News

Nairobi, 03 March 2022 – A series of regional conventions and policies are playing an essential role in monitoring climate change and preparing for extreme weather events, preventing oil spills, reducing plastic and other waste, saving coral reefs, and providing overall ocean protection and restoration of marine ecosystems.

During the month of November 2021, the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat hosted two workshops for Non-Contracting Parties to its Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS).

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cartagena Convention Secretariat extends warmest season’s greetings to you. As the year 2021 comes to a close, let us reflect not only on the challenges that confronted us during this past year, but let us also celebrate the opportunities and partnerships that have allowed us to achieve successful outcomes.

Mangroves in the Mesoamerican Reef Region (MAR) and the Wider Caribbean are the economic foundation of over 134 million people living in the coastal regions. Due to their close relationship with other ecosystems, such as coral reefs and seagrasses, mangroves and the ecosystem services they provide are the conservation pillars of coastal ecosystems.

Grant Funding for Short-Term Small-Scale Integrated Water Resources and Wastewater Management (IWWM) Projects in the Caribbean The Global Water Partnership- Caribbean (GWP-C) in collaboration with the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat has re-opened the Call for Concept Notes for the implementatio

Kingston, Jamaica. 5th November 2021.

Kingston, Jamaica.

Summary of the Cartagena Convention’s recent intergovernmental meetings  

Kingston, Jamaica, 30th July 2021: The Nineteenth Intergovernmental Meeting on the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme and Sixteenth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region began on Wednesday 28th July 2021 with a welcome by Ms.

Summary of the SPAW COP Opening Ceremony Kingston, Jamaica, 28th July 2021:  The Eleventh Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP 11) to the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) in the Wider Caribbean Region began on Tuesday 27th July

Summary of the LBS COP Opening Ceremony Kingston, Jamaica, 27th July 2021:  The Fifth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (the LBS Protocol) began on Monday 26th July 2021 with a welcome b

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

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.