Background:
I’m from the Spice Isle of Grenada. My background is in Life Sciences with Marine Biology and I have been involved with climate change and coastal zone management in Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique for the last four years. During this time, I have been fortunate enough to be involved with policy and legislation as well as data collection in the coastal zone. This has given me the opportunity to work with schools and technical staff on exciting areas such a community co-management, beach profiling, and ecosystem-based adaptation including both coral reef and mangrove restoration projects.
Since being accepted to the new Coastal Science and Policy Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz I am learning new skills and making new connections. I aim to continue working with decision makers and community groups for sustainable management of the coastal zone in the Caribbean region.
Research:
For my capstone project my goal is to conduct a coastal vulnerability study using the spatial ecosystem services toolset “INVEST” developed by the Natural Capital Project. This tool has been used around the world for mapping and valuation of ecosystem services and connecting people and natural capital. It has also been utilized in the Caribbean region to create an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan for Belize and a Sustainable Development Plan for the Bahamas. I hope to build upon recently collected spatial and geo-physical data collected by Grenada and investigate the possibility of augmenting data gaps with regional and international datasets.
Résumé:
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EMAIL: AJOSEPHW@UCSC.EDU