Minister for the Americas, Carib-bean and Overseas Territories, David Rutley, who is representing the UK at the 46th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting is to announce £190,000 of UK funding to help regional countries manage their seas sustainably.
A release yesterday from the UK High Commission here said that the funding will be used to create a unified action plan that will allow Caribbean countries to benefit economically from their ocean resources in an environmentally friendly manner.
Rutley said: “The UK and CARICOM members are building on our modern partnership and we are committed to working together to protect our natural environment.
“Our new funding will help CARICOM states create and implement plans to conserve their unique marine environments for future generations while also helping to boost their economies.
“This is part of our wider partnership, which supports regional security, deepening trade and building resilient economies. Our collaboration will continue ahead of the UN’s Small Island Developing States summit in May.”
The release said that the new UK funding comes ahead of the UN’s Small Island Developing States (SIDS) summit in May, where the international community will meet to discuss the impact of climate change on SIDS. The UK will also provide additional funding to CARICOM to help the organisation launch an action plan at the summit on the sustainable use of natural resources.
The release stated that the UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the Caribbean, an area of the world particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and has provided £400 million for development programmes in the region since 2016. These include £26 million for a climate-resilient highway in Belize, as well as almost £20 million to help Eastern Caribbean countries build renewable energy capacity..
The UK is already leading marine conservation efforts in the Caribbean, with three Overseas Territories (Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands and Anguilla) members of its flagship Blue Belt programme. Established in 2016 and covering 10 overseas territories, Blue Belt is the largest marine conservation network in the world – covering 1% of the planet’s oceans from the Southern to the Pacific.
