{"id":305314,"date":"2023-07-13T10:24:39","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T14:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=305314"},"modified":"2023-07-13T10:25:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T14:25:16","slug":"the-oecs-and-iucn-reaffirm-their-shared-commitment-to-environmental-sustainability-through-a-new-mou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/the-oecs-and-iucn-reaffirm-their-shared-commitment-to-environmental-sustainability-through-a-new-mou\/","title":{"rendered":"[Press Release] The OECS and IUCN reaffirm their shared commitment to Environmental Sustainability through a new MoU"},"content":{"rendered":"

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July 12, 2023\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 In the sidelines of the 10th OECS Council of Ministers Meeting on Environmental Sustainability, Mrs. \u00darsula Parrilla, Regional Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Mr. Didacus Jules (PhD), Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which defines strategic areas of cooperation between both organisations, towards joint integrated responses for sustainability, resilience and prosperity in OECS Member States.<\/p>\n

Created in 1948, IUCN is the world\u2019s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and 15,000 experts. Its mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. \u200b<\/p>\n

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an Inter-governmental Organisation dedicated to regional integration in the Eastern Caribbean and aiming at achieving a better quality of life for its people, by driving and supporting sustainable development through regional integration, collective action and development cooperation.<\/p>\n

Having engaged in substantial technical and scientific cooperation activities within the framework of a previous 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 4 February 2020 and recognizing the benefits that each may derive from their mutual collaboration, both parties reaffirm their shared commitment with the signature of a new MoU for the period 2023-2028. This agreement will allow the OECS and the IUCN to expand collaboration and guide the cooperation between both parties in different areas related to environmental sustainability, such as: regional environmental information systems; biodiversity and ecosystems conservation; plastic waste management and reduction; promotion of green, blue and circular economy approaches; protected areas management, amongst others.<\/p>\n

IUCN\u2019s presence in the Caribbean began to take shape as early as 2003. Currently, IUCN\u02bcs Caribbean membership comprises 18 member organisations, two of them (SOS Faune Savage in Guadeloupe and the Saint Lucia National Trust) in OECS Member States. The Caribbean is also represented in IUCN\u2019s Commissions by over 100 experts, over two thirds of which are supporting the World Commission on Protected Areas and the Species Survival Commission. Through both global initiatives with intervention in the Caribbean, as well as through national and regional projects coordinated by the IUCN Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC), IUCN currently manages a project portfolio of over USD 12.9 million in the Caribbean region.<\/p>\n

IUCN\u02bcs work in the Caribbean region is fully integrated within the framework of the Nature 2030 IUCN Programme, delivering concrete and tangible positive impacts to People, Land, Water, Oceans and Climate, while ensuring alignment with the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.<\/p>\n

Some examples of IUCN\u02bcs work in the Caribbean in recent years include:<\/p>\n