Following two major developments in climate and conservation policy at the end of 2022 – the Loss and Damage (L&D) resolution at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the 30×30 target at the UN Biodiversity Conference ( CBD COP15) — The Caribbean finds itself well positioned to benefit from domestic, regional and global commitments to sustainable development.
Local action on international politics
The reason that L&D was such a monumental development is that it provides a financial mechanism where nations affected by climate change can receive financial support to rebuild and improve the resilience of their communities – ensuring that at-risk groups have the ability to rebuild after disasters. It is an important step towards equity in dealing with climate impacts.
Within a month of the landmark L&D agreement last November, diplomats met at another key international conference to discuss the next steps in protecting global biodiversity. At the top of the agenda was the 30×30 target, which aimed to protect 30% of the planet’s natural areas by 2030.
Considering that only 15% of the land and 8% of the oceans are currently protected, the 30×30 target has easily become one of the most ambitious.
As described in an op-ed by Grenadian diplomat Simon Stiell – now Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – and Jamaican minister Matthew Samuda, conservation has a major impact on the Caribbean’s long-term environmental goals:
This target will protect almost a third of our planet’s oceans and lands, including the biodiversity and critical ecosystem services they provide. More urgently, it will deliver a third of the climate mitigation needed by 2030 to ensure our planetary survival… Our Caribbean nations are only as strong as the environment they rely on… The 30×30 goal allows our nations inject much-needed resilience into our country. natural ecosystems to ensure that our people, cultures and economies have a fighting chance to respond to climate change.
While the 30×30 goal reflects larger ambitions on a global scale, the Caribbean has already taken some steps towards leading this effort through its own successful standalone 20×20 goal.
Supported by a series of projects in 26 Caribbean countries, the region is determined to maximize its environment and natural resources by building resilience and protecting biodiversity.
Leadership in marine conservation
“Our island states are biodiversity hotspots with high levels of endemism. Approximately half of the animal extinctions recorded in the last 400 years were island species,” said Nneka Nicolas, Legal Consultant with the Antigua & Barbuda delegation at CBD COP15.
“It is scientifically known that the biodiversity of [small island developing states is] especially vulnerable,” she says. “Our relatively small size makes us particularly vulnerable to the effects of biodiversity loss caused by accelerated climate change, invasive alien species, land degradation, pollution and overexploitation.”
Effective conservation is a must for island states, and the Caribbean has made progress protecting various parts of its ecosystems – especially marine environments.
From sustainable fishing projects in the Eastern Caribbean to the development of innovative reef restoration modules in Antigua and Barbuda, and the pushback against deep-sea mining in Jamaica, the Caribbean community has successfully moved to protect their vast territory. economic exclusive. And there are many other possibilities.
Experts at the World Bank see a lot of potential in the region’s ability to protect marine ecosystems and their biodiversity and maximize their benefits for the region to become an economic powerhouse.
Local experts agree, including Waitt Institute Blue Economy Director Dr Angus Friday and International Finance Corporation Chief Operations Officer Dr Pepukaye Bardouille, who hail from Grenada and Dominica respectively.
The blue economy alone is expected to be worth over $3 trillion globally by 2030, and the development of relevant conservation projects will protect future generations.
With L&D support, Caribbean nations have the opportunity to invest in their infrastructure and develop sustainable solutions.
The future of the great oceanic states
“The sea that surrounds and connects us has the potential to catapult us into an entirely new trajectory of development,” noted Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves in 2020.
“[Eastern Caribbean] territories are approximately 90-99% ocean,” he continued. “We may be small island developing states, but we are also large ocean developing states. We are much bigger than we think we are. To ignore the landscape our vast marine and its immense potential, is a developmental misuse.”
Gonsalves’ declaration set the stage for major ongoing developments within the Caribbean. Through entities like the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States or strong diplomats like Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, the region has built a future for the Caribbean based on conservation and building resilience.
Ocean-based economic structures offer one of the best opportunities to secure the future, especially those that are able to integrate tourism. But these innovations require adequate funding.
While the 30×30 target will also consist of financial considerations, the Caribbean has already discovered its own solution through blue bond groups such as those created by Belize and Barbados, as well as ongoing public-private partnerships.
The region has consistently proven to be ahead of the maritime policy curve as well as developing local solutions to global problems. In 2023, there is every chance that Caribbean leadership will take center stage.
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