News

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!     

The health of our oceans and seas is inextricably linked with the health of our planet and all life on earth. Many nationalities, including mine, have a special relationship with the sea.

Six months ago, life was what we would have called “normal”; fast-forward to June 2020, in the throes of a global pandemic and recovery efforts- the catchphrases- quarantine, social distancing, masks and stay at home have become the new norm.

The Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (GEF CReW+) project will focus on further improving integrated water and wastewater management in the W

The theme for World Environment Day, 5 June 2020 is biodiversity — a call to action to combat the accelerating species loss and degradation of the natural world. One million plant and animal species risk extinction, largely due to human activities. Hosted by Colombia, in partnership with Germany, World Environment Day urges us to rethink how our economic systems have evolved and the impact they have on the environment.

Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) has released a Perspectives Paper on “Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Caribbean Water Sector.”

Continue to follow us throughout the month of May to get daily facts about marine mammals in the Wider Caribbean, conservation efforts undertaken in the region through our Marine Biodiversity Protocol (SPAW) and Regional Activity Centre (SPAW-RAC), and how you can play a role in protecting these species.

The availability of a water source is a critical dimension of human security. Clean water is essential for many necessities of life, which include drinking, cooking, sanitation and hygiene.

An unprecedented coalition of over 70 environmental and education experts came together to help parents, students and pupils with a series of lessons called Earth School.  The programme is designed to help them discover and celebrate our connection with nature (

UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat participates in the Human Security Joint Programme Community Fair and Launch in Northern Clarendon  

UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat participates in Joint UN Jamaica Programme to build human resilience

This CLME+ is a portal designed to harness global knowledge, resources and tools in the one convenient place to support the achievement of the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf (CLME+) Vision and Strategic Action Programme (SAP) initiatives. The HUB has been designed to accommodate the information needs of a wide variety of CLME+ stakeholders including members of the general public to LME Practitioners. It is intended to be:

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is a rapidly spreading disease affecting over 20 species of hard corals in the Caribbean. These are some of the slowest-growing and longest-lived reef-building corals. It was discovered first in the reefs of Florida in 2014 and has since then spread and been found in corals in parts of the Caribbean. It is suspected to be a bacterial pathogen spreading by contact or through waterways.

The Economist Group's World Ocean Initiative has launched the Women and the ocean: Changemakers challenge which aims to showcase leading female changemakers across the ocean supply chain who are working to develop business solutions to achieve ocean-related sustainability.

Various regional experts have been nominated for the four Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee(SPAW STAC) ad hoc Working Groups (protected areas, species, exemptions and Sargassum) according to the rules of the recently adopted Terms of Reference following

   

Biodiversity for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean through Ecosystem Based Management (EBM-DSS) was a 4-year project (2015-2019) implemented under our  Marine Biodiversity Sub-Programme in the Dominican Republic.

The Cartagena Convention Secretariat and the Caribbean Node of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML-Caribe) have launched a social media campaign entitled #PlasticFreeChristmas to help raise awareness of plastic pollution in the Caribbean and to share tips on sustainable alternatives to plastic during the Christmas holiday season.