Professor Sir Hilary Beckles signing Memorandum of agreement in the presence of (sitting) Dr Lucia Fanning, marine affairs programme director at Dalhousie and Robin Mahon director of CERMES. (Standing from left) are Dr David VanderZwagg, Canada research chair in ocean law and governance, Michael Butler, director of International Ocean Institute, Dalhousie; and Dr Robert Fournier, professor emeritus, oceanography and adjunct professor, marine affairs, Dalhousie.

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES has teamed up with Dalhousie University in Canada to undertake a two-year project dealing with ocean governance.

Last Tuesday, principal of the Cave Hill Campus, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, signed a memorandum of agreement for the implementation of the project entitled Strengthening Principled Ocean Governance Networks: Transferring Lessons From The Caribbean To The Wider Ocean Governance Community.

The aim of the project, which will be covered this year and next year, is to improve ocean governance worldwide, through implementing
a pilot study in the Caribbean region with the principal goal of transferring lessons to the global ocean governance community.

The project would also assist Caribbean states and those benefiting from shared marine resources in putting key sustainability principles into national and regional practice.

Professor Robin Mahon, director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), said the two universities
had been working for two years to get the project together.

He lauded Dalhousie as one of the highest ocean science communities in the world.

"It is a tremendous opportunity for us to be teaming up with them," he said.

Dalhousie University marine affairs programme director, Dr Lucia Fanning said the project was about "advancing our understanding of the factors that are essential to the implementation of principled ocean governance in the wider Caribbean region".

Sir Hilary said the project "indicates the extent to which we have been developing our research institutes in this university".

He added that the university was speaking with Government about ways in which to fund graduate research at the campus.

The total budget for the project is BDS$1.69 million, the bulk of which has been funded by the Nippon Foundation of Japan. (MB)