With its turquoise waters, vibrant marine ecosystems, and iconic sea turtles, Barbados is renowned for its natural beauty and diverse habitats. But, like many small island developing states, its beloved natural capital and biodiversity that contribute substantially to the island’s tourism economy face existential threats from climate variability, biodiversity loss and marine pollution.
To help safeguard the island’s coastal habitats and blue economy, the Barbados Investment & Development Corporation (BIDC) is driving innovation through partnerships that blend technology, education, and public awareness. At the helm is Mr. Damien Prescod, Consulting Manager of BIDC’s Bloom Clean Technology & Climate-Tech Center of Excellence. In a new collaboration with Ocean Diagnostics (ODI), Mr. Prescod is introducing microplastic sampling and analysis tools to better understand and combat marine pollution in Barbados’ nearshore waters.
“Plastics are presenting themselves in our marine environment in ways that are detrimental to marine life, coral reefs and, by extension, human well-being. We are finding discarded plastic bags in our seas. We are finding single-use plastic and Styrofoam cups, and bottle caps. Some fish sampled have plastics in their stomachs, and we’ve all seen the image of the sea turtle with the plastic straw in its nose.”
While Barbados has already taken steps to curb plastic use—banning single-use plastics in the tourism and commercial sectors, and exploring natural materials like seaweed-based bioplastics—the ability to measure the impact of such policies has been limited by a lack of standard data.
Mr. Prescod explains how Ocean Diagnostics’ microplastics depth sampler, Ascension, changes the game:
“(Ascension) provides the capability to do the sampling and assessment from the hull of a boat, alleviating the inherent risks of putting human resources in the water, but more importantly, utilizing cutting-edge technology. You do not have to risk lives. You can drop the devices down into the ocean at the depths where we need to have the samples. It also gives you the opportunity to collaborate with innovators in a different geographic space to work together to dissuade the siloed perspective.”
Under the leadership of BIDC CEO Mr. Mark Hill, Mr. Prescod’s colleague, Mr. Joseph Weekes (Instrument Engineer at CERMES, UWI Cave Hill Campus) is currently using ODI’s Microplastics Community Science and Educational Toolkit, including the machine learning-based analysis tool, Saturna, to engage the community and students as young as nine years old about the detrimental impacts of microplastics. The students learn how microplastics leach into the ocean and impact many marine species, and—most importantly—how they can be part of the solution.
“It's important to make the average citizen understand that they are also scientists. Kids love technology, computers, tablets and the new possibilities of A.I. They are not outside like I used to be when I was their age, riding bikes and playing cricket. They are in front of digital devices. It was very easy for them to integrate with Saturna, so it was fantastic to expose them to it. We are very pleased with (Saturna).”
Mr. Prescod first encountered ODI’s capabilities through LinkedIn and was intrigued by the company’s innovative approach to marine monitoring.
“When scouting for innovation partners, I look for companies that think differently,” he says. “Integrating technology into school curriculum and community outreach connects people to science and shows them how they can be part of the solution.”
“Our citizens often do not realize that they can help to conserve marine species and marine life,” he explains. “Integrating technology within academic curriculum at a young age (8-15 years) and within local communities allows you to connect the public to science and data-based solutions.”
Protecting the ocean is not just an environmental imperative, he adds—it’s also economic. By adopting commercialized technologies from Ocean Diagnostics that support data collection, education and collaboration, BIDC is building a scalable model for marine conservation. This protects not only biodiversity and public health, but also the tourism industry and livelihoods tied to the ocean, retaining Barbados’ designation as the “Gem of the Caribbean Sea.”
Learn more about microplastics monitoring technologies here.