Volunteer Assisting Oracabessa Marine Trust – Phase 1

The Oracabessa Marine Trust is a non-profit partnership between the GoldenEye Foundation and the Oracabessa Fishers Association. The GoldenEye Foundation works towards improving the quality of life of the people within the Oracabessa community in Jamaica. Its goal is to help them thrive in a healthy environment and fulfill their potential – for the benefit of themselves, their families, and future generations. This is achieved by developing and implementing projects that are aligned to two core programs: People and Planet. The core focus of the Planet Program is marine conservation with initiatives that aim to preserve the biodiversity of Oracabessa Bay as a Marine Protected Area, for the benefit of marine life, local fishermen and the wider Oracabessa community.

Diana Muresan, a GISCorps volunteer in Colorado, was selected to train staff of Oracabessa Marine Trust in foundational GIS concepts, WebMaps and Apps in ArcGIS Online (AGO), and Esri’s ArcGIS Conservation Solutions. The following report was submitted by Diana Muresan.

By Diana Muresan

This project solution was designed as a full conservation solution to help the Oracabessa Marine Trust organization take advantage of the GIS technology to improve their day to day operations and protect their natural assets.

As part of the solution, four hosted web feature layers have been created in ArcGIS Online. Each layer stores details about a specific activity type the patrol crew engages on a given day. 

These web layers are then used to power the Oracabessa Patrol Quick Capture app. Through this app, the patrol wardens can sign in/out from their shift, record their routes while on duty in the field, report minor incidents, and monitor coral activities.

A survey form using ArcGIS Survey123 has been deployed to allow patrol crew record at a more granular level enforcement incidents while on their shift. In the report forms, the wardens can record details such as offender personal information, witness testimony, type of offence, take photos from the field as evidence of offence, and incident outcome. 

Finally, all collected data has been added and symbolized in the Oracabessa Web Map that powers the last part of the solution, the Oracabessa Marine Trust Dashboard.

The dashboard has been deployed using ArcGIS Dashboards and enables organization members to analyze trends in reported incidents, monitor coral activities based on location and type, and make informed decisions about their community assets using their own collected data. Additionally, the dashboard serves as a visual element in the organization’s monthly governmental report to showcase their progress.

This conservation solution marks the organization’s initial step in utilizing GIS technology to preserve community biodiversity and expand its implementation to other nonprofit organizations in the region.

“Our experience with the GISCorps was amazing. The support we received was priceless. Our project was handled with professionalism and and we were provided a high level of expertise. The volunteer that was assigned to us was well equipped to meet our staff at their level and communicate the information being exchanged clearly, ensuring that the skills and concepts were firmly grasped.”
Inilek Wilmot, Board Member

Project completed.