Regional Online Workshop on Implementing SPAW Protocol Obligations through NBSAPs in the Wider Caribbean Region

The Regional Online Workshop on Implementing SPAW Protocol Obligations through NBSAPs in the Wider Caribbean Region is convened by the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Sub-Programme of the SPAW Protocol, under the Cartagena Convention Secretariat. The workshop responds to Decision XII adopted at the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Cartagena Convention, which calls for enhanced collaboration with global multilateral environmental agreements and requests the Secretariat to advise Contracting Parties on how alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) can support the implementation of the Cartagena Convention and its protocols.

The workshop will provide an initial assessment of how marine and coastal ecosystems are being reflected in updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) across SPAW Protocol Contracting Parties, highlighting emerging trends, gaps, and opportunities. It will also serve as a platform for Parties to share experiences, lessons learned, and challenges encountered during the process of updating NBSAPs, with a particular focus on how national biodiversity planning processes can operationalize regional obligations and commitments under the SPAW Protocol.

A key objective of the workshop is to discuss enabling conditions that strengthen the implementation of the Cartagena Convention and the SPAW Protocol, by demonstrating how SPAW-related obligations and measures can be effectively addressed through NBSAPs, within national mandates and reporting frameworks. The outcomes of the workshop will support a more coherent and synergistic implementation of the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols at the national level, while reinforcing regional coordination and advancing the delivery of the KM-GBF in the Wider Caribbean Region.