far has taken a conventional, top-down approach guided by regional management plans and based on limited information.  
  • Marine management of the Grenada Bank has not been integrated amongst sectors, between nations or knowledge systems.


 

This management approach has not been effective in preventing the environmental degradation of the Grenadine Islands. It is proposed that effective and proper planning will require a complex and adaptive mechanism tailored to the local environment. A participatory framework amogst the two countries and meaningful community participation in the information gathering, research and decision-making processes can better guide management initiatives. In addition, easy access to information on marine resources and space-use patterns of the Grenadines is needed to support collaborative decision-making, management and planning for the transboundary Grenadine archipelago.

 
What is MarSIS?

The Grenadines Marine Resource and Space-use Information System (MarSIS) is a Participatory Geographical Information System (PGIS).
The development of the MarSIS database formed a part of Dr.Kimberly Baldwin's PhD research supervised by Professors Robin Mahon and Hazel Oxenford of CERMES, University of the West Indies, Barbados.

The MarSIS has been developed as a decision-making tool to support transboundary marine resource planning and management. By using GIS, existing scientific information has been merged with the local knowledge of the marine environment to highlight areas important for conservation and livelihoods and provide a wider information base to allow for informed decision-making process between the countries of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.


Data collection for the MarSIS is complete and information is publicly available on this website in the form of documents, maps and as a database (available in both Google Earth and ArcGIS version 10) formats. If you would like the MarSIS in ArcGIS please email Kim Baldwin for access to the Grenadines MarSIS DropBox file sharing website. 

** In early 2013, the Grenadines MarSIS will also be available for  
              download via the Caribbean Marine Atlas website **





    Grenadines MarSIS includes information on:

  • Coastal and marine habitats: reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, beaches, shorelines
  • Infrastructure: seaports, jetties, landing sites, roads, trails, hotels, desalination plants
  • Marine space-use: anchorages, dive sites, fishing grounds, shipping lanes, recreation areas
  • Sensitive ecological areas: sea turtle nesting beaches, seabird nesting sites, nursery grounds
  • Heritage sites: forts, sugar mills, indigo vats, boat building, viewpoints, shipwrecks
  • Areas of threat: sand-mining, beach erosion, dumping, sources of pollution, mangrove cutting, high space-use
      

www.grenadinesmarsis.com
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