Who we are

Protecting our Caribbean Sea & securing our future

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) in 1981 as one of its Regional Seas Programmes in recognition of the importance and value of the Wider Caribbean Region’s fragile and vulnerable coastal and marine ecosystems including endemic plants and animals.

Countries of the region then adopted an Action Plan also in 1981 that led to the development and adoption of the Cartagena Convention on 24 March 1983.

The Cartagena Convention is the first and only regionally binding treaty of its kind. It promotes the protection and development of the marine environment of the Region and provides the legal framework for the Caribbean Environment Programme.  

It is supported by three technical agreements or protocols on oil spills, specially protected areas and wildlife and land-based sources of marine pollution. 

The Caribbean Regional Co-ordinating Unit (CAR/RCU) was established in 1986 in Kingston, Jamaica and is the Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention and the Caribbean Environment Programme.

Our projects and activities take place under three programme areas:

• Assessment and Management of Environment Pollution (AMEP)
• Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)
• Communication, Education, Training and Awareness (CETA)

 

Ongoing projects

• Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF IWEco)

• Global Environment Facility-funded CReW+: An integrated approach to water and wastewater management in the Wider Caribbean Region using innovative solutions and sustainable financing mechanisms

• European Union-funded project on Capacity building relating to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific States - Phase III (ACP MEAs 3)

The following video "About CEP - Dive a little deeper" showcases the importance of our work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following video was prepared to commemorate 30 years of work in the wider caribbean region. Please enjoy.