Saba National Marine Park
Note: The data were entered in the language of the country of origin (English, French or Spanish) and there is no translation available yet.Chapter 7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
In general, describe how the nominated site addresses monitoring and evaluation
The staff along with volunteers and consultant researchers carry out eight different monitoring programmes which keep a record of various aspects of the environment in 2013. These provided data for analysis on island and by international organisations. The monitoring programmes focus on human use of the marine environment, marine mammals and fisheries.
In addition to environmental monitoring, the Saba Conservation Foundation has taken part in the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance Management Success Project for the last 10 years. The management success project is an ongoing DCNA project designed to measure the management effectiveness of each of the park management organizations in the Dutch Caribbean. The management success project has developed a tool for collecting data using objective indicators to measure ’success’ across a broad spectrum of protected area management tasks and activities. Ultimately, the management success project can be used as a model for park organizations to improve accountability, transparency and professionalism.
More details on monitoring in Attachment 20.
What indicators are used to evaluate management effectiveness and conservation success, and the impact of the management plan on the local communities
| Indicators by category | Comments | |
| Evaluation of management effectiveness | ||
| DCNA Management Success Project | Graphics and detailed analysis of management effort enables redirection of management effort if necessary. The most recent management success report is available in Attachment 25. | |
| Threats vs Effort | Independent evaluation of the threats facing the park vs effort spent addressing the threats. | |
| Time distribution | Managers personal log of time distribution compared to the organisations outputs. | |
| Evaluation of conservation measures on the status of species populations within and around protected area | ||
| Time series data | Data is collected, as outlined in the monitoring section, on a number of important species. This is analysed by the foundation and by international organisations, the outputs of which are available to SCF. | |
| Fish landings | ||
| Fish biodiversity | ||
| Conch surveys | ||
| AGOA Marine Mammal Monitoring | ||
| Evaluation of conservation measures on the status of habitats within and around the protected area | ||
| Mapping of reefs | ||
| Evaluation of conservation measures on the status of ecological processes within and around the protected area | ||
| Lobster larvae | Number and distribution of larvae | |
| Lionfish predators | ||
| Evaluation of the impact of the management plan on the local communities | ||
| Visitor numbers | ||
| Yacht visitation | ||
| Dive numbers per site | ||