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Kingston, Jamaica. 23rd July 2021. Governments of the Wider Caribbean will next week reaffirm their commitment to the protection and sustainable use of the marine and coastal resources of the Caribbean Sea. This takes place within the framework of the Conferences of Parties to the Cartagena Convention, the only regional legally binding agreement for the protection and development of the Caribbean Sea.

We have lost half of the world’s coral reefs and are consuming nearly one-third of our commercial fish stocks at unsustainable rates. In 2021 the United Nations General Assembly’s UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) as well as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) have begun, emphasizing the urgency of restoring oceans and coasts by reducing the pressure on these ecosystems so they can recover.

“The Wider Caribbean Region is experiencing unequivocal impacts of nutrient pollution including nitrogen-based eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia and those resulting from a complex and not fully understood phenomenon of recurrent nuisance Sargassum blooms.

Nataly Castelblanco, Colombia My name is Nataly Castelblanco, and I was born in Bogotá, in the Andes of Colombia, far from any river or the sea.

Rebecca García Camps, Dominican Republic I have always loved dolphins since I was a kid. I would see them from time to time. My dad and I used to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to go snorkelling to different beaches around the bay of Ocoa in the Dominican Republic and at that time we would see bottlenose dolphins.

Protecting marine mammals is essentially everyone’s responsibility - whether you are a user or simply a beneficiary of marine resources, each person is an actor in environmental conservation. For some persons, their love of marine mammals originated from as far back as they can remember and protecting these creatures feels like second nature. For others, these creatures are a wonderful and vibrant mystery, to be explored, protected and loved.

Key decisions related to work of the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention for the 2021-2022 biennium are expected to be formulated when delegates meet from June 21-25, 2021 and July 26-30, 2021.

Today, on World Oceans Day 2021, the Secretariat launched the second edition of its marine mammal campaign on its social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). This public education initiative aims to raise awareness on the threats to marine mammals, particularly those listed under our SPAW Protocol and encourage individual and collective action to protect these species.

On 12th May 2021, the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) in collaboration with the Secretariat’s Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Sub-Programme and the SPAW Regional Activity Centre, hosted a webinar on fisheries subsidies and their effects on sustainable fishing.

Ocean pollution from poorly managed sanitation is a global health and environmental issue with massive downstream consequences for coastal communities and marine ecosystems New SNAPP project, “Improving human and coastal ecosystem health through better wastewater pollution management”, jumpstarts a multi-disciplinary collaboration between sanitation

New Providence, THE BAHAMAS – From destructive hurricanes, storm surges and flooding to salt intrusion in water resources and other development threats, East Grand Bahama (EGB) has endured its share of challenges over the years. Yet, the willpower of its people to rebound has remained strong.

#RestorationBeginsWithMe  The United Nations (UN) has declared 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, in a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world. Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Decade is building a strong, broad-based global movement to ramp up restoration and put the world on track for a sustainable future.

On World Water Day 2021, the GEF CReW+ wants to highlight the multidimensional values of wastewater. If you want to learn more about the value of wastewater in the Wider Caribbean Region, join the CReW+ Academy. “Wastewater is a byproduct of human activity. Like most byproducts, it can have some sort of a second life.

“As we celebrate World Water Day on 22 March 2021, the Cartagena Convention Secretariat is pleased with the new mandate that Scientific and Technical Experts from the Wider Caribbean Region have recommended for inclusion in the 2021/2022 work programme of the Secretariat.

Applications are now open for the 2nd UNEP-ICRI small grants programme 2021 to support the conservation and restoration of coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass.

The GEF CReW+ Project held its Inception Meeting  The Caribbean Region faces many challenges in the water and sanitation sector. About 70% of the region’s population lacks access to safely managed sanitation services, implying severe environmental and public health risks. 

In an effort to strengthen the response of Caribbean countries to address the environmental concerns they face and enhance their capacities to fully engage in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) implementation, the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cartagena Convention, along with the Food and Agriculture Organization  of the United Nations (FAO) are jointly implementing a 5-year progra

Collaboration under the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME+) Project  

During the 2019/2020 biennium, the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat has been fortunate to welcome 8 young, bright minds to its Internship Programme. Hailing from Aruba, China, France, India, Jamaica, Norway and the United Kingdom, these university graduates are connected by their shared interest in environmental science and their desire to make meaningful contributions to sustainable development at all levels.

The United States Coast Guard has conferred on Ms. Carla Bikker the Medal of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty for her 25 years of dedicated service as Operations Manager, and now newly appointed Director of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO)/ United Nations Environmental Programme's (UNEP) Regional Activity Center (RAC)/Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Information and Training Center (REMPEITC).

The Steering Committee of the UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project “Catalyzing implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems project, Chaired the Government of Panama, convened virtually from 16-18 June 2020.

What do the UNDP/GEF Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+) Project, the Italian-funded Biodiversity for Sustainable Development Project and the Ecosystem-Based Management sub-project in the North-Brazil Shelf all have in common?

The United Nations Environment Programme’s Cartagena Convention Secretariat, as the lead co-executing agency, will be convening the Fourth Regional Project Steering Committee Meeting (RPSC) of the GEF-funded Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystem Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (UNEP GEF IWEco) Project from 1-2 July 2020 through virtual means. The main objectives of the meeting will be to:

Monday, 15 June 2020, marks the 25th Anniversary of RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe.

The Global Environment Facility-funded Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (GEF IWEco) Project, executed by the Cartagena Convention Secretariat, is thrilled to announce that its "Caribbean Breaking Up With Plastics" video won two major awards in May 2020!