Sustainable development

Towards a Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity - A Synthesis Document

CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett on Monday 5 September delivered the Second Distinguished Owen Arthur Memorial Lecture in Bridgetown, Barbados. The lecture was delivered under the theme ‘The Future of CARICOM; Charting a Vision for the Region’s Economic Advancement’.

It was organised by the the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Shridath Ramphal Centre, and the Caribbean Development Bank.

Please read the lecture below:

Honourable Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, and Chair of the COTED – Environment, Mr. Shawn Edward

Honourable Ministers of Environment and Sustainable Development

Representatives of CARICOM Member States

Representatives of the OECS Commission

Representatives of Associate and Community Institutions

Special Invited Guests

CARICOM Secretariat Colleagues

Port of Spain - 23 March 2021_ The Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) joins in the global celebration of World Meteorological Day 2021, which is devoted to the theme, “The Ocean, Our Climate and Weather”.

This year's theme honours the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre announces the publication of the Caribbean Climate-Fragility Risk Brief. The Brief describes the climate of the Caribbean, provides examples of major extreme events that have affected the region and details how climate change may exacerbate future events. The impacts of climate change on the major economic sectors are described and how these could impact society, economies, governance, migration and citizen security. The paper concludes with suggestions of how governments and society could address these risks.

Several Caribbean Community Member States showcased their ambitions to further address climate change at a CARICOM Moment of Ambition event held on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, on Friday 11 December 2020.

Member States representatives presented highlights of their enhanced National Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the event hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) in partnership with the UK Government.

In an effort to strengthen the response of Caribbean countries to address the environmental concerns they face and enhance their capacities to fully engage in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) implementation, the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Cartagena Convention, along with the Food and Agriculture Organization  of the United Nations (FAO) are jointly implementing a 5-year programme (2020-2024) funded by the European Union.

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has initiated a regional fact-finding study to document the record-breaking influx of Sargassum seaweed in the Caribbean Sea in 2018, and the impacts this phenomenon has been having on countries in the region since 2011.

The fact-finding survey is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that has coordinated official development assistance from Japan to CARICOM States for over two decades.