Just over a week after the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC) wrapped up its 26th annual Congress in St. Lucia on October 9, some RedLAC members attended the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 – November 1 to connect the outcomes of the Congress to implementing the 30×30 target at COP16.
Themed 30x30x30: The Path to 2030, discussions and events at the 2024 RedLAC Congress focused on building regional networks to contribute to the global biodiversity goal of protecting 30 percent of the earth’s biodiversity by 2030.
During the closing week of COP16, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) organized a side event on October 31 which featured five Environmental Ministers from the Caribbean and one Environmental Minister from Africa.
The event focused on the value of the region meeting the 30×30 goal, the role of cross-sector collaboration to make it possible and ways that the region can tailor strategies to its own realities to make the 30×30 goal more feasible.
Describing the event, CEO of the CBF, Karen McDonald Gayle, said it was important to get decision-makers in the same space with conservation funds to chart the way forward.
McDonald Gayle added, ” A lot of the right people were in the room to hear the discussion. The ministers listened to each other and it was a collaborative interaction.”
At another COP event, representatives from the Caribbean, Seychelles, Micronesia, and Global Island Partnership, discussed the need for conservation trust funds to work with our governments and ensure support for each country’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and sustainable development targets.
“The conservation trust funds are doing a lot. But in small island developing states, they’re even more important because the governments are not usually able to totally fund conservation projects. We really want to emphasize the role that conservation trust funds can play in pushing forward [national conservation efforts] in small island developing states such as the Caribbean region.”
During COP16, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) also launched a publication which detailed the value of conservation trust funds in ensuring that national development goals and targets are achieved globally.
Advocating for Oceans at COP16
Technical Officer of the CBF’s EMPAC Project, Fabian Kyne, said protecting 30 percent of the ocean is an important target for the CBF and was one of the key priorities for the delegation at COP16.
Since 2023, the CBF has been working in partnership with the Blue Nature Alliance Fund to enhance Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean.
The make progress on this goal, the partnership is focusing on three key components; strengthening political will to conserve nature, developing a dedicated MPA financing facility and building the capacity of communities to support MPAs.
“There’s a number of key considerations that we need to think about in terms of cooperation and collaboration with existing partners.
“It’s important to ensure that there are resources on the ground for those to be able to implement 30×30 both at the local level through site-based management of MPAs, and at the country and regional levels.”
Supporting Youth Participation in 30×30 Implementation
In an effort to support youth participation in the decision-making spaces shaping the 30×30 goal and its implementation, the CBF provided sponsorship for Maria Helena (Dominican Republic) and Shemere Lawes (Jamaica) to attend the Caribbean COP16 Preparatory Workshop in Miami in September and COP16.
McDonald Gayle noted that the CBF strategically recruited Lawes to deliver the welcoming address at the CBF on October 31.
She said it’s only the beginning of the CBF’s support of young people in these spaces as it’s important for the next generation of conservationists to not only be effectively engaged in the decision-making process but also have their voices heard.
She explained, “It was very important for us to have one of the youth representatives speaking first. Anything that’s happening 2030 or beyond is somewhat with me, only because we’re so close to 2030.
“But it’s much more beyond me and beyond any of us that are now working, it really is about the next generation. You would have heard any reference to 2030 extends on to 2050. So it really is the next generation that has to know what’s happening.”
What’s next after the RedLAC Congress and COP16?
Program Manager for the CBF’s Conservation Finance Program, Tanja Lieuw, said the CBF will now be focused on harmonizing regional efforts.
Lieuw explained, “Everyone is doing a lot of work, so I think what is important post-COP is finding a way to bring it together and coordinate, especially in the Caribbean.
“It is really important that everyone understands their role at a national level and how these efforts contribute to a vision as a network, as a region, as a Caribbean. Then each player also has to strategize the best way to grow and find that niche within the space of NGOs, academia, and government.”
As the CBF ticks the RedLAC Congress and COP16 off its priority list, Gayle said the organization will also be represented at the 2024 United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan and is looking forward to the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Paris.
“We do have a climate change and circular economy component to our work. So there’s a meeting (at COP29) in Baku of the INC, which is a group that’s working on the plastics treaty.
“We again want to make sure that we are listening, learning and seeing how we can make it relevant to the Caribbean region. And when we go to the UN Oceans Conference next year, what we hope to have there is a 30×30 statement that we’ll be putting together from a Caribbean perspective that has been endorsed by regional environment ministers.”
