Ministry of Works and Transport - University of the West Indies Coastal Data Exchange

In 2016, the Ministry of Works and Transport signed an agreement with the University of the West Indies to facilitate the sharing of data collected by the Ministry along the east coast of Trinidad. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering leads a wider UWI team on a RDI (Research, Development and Impact) - funded project which is intended to investigate the erosion and flooding hazard on the east coast of Trinidad. This study aims to gather relevant physical data in a comprehensive manner and present said physical evidence in a format that is suitable for referencing, analyses, scientific research, decision support and policy development.

On Monday 12th December 2016 the Ministry, through the Coastal Protection Unit shared several datasets established by the Ministry through the implementation of the Mayaro/Guayaguayare Coastal Study. Such datasets include LIDAR and topographic surveys, beach profiles, bathymetry, wave and current data and sediment data. The Ministry looks forward to continued collaborations with research institutions, in order to ensure that in keeping with Government’s policies, decisions with respect to management of coastal erosion and coastal flooding are data based, scientific, holistic and evidence driven.

For more information on the Ministry’s projects and initiatives to address the increasing vulnerabilities due to coastal erosion and coastal flooding under the Critical Coastal Protection Programme, visit our website at www.mowt.gov.tt or contact the Coastal Protection Unit at coastal@mowt.gov.tt or 623-6797.