The CTC team periodically monitors the health of coral reef ecosystems in our learning sites, such as the Nusa Penida MPA and Banda Islands MPA Network. The reef health monitoring aims to assess the condition of coral cover, and reef fish species and biomass. Raw data is then collated, processed and analyzed to develop a profile on the health of the coral reef ecosystem. New data is added to a database and analyzed to gain an insight into the trends of coral reef ecosystem health. To complement the management of MPAs with socio-economic data, CTC also conducts community perception monitoring (Permon) within MPAs.  Permon collects information on community knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, which relate to the establishment of MPAs, activities within an MPA, and compliance with the regulations of the MPA.

Conducting these surveys takes time, and processing and analyzing the data can be a lengthy procedure for the busy team. In preparation for biophysical monitoring and/or perception monitoring in the coming year, as well as synergizing the process and analyzing data from our learning sites, CTC staff attended training in the ‘R’ program, conducted from January 18-20 in Tegal, Java. This training was led by Agustin Capriati, our USAID SEA Project Training, Learning Network & Program Support Specialist who previously trained in the software, with the hope of expanding the team’s capacity to quickly analyze and process data. 

To be able to process the data, and share with other stakeholders, the CTC team needed a program that can support the processing and analyzing required.  ‘R’ is an open source program, which can analyze statistics at a rapid pace. ‘R’ gives more direct access to data and analysis and can communicate with many other applications, such as Geographic Information System. This training was made possible with funding from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.