More than 21 environmental and technical officers have completed training in water quality monitoring, data analysis and storage.

The training session was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change in collaboration with H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC), Center Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) and Spatial Innovision Ltd .

Project coordinator, in the ministry Ms. Atoya George said one of the primary objectives of the Resilience, Sustainable Energy, and Marine Biodiversity (RESEMBID) project is to ensure capacity building among key individuals, equipping them with the knowledge and technical skills required to collect, analyse, interpret, report, and manage water quality data.

Ms. George said, “Throughout the year, we have hosted a series of GIS training sessions to educate participants on spatial analysis of water quality data.  These workshops build on that foundation, ensuring that officers acquire the full range of skills needed.”

RESEMBID’s Senior Programme Manager, Ms Andrea Floudiotis said the project supports the successful collaboration between the Government of the Virgin Islands and other key entities to further continue to train officers in water quality monitoring.   

Ms Floudiotis said, “Improved water quality is central to ensuring human and environmental health. We commend the Government of the Virgin Islands’ efforts to increase its capacity to collect and use water quality data for improved evidence-based decision-making on pollution control strategies.”

The officers attached to the ministry, the HLSCC, the Environmental Health Division, Water and Sewerage Department, Agriculture and Fisheries, National Parks Trust and Town and Country Planning Department completed nine (9) ArcGIS courses, spanning from November 2023 through October 2024.

The courses included enhancing their technical skills in geographical data collection and analysis in ArcGIS software in addition to advanced enterprise level training to enhance GIS warehousing skills.

Officers also gained fundamental skills from a five-day workshop, conducted on September 23 to 27 last year that strengthened their capabilities to assess, collect, test, analyse, interpret and warehouse water quality data and enhance their laboratory maintenance knowledge.

RESEMBID is a 48-project programme funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France - the development cooperation agency of the Government of France and supports sustainable human development efforts in 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) - Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos.