Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Ministerial representatives and senior environmental authorities from Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, together with international organizations and strategic partners, participated this Wednesday in the Ministerial Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC), held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santo Domingo.
The meeting constituted a high-level forum to review progress, strengthen alliances, and define joint priorities in biodiversity conservation, ecological connectivity, and climate change adaptation in the Caribbean.
The event featured opening remarks by Ms. Andrea Brusco, Regional Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and welcoming words from the Vice Minister of Protected Areas and Biodiversity of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Carlos Augusto Batista, who emphasized the importance of regional cooperation to protect the Caribbean’s shared ecosystems.
During the session, progress on strategic initiatives promoted within the CBC framework was presented, including the EcoAdap project, aimed at strengthening climate resilience through Ecosystem-based Adaptation; the Resilient Caribbean Communities project: Ecosystem-based adaptation and forest restoration in vulnerable rural communities of the CBC among Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic; and the CBC OCEAN 2030 project, focused on sustainable management of marine ecosystems.
Priority topics such as Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (30×30) and its implementation in the Caribbean marine space were also addressed, as well as new cooperation opportunities with organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Korea National Park Service, through climate monitoring projects based on information and communication technologies.
One of the main outcomes of the Ministerial Committee was the approval of the CBC 30×30 Plus Marine Action Plan, a subregional framework aimed at strengthening the CBC’s contribution to the implementation of Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in the marine realm, through a functional area-based conservation network composed of marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM), under criteria of ecological representativeness, connectivity, effective management, inclusive governance, and sustainability.
With this decision, the Ministerial Committee instructed the CBC Secretariat to develop the corresponding actions to initiate implementation of the Plan, with annual reporting to the CBC Scientific-Technical Committee; it also endorsed the mandate for countries, as CBC members individually, collectively, or as a bloc, to promote the search for financing for its implementation in the region; and directed the necessary steps to present the Plan at the 2026 Biodiversity and Climate Change COPs, as well as at other relevant international forums.
The approved Plan responds to the strategic importance of the Greater Antilles marine realm for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and island economies, and seeks to advance toward the protection and restoration of at least 30% of priority coastal and marine ecosystems and key habitats of the CBC by 2035, under criteria of connectivity, effective management, equity, and sustainability.
Another significant outcome of the Committee was the approval of guidelines for updating the CBC’s financial strategy and the mandate to the Secretariat to initiate the corresponding process, with the purpose of strengthening the institutional sustainability of the initiative and expanding its resource mobilization capacity for future regional actions.
Representatives of member countries reaffirmed their support for the Caribbean Biological Corridor as a regional platform for environmental cooperation and emphasized the need to continue promoting joint solutions to common challenges such as biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and the growing impacts of climate change.
The session concluded with remarks from the Embassy of Norway and closing words from UNEP, reiterating the value of the CBC as a regional integration mechanism to advance toward a more resilient, sustainable, and connected Caribbean.
About the CBC
The Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) is a cooperation initiative among insular Caribbean countries aimed at promoting ecological connectivity, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development through joint actions among governments, communities, and strategic partners.
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