Abstract

Marine resources are of vital importance to the people of the Grenadine Islands, yet planning and management of the use of marine resources of the trans-boundary Grenada Bank is becoming increasingly complex. Management thus far has primarily taken a conventional, top-down, command-and-control approach guided by standard non-specific regional management plans and based on limited biophysical information. Furthermore, marine management of the Grenada Bank has not been integrated amongst disciplines, between nations or knowledge systems. This segregated management approach has not been effective and has failed to prevent the environmental degradation of the Grenada Bank. Participatory geographic information system (PGIS) is an emerging, interdisciplinary, community development and environmental stewardship tool, based on participatory research principles. The Grenadines Marine Space-use Information System (MarSIS) is a PGIS which will integrate local knowledge, stakeholders’ use patterns and socio-economic data, with conventional biophysical information, to provide for a more ethical, functional, and holistic framework for marine management. This paper summarises the various stakeholder engagement mechanisms utilised in the development of the MarSIS as a PGIS. These not only incorporate popular knowledge on marine resources, but also transparently bring a variety of stakeholders into a common space of understanding. This research tests the belief that by using participatory research, a better understanding of critical areas for livelihoods and conservation will be obtained and can facilitate more effective management of marine resources of the Grenada Bank.

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