About the CCDC

Our History

The CCDC was initially established in 1993 as the Data Management Centre (DMC) of Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) programmes, with funding from the McArthur Foundation. This regional scientific initiative involved a network of marine laboratories, marine parks and reserves, established to study the land-sea interaction process in the wider Caribbean region. CARICOMP focused on understanding the structure and function of the three main coastal ecosystems (mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs) in the Caribbean.

In 1998 the DMC established links with the Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) project through the provision of technical and data management support to the pilot coral reef monitoring component. The DMC was renamed the Caribbean Coastal Data Centre to reflect its expanded vision of becoming a regional data archiving and management centre.

Our Mission

The Caribbean Coastal Data Centre, in keeping with the mandate of the Centre for Marine Sciences, is committed to excellence in providing an accessible data archiving facility, with important, accurate and reliable data on national and regional research, monitoring and other projects implemented within the coastal zone.