Postal address:
Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville
ERIC Organisational Background
ERIC is a not-for-profit organisation registered with the Ministry of Legal Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011 (E2623(95)). ERIC is mandated to support sustainable development for the people and ecosystems of NE Tobago from ridge to village to ocean. Our mission is “to value and integrate diverse knowledge and experience to manifest a mutually beneficial relationship between the coastal communities and ecosystems of NE Tobago”.
The organisation consists of senior experts in conservation, resource management, rural development, marine / terrestrial ecology, responsible tourism and seasoned project managers. ERIC's team is comprised of practitioners with decades of site-specific experience in NE Tobago and the wider Caribbean. The team has a proven capacity to secure substantial funding, successfully manage and implement small and multi-million dollar projects and has worked with government, business and not-for profit organisations across a wide range of sectors including, energy, health, tourism, development, resource management and agriculture. The team has the capacity to engage creatively and dynamically with the complex role envisioned for the implementing organisation in this project.
All senior staff members are certified project managers.
We undertake environmental monitoring, community outreach, capacity building and empowerment, including our role as the centre for Reef Check Trinidad and Tobago, the Tobago collaborator with Global FinPrint, a TVT partner organisation to successfully conduct a turtle offshore monitoring project from May to September 2017 and the vice chair of the GEF / FAO funded Improved Forest and Protected Area Management Project in North East Tobago.
ERIC is annually audited.
We have a far reaching professional and social media presence on which our projects are continuously highlighted, as well as being featured in our regular newsletter. The combined effect of these factors is consistent national, regional and global project exposure and coverage.
ERIC Board
Keith William Gibson, PhD, MSc, BSc - Sustainability Specialist, Chair
A mission driven researcher and practitioner in the field of sustainability with two decades of experience in the fields of ecology, conservation and sustainability, Keith has worked with people and animals in the wild, community halls, classrooms and conference rooms from the Canadian prairies to the Caribbean Sea. He has almost a decade of experience in Tobago and Trinidad including completion of his doctoral thesis work supporting community groups in northeast Tobago. Keith specialises in helping people from diverse backgrounds find creative and practical solutions to shared challenges, approaching his work with enthusiasm, humour, humility and a strong faith in the tremendous opportunities that human creativity can generate in face of overwhelming challenges.
________________________________________
Aljoscha Wothke, MPhil. Bio, PADI MSDT 900821, PMP, Reef Check EcoDiver Trainer, Director, CEO
A senior sustainable development expert with over 15 years’ experience in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean, Aljoscha's major strengths lie in combining his expertise regarding locally applicable and participatory protected area development, coral reef biodiversity, artificial reefs, climate change adaptation and resilience, sustainable tourism, capacity building, community engagement and organic agriculture into a holistic approach to sustainable resource planning and management. Aljoscha has been contracted by, and understands the language of, civil society organisations, governmental agencies and international donor organisations such as the UNDP, UNEP, FAO, IDB, EU, OAS and CDB and has a track record of successfully managing projects up to a value of 4m US$. In addition, he has over 20 years of teaching experience from grassroots to tertiary education level and can look back at over 25 years as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer with a clean record.
________________________________________
Joanna Moses-Wothke: MSc, BSc, Tourism Educator, CHE - Sustainable Tourism Specialist, Director, Financial Officer, PMA
A sustainable tourism professional for the past ten years with expertise in tourism education, planning, environmental standards and management systems, Joanna has experience in project management, EU administrative procedures and fund accounting, and provided expertise to resort and estate development planning teams on a managerial level. Joanna has worked on projects with and funded by the EU, UNDP, CDB, Tourism Development Company and NGOs and CBOs, and has teaching experience in both academic and non-academic environments including workshop design and facilitation. Born and raised in northeast Tobago, she is intimately familiar with the nuances of the project area and has a strong social network in the region.
________________________________________
Ryan S. Mohammed, MSc, Aquatic Biologist, Secretary
Ryan has an MPhil in Environmental Biology and BSc in Zoology and Botany and is currently completing his PhD in Aquatic Ecology at UWI. He has a working relationship with Cardiff University (Wales) and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland) and co-authored several articles on aquatic ecology in local, regional and international journals. Over the last ten years he has participated in the compilation of various Environmental Impact Assessments and has sat at on several national committees on alien invasive species, aquaculture (both national training and sector management), and wildlife.
He is an associate member of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, fellow of Zoological Society of London, member of American Tilapia Association, Trinidad and Tobago National Trust, Point a Pierre Wildfowl Trust, President of the aQua-TT Co-operative and the President of the Aquaculture Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
ERIC is a not-for-profit organisation registered with the Ministry of Legal Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011 (E2623(95)). ERIC is mandated to support sustainable development for the people and ecosystems of NE Tobago from ridge to village to ocean. Our mission is “to value and integrate diverse knowledge and experience to manifest a mutually beneficial relationship between the coastal communities and ecosystems of NE Tobago”.
The organisation consists of senior experts in conservation, resource management, rural development, marine / terrestrial ecology, responsible tourism and seasoned project managers. ERIC's team is comprised of practitioners with decades of site-specific experience in NE Tobago and the wider Caribbean. The team has a proven capacity to secure substantial funding, successfully manage and implement small and multi-million dollar projects and has worked with government, business and not-for profit organisations across a wide range of sectors including, energy, health, tourism, development, resource management and agriculture. The team has the capacity to engage creatively and dynamically with the complex role envisioned for the implementing organisation in this project.
All senior staff members are certified project managers.
We undertake environmental monitoring, community outreach, capacity building and empowerment, including our role as the centre for Reef Check Trinidad and Tobago, the Tobago collaborator with Global FinPrint, a TVT partner organisation to successfully conduct a turtle offshore monitoring project from May to September 2017 and the vice chair of the GEF / FAO funded Improved Forest and Protected Area Management Project in North East Tobago.
ERIC is annually audited.
We have a far reaching professional and social media presence on which our projects are continuously highlighted, as well as being featured in our regular newsletter. The combined effect of these factors is consistent national, regional and global project exposure and coverage.
ERIC Board
Keith William Gibson, PhD, MSc, BSc - Sustainability Specialist, Chair
A mission driven researcher and practitioner in the field of sustainability with two decades of experience in the fields of ecology, conservation and sustainability, Keith has worked with people and animals in the wild, community halls, classrooms and conference rooms from the Canadian prairies to the Caribbean Sea. He has almost a decade of experience in Tobago and Trinidad including completion of his doctoral thesis work supporting community groups in northeast Tobago. Keith specialises in helping people from diverse backgrounds find creative and practical solutions to shared challenges, approaching his work with enthusiasm, humour, humility and a strong faith in the tremendous opportunities that human creativity can generate in face of overwhelming challenges.
________________________________________
Aljoscha Wothke, MPhil. Bio, PADI MSDT 900821, PMP, Reef Check EcoDiver Trainer, Director, CEO
A senior sustainable development expert with over 15 years’ experience in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean, Aljoscha's major strengths lie in combining his expertise regarding locally applicable and participatory protected area development, coral reef biodiversity, artificial reefs, climate change adaptation and resilience, sustainable tourism, capacity building, community engagement and organic agriculture into a holistic approach to sustainable resource planning and management. Aljoscha has been contracted by, and understands the language of, civil society organisations, governmental agencies and international donor organisations such as the UNDP, UNEP, FAO, IDB, EU, OAS and CDB and has a track record of successfully managing projects up to a value of 4m US$. In addition, he has over 20 years of teaching experience from grassroots to tertiary education level and can look back at over 25 years as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer with a clean record.
________________________________________
Joanna Moses-Wothke: MSc, BSc, Tourism Educator, CHE - Sustainable Tourism Specialist, Director, Financial Officer, PMA
A sustainable tourism professional for the past ten years with expertise in tourism education, planning, environmental standards and management systems, Joanna has experience in project management, EU administrative procedures and fund accounting, and provided expertise to resort and estate development planning teams on a managerial level. Joanna has worked on projects with and funded by the EU, UNDP, CDB, Tourism Development Company and NGOs and CBOs, and has teaching experience in both academic and non-academic environments including workshop design and facilitation. Born and raised in northeast Tobago, she is intimately familiar with the nuances of the project area and has a strong social network in the region.
________________________________________
Ryan S. Mohammed, MSc, Aquatic Biologist, Secretary
Ryan has an MPhil in Environmental Biology and BSc in Zoology and Botany and is currently completing his PhD in Aquatic Ecology at UWI. He has a working relationship with Cardiff University (Wales) and Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland) and co-authored several articles on aquatic ecology in local, regional and international journals. Over the last ten years he has participated in the compilation of various Environmental Impact Assessments and has sat at on several national committees on alien invasive species, aquaculture (both national training and sector management), and wildlife.
He is an associate member of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, fellow of Zoological Society of London, member of American Tilapia Association, Trinidad and Tobago National Trust, Point a Pierre Wildfowl Trust, President of the aQua-TT Co-operative and the President of the Aquaculture Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
Professional Practice
Thesis research