Oct. 6, 2008 — A two-year project that counts University of the Virgin Islands President LaVerne E. Ragster among its leaders will work to address global warming.
"We are working with … Gov. John deJongh to schedule a special meeting on climate change and the questions that our local government and society need to address before it is too late," Ragster said, according to a UVI news release.
At a conference in Trinidad that ended Sept. 26, the Climate Change and Biodiversity in the Caribbean Project (CCBIC) developed priorities for a research agenda. CCBIC will present it to the MacArthur Foundation in a quest for further funding, and it will distribute the agenda throughout the region. The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is implementing the project.
"The important thing that we accomplished was identification of areas that need to be assessed in order to respond to climate change," said Ragster, who formerly chaired the CANARI board. For example, project participants are looking at greater use of high-resolution modeling in assessing climate change, she said.
The CCBIC conference drew professionals from various Caribbean institutions to the Normandie Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, according to the release.
The aim of the project "is to develop a regional research agenda and capacity-needs assessment to address identified gaps and to consider how protected-area management, biodiversity protection and conservation policy can best address climate change in the region," Ragster said.
For more information about the project, visit canari.org
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