The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is supporting the use of drone technology for coastal mapping and monitoring under the project, “Integrating digital technologies and participatory tools to support coastal community resilience in Trinidad and Tobago (Tech4CoastalResilience)”, a HIT RESET Caribbean third-party-project.

The Tech4CoastalResilience project aims to improve the technical capacity and resources of coastal communities and key management agencies to use innovative technologies and tools to enable a more inclusive and informed approach for building resilience. It focuses on 10 coastal communities, including Blanchisseuse, Carli Bay, Icacos, Mayaro, Matelot and Moruga in Trinidad and Castara, Roxborough, Scarborough and Speyside in Tobago.

Under the project, CANARI hosted two 5-day training bootcamps on drone flying and mapping in Tobago from June 24-28 and in Trinidad from July 8-12, 2024. The bootcamps engaged a total of 16 trainees from key coastal management agencies, including the Fisheries Division and Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries, fisherfolk organisations and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They built knowledge and skills on how to fly drones safely, mapping and monitoring techniques, data analysis and geographic information system (GIS) integration using internationally accepted practices.

In addition to the training, CANARI provided drones, related equipment and access to a one-year software subscription for data analysis to five organisations that are actively engaged in coastal monitoring, including the Fisheries Division, Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries and environmental NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago.