Events

The ‘Beat Plastic Pollution JA’ competition was kicked off by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and partners on World Environment Day, June 5. It is a joint United Nations initiative aimed at highlighting the urgent need for action to reduce plastic pollution, which is a major challenge in the Caribbean and globally. The competition, will run until June 23, sees Jamaican students demonstrating “the urgent need to work across the plastic life cycle and articulate different strategies to reduce and reuse plastic”

This UN World Oceans Day, the tides are changing. Join us on 8 June as we celebrate the 2023 theme, Planet Ocean, to reshape how we view the earth and generate a new wave of excitement towards protecting the ocean and the entirety of our blue planet.  

World Environment Day 2023 is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach. It is celebrated by millions of people across the world. World Environment Day 2023 is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire and supported by the Netherlands and will focus on solutions to plastic pollution.

The World Migratory Bird Day campaign will focus on the topic of water and its importance for migratory birds. Water is fundamental to life on our planet. The vast majority of migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life cycles. Inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds are all vital for feeding, drinking, or nesting, and also as places to rest and refuel during their long journeys.

International Day of Zero Waste, observed for the first time on 30 March 2023 and jointly facilitated by UNEP and UN-Habitat, aims to raise awareness of the importance of zero waste and responsible consumption and production practices and urban waste management contributing to achieving sustainable development.

On International Day of Forests, the Cartagena Convention celebrates Mangrove Restoration in the Wider Caribbean Region

The 3rd Project Steering Committee Meeting of the ACP MEAs III Programme will convene in Brussels, Belgium from 19th - 20th October 2022. The meeting will review the progress made during 2022 and the work plans and budgets for 2023.

The GEF IWEco Project will convene its 6th Regional Steering Committee Meeting from 18th - 20th July 2022 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Further details are available on the GEF IWEco website: https://www.iweco.org/node/428.

The fourth webinar in this series will take place on Monday, 30 November 2020 with focus on Caribbean, where by 2018, the mats had grown into the largest macroalgae bloom in recorded history, an 8,850 km long mass extending from the central Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. Chunks of Sargassum, circulated by ocean currents, now regularly wash ashore in the Caribbean, where they rot on the beaches, giving off a strong, sulfurous stench.

For International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, UNEP partnered with Caribbean Poison Information Network (CARPIN) to host the following Webinars:- Lead Poisoning, Your Child's Health and Learning Date: Oct 27, 2020 Time: 10 am- 11 am Watch Webinar:

The Cartagena Convention Secretariat is pleased to invite you to a WEBINAR entitled Regional Seas Programmes and the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework on 1st October 2020 at 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Jamaica time / 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Eastern Caribbean.

There are many factors that affect the region's access to water and sanitation including affordability, insufficient resources to deal with climate change and shocks to the natural environment and physical infrastructure.  Hear how UNEP is closing the gaps and improving access for all. Speakers:

There is an inextricable link between COVID-19, wastewater, and sanitation. So far, the pandemic has highlighted the challenges related to the water and sanitation sector, including for example the need for investing in wastewater reuse, safe collection, transportation and disposal of wastewater and sludge, and to enhance awareness-raising around these topics.   Date: Wednesday, 30 September 2020 Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Nairobi time (EAT)

The unprecedented recent invasion of Sargassum seaweed, free-floating brown seaweed that blossoms naturally in the warm waters of the Sargasso Sea, on coastal shores in West Africa and Caribbean shores is being attributed to factors that include warming of the ocean due to global climate change, discharge of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from agricultural run-off and wastewater originating from point sources and from major river basins such as the Congo and Amazon Rivers, and the deposition of iron and nutrient-rich Saharan dust on the ocean.

Can the Caribbean successfully implement electric/clean mobility? Hear from the MOVE( Movilidad Electrica en Latinoamerica) team some of the challenges and associated opportunities and how UNEP has been helping with implementation in various islands. 

Lets talk about challenges and opportunities in the recovery and resilience efforts of Caribbean islands as well as how others can improve their resilience to natural disasters and other emergencies. Agenda Topics Include: Building Resilience to Natural Disasters in the Caribbean: Dan Stothart

This event is the concluding webinar of a series focusing on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEF). These webinars aimed at providing a throughout understanding of why implementing the WEF is essential for human well-being, poverty alleviation, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The webinar will provide the audience with the opportunity to engage in a final discussion with the experts, some of them who joined the previous webinars, regarding the WEF Nexus. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, 8 July 2020, 3:00-4:30 PM EAT.

1st Day of Steering Committee Meeting Date: July 1, 2020 Time: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Jamaica Time) 2nd Day of Steering Committee Meeting Date: July 2, 2020 Time: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Jamaica Time) Photo Credit:Visual Hunt

In light of the rapidly approaching hurricane season and the current global and regional health and economic climate, this month’s webinar focuses on building resilience in Caribbean Countries through nature-based solutions to climate change and disaster resilience and recovery efforts. Agenda Topics Include: Introduction to UNEP’s Climate Change Portfolio & Caribbean Efforts: Gustavo Manez

The webinar will explore the role of UNEP in the Caribbean regarding the conservation of biodiversity and their habitats and promote concepts and values that encourage the audience to understand the role of each species in maintaining ecosystem balance and the importance of protecting them Agenda Topics Include: