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The CEPNET/IDB Project is entering another period of intense activity, with each of the Pilot Network Program countries busy creating their Clearinghouse Node Web sites. Included in the Clearinghouse Node sites will be descriptions of the participating agencies in each country, environmental information and reports, metadata about the agencies' marine and coastal data, and the country's "State of the Coasts" Report. These sites will provide a valuable resource for anyone interested in the marine and coastal environments of the Wider Caribbean region, be they students, researchers, coastal managers or those with a general interest in the environment. These Web sites will form the backbone of the Internet-based Information Management System for the Wider Caribbean Region.
The first round of training was conducted during the months of May and June. The training which took place in Barbados, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, prepared each of the participating country teams for developing metadata for their data and information holdings, as well as for creating materials for their Web sites. The second round of training took place in each of the above countries in August and September. This set of training sessions focused on the skills necessary for preparing the country "State of the Coasts" Reports utilizing existing data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. To this end, the CEPNET/IDB project provided training in the use and applications of GIS, focusing on the usefulness of GIS in managing marine and coastal environments. The course was a combination of hands-on exercises, lectures and practical work on the "State of the Coasts" Report. This report will review the status of the country's coastal and marine areas and demonstrate a case study relating to a practical coastal zone management application, which will be of relevance to the Wider Caribbean Region as a whole. The report will become a part of each country's clearinghouse node Web site. The case study will be displayed using Web-GIS technology. The proposed topics for the "State of the Coasts" report range from case studies in beach erosion and an environmental study of the Gulf of Paria, to more generalized informational material about the coastal zone.
The first Web site created entirely as part of the CEPNET/IDB Project is that of the Barbados Coastal Zone Management Unit. This site contains a wealth of information about the Coastal Zone Management Unit and their work in protecting and managing Barbados' coastal and marine areas. Included are also general environmental information and legislation relevant to Barbados. Other Pilot Network Program country Web sites will be up-and-running on the Internet in the near future. Some of these sites will be hosted on the CEP pages, while others will be running on their own servers. The next issue of CEPNEWS will provide a list of links to all of the country sites.
Another exciting development is the purchase of hardware and software for the participating countries in order to help them with their Information Management System implementation. The needs of each of the countries were assessed during the Needs Assessment phase of the CEPNET/IDB Project, and were later outlined and agreed to by all parties in the country Workplans. The hardware includes computers, printers, scanners and system servers, depending on the needs of each individual country. The software includes GIS and Web page creation software for those countries, which do not already have adequate copies of these software tools. The hardware and software will be delivered to the participating agencies as soon as the signing of the Workplans is made final.
On the staffing side, the Project Team is very excited to welcome an enthusiastic post-graduate intern, Sandra Stevenson, to Jamaica and CAR/RCU. Her position is sponsored by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) located in Winnipeg, (Continued on page 2)
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