CAD supports sustainable ocean governance in the Wider Caribbean region

CAD has just initiated a 30-month project to strengthen ocean governance in a large part of the Wider Caribbean Region. 26 independent states and 18 overseas territories share the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+).

Major challenges in the region, including unsustainable fishing, marine pollution and habitat degradation, are transboundary in nature and can only be addressed through an effective coordination of actions by countries and regional organizations.

Therefore, CAD has been commissioned by the UN Office for Project Services to lead the development of a proposal for a permanent policy coordination and sustainable financing mechanism for integrated ocean governance in the CLME+ region.

The aim is that the involved countries and international organizations will reach a consensus on their preferred coordination mechanism, its funding and a roadmap for implementation. CAD carries out this work until April 2020 under the “Catalysing Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Sustainable Management of Shared Living Marine Resources in the CLME+”.

CAD is excited to make a further step towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 14, aiming to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

The Wider Caribbean Region comprises the insular and coastal States and Territories with coasts on the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico as well as waters of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to these States and Territories and includes 28 island and continental countries.

The CLME+ Project

The CLME+ Project is a five-year project (2015-2020) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and co-financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It assists participating countries from the Caribbean and the North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem in improving the management of their shared Living Marine Resources through an Ecosystem-Based Management approach.

This marine area (4.4 million km2) is a major contributor to the regional economic development and is key to many globally relevant ecological processes.