Aquatic and marine systems of the Caribbean are increasingly affected by uncontrolled changes in land use.  The success of environmental policy depends on the capacity of governments to support and implement environmental regulations. These depend on the availability and quality of science data to agencies and on the understanding of the purpose and benefits of those regulations in resident populations. Education and outreach are essential to the success of environmental policy; affected communities must be engaged in the development of those policies and understand that those policies are intended to protect the natural resources of those communities. Water quality data generated by communities can both reduce the knowledge gap and raise community sensitivity. Community-produced data can be reliable and requires only limited supervision from agencies and universities. CECIA developed a pilot program where students and community members measured physical, chemical, and biological parameter along a river in their municipality. Their data are suggestive and the community is engaged in planning for corrective action.  Programs such as these will become invaluable in the future as development continues while government monitoring and enforcement resources continue to decline.