The status of biodiversity and bioprospecting efforts in the Caribbean subregion

Introduction Biodiversity, as the name implies, is the term used to describe the differences that exist between and among the various species of organisms on the planet earth. Biodiversity can be measured on a worldwide basis, on a regional basis, on a national basis, as well as on a zonal basis. The interactions of these various species provide the basis for sustaining life, human life in particular. On that basis then, it is of utmost importance that the biodiversity of any area be preserved and this can only be done by a proper understanding of the organisms, their relative positions and in…

Videoconferencia: El panorama de los océanos, mares y los recursos marinos en America Latina y el Caribe

La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) lanzará un primer panorama sobre la implementación del ODS 14 en América Latina y el Caribe. Específicamente, buscará identificar el principales avances, desarrollos, cambios en los marcos legales e institucionales, incluyendo las brechas y barreras. / The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is launching a first regional outlook on SDG14 implementation in LAC. Specifically, it seeks to identify the main developments, advances, changes in legal and institutional frameworks, including gaps and barriers.…

Conceptualizing a circular economy in the Caribbean: perspectives and possibilities. Policy Brief

Although the notion of a circular economy (CE) has been conceived and debated for more than half a century (Henrysson and Nuur, 2021), it has gained considerable popularity in the lexicon of economists, ecologists and other development thinkers over the past two decades. The increasing evidence of the existential threat of human-induced climate change and the related imperatives of decarbonizing the global economy, have led to greater focus on strategies for a more sustainable use of the natural and environmental resource base.…

Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Director’s Desk: Limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees to stay alive - What does it mean for Caribbean SIDS?

As is well known, Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS) are vulnerable to recurrent multidimensional shocks. These have lasting social, economic, and environmental impacts; effects expected to become further aggravated in a world with a persistently warming climate. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbates these impacts.…

Caribbean in Brief: an information document for Caribbean Small Island Developing States

This brief is intended to provide general information on the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference on scaling up ocean actions based on science and innovation for the implementation of Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), with a view to stimulating more active, engaged participation of the Caribbean in the discussions. The United Nations Ocean Conference will be co-chaired by Kenya and Portugal, and hosted by the Government of Portugal in Lisbon, during 2021. The objective of this conference is consistent with the 2017 UN General Assembly proclamation on the Decade of Oce…

Caribbean SIDS Prepare for Johannesburg 2002 - The World Summit on Sustainable Development

Institutional report of the ECLAC subregional headquaters for the Caribbean on the support provided to Caribbean small island developing states for the implementation of the Mauritius strategy

This paper presents a review of the support provided by the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean to small island developing States in the Caribbean for the further implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action. This report forms part of the MSI+5 Review and addresses structural support through the establishment of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism and the Technical Advisory Committee, and the applied research conducted by ECLAC which is intended to lead to policy implementation.…

Limiting Temperature Rise - What Does It Mean for Caribbean SIDS?

The economics of biodiversity in climate change times: a renewed challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean - A conversation with Sir Partha Dasgupta

Sir Partha Dasgupta, leader of the project The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, (London: HM Treasury), 2021. To be republished by Cambridge University Press, 2022. This is a study similar to that of Sir Nicholas Stern, applied to the costing of biodiversity loss and options for its incorporation into economic accounting and for better targeting of investment and its real costs. Sir Dasgupta is a global eminence in biodiversity and economics, so it is a singular occasion, it is the first time he visits ECLAC, he had a prominent role in the IPBES initiative of the United Nations C…

Foro de Desarrollo Sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe: ejemplo de multilateralismo en acción

El Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible es ejemplo de multilateralismo en acción y de la capacidad de convenir voluntades, buscar acuerdos y alianzas, y avanzar en agendas comunes de cooperación, coincidieron hoy representantes de países de la región, de agencias de las Naciones Unidas y organismos regionales, multilaterales y de la sociedad civil presentes en la octava reunión de la plataforma, que finalizó este viernes 4 de abril en la sede principal de la CEPAL en Santiago de Chile. A cinco años de que se cumpla el plazo de la Agenda 2030, los…

SIDS 4: Now or never for small island survival

Sustainable bioenergy: a framework for decision makers

PrefacioEn nuestro primer documento, ONUEnergía se centró en El desafío de la Energía para Alcanzar los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio . Señalamos que los servicios energéticos disponibles no han logrado satisfacer las necesidades de los más pobres del mundo, con 2.400 millones de personas que recurren a la biomasa tradicional para sus necesidades energéticas, y 1.600 millones sin acceso alguno a la electricidad. Los compromisos básicos para la gente pobre no se pueden alcanzar sin un enfoque mucho más centrado hacia los servicios energéticos.Al mismo tiempo, se ha visto un fuerte au…