Establishing & Managing Marine Protected Areas

PRESENTER BIO

Lindy Knowles is a conservation ecologist who works as a technical officer at the Bahamas National Trust’s Science & Policy division collecting in situ data to help ensure that the protected areas are managed through science-driven conservation. Lindy works towards the expansion and effective management of the protected areas system of The Bahamas, collaborating with, and leading teams that survey reef, mangrove, and seagrass to determine health, and using conservation technology such as GIS to map boundaries and visualize field data to support the work being done in communities to ensure that vulnerable areas and species are considered within a protected area system. As head of the GIS Unit, Lindy is responsible for implementing innovative technology into the organization to help increase management effectiveness. He has collected imagery using drones and underwater cameras that are processed to create models of terrestrial and marine environments which have been used in the creation of habitat classes via remote sensing, as well as 3D models showing elevation on land and depths of the sea below. This work has led to the expansion of the marine protected area (MPA) system as part of The Bahamas’ goal of protecting 20% of its nearshore environment. Lindy earned a Master of Philosophy in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Science degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Management in a Coastal and Marine Environment from the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill.