Photo: Geisel García Graña
A regional consultation meeting has been held this September to consolidate the regional ocean governance framework in the Wider Caribbean. This meeting takes place in the context of the consultancy project “Options for a Permanent Policy Coordination Mechanism and a Sustainable Financing Plan for Ocean Governance in the CLME+ Region”.
The CLME+ Project Coordination Unit and GlobalCAD have held this space of debate in Cartagena, Colombia, with representatives from more than 20 Governments and 10 Intergovernmental Organizations.
The GlobalCAD team presented potential options for improved regional coordination and for more sustainable financing, which were jointly analysed and prioritised by participants. The meeting concluded with a set of joint recommendations on the way forward of the consultancy.
The CLME+ region encompasses the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) and the North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NBSLME). It lies on a vast marine area of 4.4 million km2, consisting of over 35 Independent States and Territories. It is a region of unique cultural and historical value, a consequence of its pre-colonial and colonial history, and of the indigenous, African, Asian and European roots of its current population. The vast expanse of the marine environment in the CLME+ supports a multitude of globally important economic activities and ecological processes.
The marine resources of the region underpin the socio-economic development of the bordering states and territories, yet these shared resources are seriously threatened by pressures such as overfishing, pollution, habitat degradation, and climate change. Effectively addressing these issues is constrained by weaknesses in transboundary and cross-sectoral governance arrangements, among other challenges.
Under the current UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project, Governments and Inter-Governmental Organisations have come together to address degradation of the marine environment and to secure the region’s natural marine living resource base through the implementation of a 10-year Strategic Action Programme. This Programme calls for the establishment of a sustainable, region-wide Permanent Policy Coordination Mechanism for ocean governance, with an initial focus on shared living marine resources.
