Dean Pasos of the Faculty of Science and Technology joins Dr. Abel A. Carrias in congratulating Mr. Jair Valladarez for his participation in a project coordination meeting held in Vienna Austria from the 10th to 12th April 2017. The participation of Mr. Valladarez in this meeting arises from his involvement in project INT/7/019 “Supporting a Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network towards Increased Involvement of Developing States”.

The training is part of the efforts to build human and laboratory capacity at UB through participation in national, regional and inter regional projects funded by the Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Currently, the University of Belize is executing National Project BZE001 “Application of Nuclear Science in Environmental and Health Research” and BZ7002 “Strengthening National Capacity for Measuring and Monitoring Marine Pollution and Studying the Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Ecosystems”.

The participation of Mr. Valladarez in this meeting will strengthen UB’s capacity to perform ocean acidification (OA) work and will complement work under project BZE7002. During the meeting, Mr. Valladarez was involved in discussions on standardization of methodology and OA research kits with renowned experts in the field and presented UB’s and by extension Belize’s current capacities, gaps and future needs and opportunities for collaboration in OA work.

UB’s goal is to work alongside the TCP to establish a long and fruitful relationship for building capacity at UB and of its stakeholders that will lead to meaningful contributions towards the development of Belize. The University of Belize would like to extend its gratitude to Mr. Percy Lewis, National Liaison Officer for IAEA related matters in Belize, for his contribution and support of TCP projects being executed by UB.