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.
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:
Diseases passed from animals to humans are on the rise, as the world continues to see unprecedented destruction of wild habitats by human activity. Scientists suggest that degraded habitats may encourage more rapid evolutionary processes and diversification of diseases, as pathogens spread easily to livestock and humans.
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.
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 STAC8.
The Sandals Foundation has produced a video highlighting the main activities of the Whitehouse and Bluefields Solid Waste Reduction Project in Jamaica.
https://youtu.be/rORwuvyzHTs
On the eve of a critical year for environmental decision-making, Colombia, Germany and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that Colombia will host World Environment Day 2020 in partnership with Germany and that it will focus on biodiversity.
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.
https://youtu.be/RnpKF8VDaP8
At the United Nations (UN) Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, held in New York in June 2017, OSPAR Commission (OSPAR) and the Cartagena Convention (CEP) registered a voluntary commitment to collaborate across the Atlantic.
Kingston, Jamaica. 17th June 2019. From 3rd - 6th June 2019, over 80 regional and international experts including government officials, non-governmental organizations, development partners and United Nations (UN) agencies met in Honduras to review the achievements of the Cartagena Convention Secretariat over the last two years (2017-2018) and to agree on priorities for the 2019-2020 biennium.
To preserve our coal reefs in the Caribbean, we must begin by protecting the Parrotfish. Parrotfishes have significant ecological value to the survival pf coral reefs.
They feed on algae by scraping it from coral on the reef, thereby reducing its negative impact on the coral reef ecosystem.
The below infographic, available in English and Spanish, outlines more facts about the Parrotfish.
The Global Environment Facility-funded Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (GEF IWEco) Project’s Third Regional Project Steering Committee Meeting (RPSC 3) will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from 2nd – 4th April 2019.
Haiti’s Canal De La Gonave is a unique marine ecosystem, with two underwater canyons that drop to over 10,000 feet. This marine ecosystem is threatened by several factors: pollution (e.g. marine debris), non-native species invasions (e.g.
Many species of marine mammals, including small cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), are maintained in captivity (including both tanks and sea-pens) for the stated purposes of entertainment, research or education, and in some cases military use. In recent years, the ethics of capturing and maintaining marine mammals in captivity have increasingly come into question.
90% of Guyana’s population live on flat coastal plains, 0.5 metres below sea level. The soil is rich and good for agriculture but at risk from rising sea levels.
Key decisions related to work of the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention for the 2019-2020 biennium are expected to be formulated in Roatan, Honduras when delegates meet from June 3-7, 2019.
Ministers encouraged to include and develop environmentally and financially sustainable partnerships
Tourism, Fisheries and Agriculture are the leading industries contributing to the economic growth of many Caribbean islands. The social, economic and environmental development of the islands depend on these industries, most of them tied intricately to the environment.