Press Release
Kingston, Jamaica. 10th June 2022– In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, the United Nations Environment Programme Cartagena Convention Secretariat will launch its commemorative video on Tuesday 21st June 2022. The event will be held virtually from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. GMT-5 under the theme Collective action to protect the Caribbean Sea.
Also known as the Cartagena Convention, this regional agreement entered into force on 11th October 1986 and is the only one of its kind for the protection and sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea. To date, 26 United Nations Member States in the Wider Caribbean have ratified this legally binding instrument for effectively managing the use of the region’s marine and coastal resources.
The video traces the legacy of the Convention, from its adoption in the 1980s amidst increasing attention on environmental challenges, to its continued role for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supporting policymakers and legislators, protecting livelihoods that depend on marine resources, and responding to new and emerging threats and challenges.
The video was produced by Mayers Media Inc. in Barbados and financed by the European Union-funded project Capacity Building Related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries, which the Secretariat is co-implementing.
The UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat takes this opportunity to extend sincere thanks to all the interviewees who participated in this production.
To attend the virtual launch, please register here: https://bit.ly/3m72wVAUNEPCEP .
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat
The Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region was adopted in 1983 in Cartagena, Colombia. Known as the “Cartagena Convention”, it became legally binding in 1986.
The Convention is supported by 3 Protocols, or technical agreements, namely the Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Combating Oil Spills, the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) and the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS).
The Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols is based in Kingston, Jamaica and supported by specialized Regional Activity Centres (RACs). The RAC for marine biodiversity is hosted in Guadeloupe (SPAW RAC), the one for Oil Spills is hosted in Curacao (RAC REMPEITC Caribe) while the LBS RACs are hosted in Trinidad and Tobago (Institute of Marine Affairs) and Cuba (Centre of Research and Environmental Management of Transport-CIMAB).
For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:
Mr. Christopher Corbin, Acting Coordinator, Cartagena Convention Secretariat: unep-cartagenaconvention@un.org.
