Capacity building in Kiribati

This week NOC scientists Dr Daniel Jones and Dr Erik Simon-Lledó have been working with the Kiribati government to improve capacity and information in deep-sea assessment.

They have just run a week’s workshop and training event in Kiribati for staff of the government ministries charged with managing the marine environment. The event was a great success, introducing the government staff to the wonderful diversity of life in their deep seas and providing detailed training in the tools required to manage the seabed resources. Such training is vital to ensure that staff are informed, capable and effective in managing the resources of Kiribati for the benefit of the people.

Kiribati is a small island developing state in the Pacific with a huge ocean area of 3.5 million square km. Nearly 90% of Kiribati’s oceans are deep sea, so this environment is important in their regional planning. The Kiribati government is eager to understand and effectively manage their deep-sea resources, which include both valuable fisheries and mineral resources.

The project is part of the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme.