Wise use of Caribbean wetlands for climate change mitigation and conservation of their ecosystem services
Land use changes in the Caribbean have led to ecosystem degradation as well as the loss of biological diversity and ecosystem services. This is also true of the Caribbean wetlands, which urgently require effective policies for sustainable use and management. The project is therefore carrying out vulnerability assessments for selected Ramsar Sites and providing regional governments with the additional know-how they need to avoid negative changes to their wetlands. The results of these assessments as well as the implementation of integrated coastal zone management and maritime spatial planning will lead to improvements in legislation and regulation. Planning and management tools will also be integrated to improve the management of Caribbean wetlands. The assessments of vulnerability to climate change provide examples than can also be applied to other Ramsar Sites. The same applies to the implementation of integrated coastal zone management, monitoring and other insights.
- Countries
- Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname
- IKI funding
- 3,706,090.00 €
- Duration
- 03/2020 till 07/2026
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) - Switzerland
- Political Partner
-
- Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development - St Lucia
- Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment - Antigua and Barbuda
- Ministry of Climate Resilience, The Environment, Forestry, Fisheries & Disaster Management - Grenada
- Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources - Dominican Republic
- Ministry of Land and Forestry Management - Suriname
- Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) - Cuba
- Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management - Belize
- Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change - Jamaica
- National Environmental and Planning Agency - Jamaica
State of implementation/results
- A regional workshop on Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Marine Spatial Planning took place in Havana, Cuba, 2-10 July 2023, with a high-level dialogue on the relevance of wetlands and the Ramsar Convention for other multilateral frameworks organised on 3 July 2024.
- Country capacity development plans and a road map for country interventions were created to boost the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Maritime Spatial Planning by national governments of the participating countries, led by the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. The plans address five areas (Ecosystem assessment, wetland monitoring, wetland management planning, policy and regulation, and awareness raising) and will guide regional courses as well as field-level training.
- The programme for the course on "Climate change and wetland ecosystem services" (led by IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in collaboration with Charles Sturt University) has been developed and will soon start.
- A risk assessment approach has been developed to prioritise management actions in response to pressures. This approach will support climate vulnerability assessments of wetlands and rapid biodiversity assessments and will assist in making decisions about suitable monitoring responses.
Latest Update:
04/2024
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