March 20, 2017 Country representatives from the wider Caribbean Region met in Cayenne, French Guiana from 15-17 March 2017 for the Seventeenth Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) of the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme and Fourteenth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the wider Caribbean Region (“Cartagena Convention”).
The Caribbean Environment Programme of UN Environment is one of the co-executing partners of the 5-year (2015-2020) UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project. The role of the CLME+ Project and the politically-endorsed CLME+ Strategic Action Programme (SAP) was evident when the 2017-2018 biennial work plans for the Sub-Programmes on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) and Assessment and Management of Environment Pollution (AMEP) were presented. Of particular importance is Decision IX of the Meeting which calls for further integration between the AMEP and SPAW Sub-Programme areas through:
- The completion of an AMEP/SPAW Roadmap
- The development of Regional Action and Investment Plans for Nutrients and Habitats
- The completion of the State of Convention Area (SOCAR) and State of Habitat Reports and their integration into the CLME+ “State of the Marine Environment and Associated Economies” Report (SOMEE Report)
- The implementation of sub-projects on Ecosystem Based Management under the CLME+ Project
The Meeting also acknowledged the need for further collaboration and integration between the inter-governmental organisations with a mandate for ocean governance in the CLME+ region.
All these activities are aligned with the CLME+ SAP and Project and show the commitment of the region in their support for the implementation of the CLME+ SAP actions.
