Caribbean

Activities and Achievements

As agreed in a Letter of Intent between the OECS and the GIZ, the cooperation aims at:

  • Creating awareness on issues of ABS at the level of governments and stakeholders in OECS Member States;
  • Developing regional guidance on ABS policies and contracts; and
  • Supporting OECS Member States in setting up effective and efficient national ASS frameworks within broader biodiversity management strategies, both regional and national.

Development of a regional ABS guidelines action plan

  • Recommendations on policy options and guidelines for implementing the Nagoya Protocol, fostering marine and terrestrial research and development with Caribbean biological resources in-country and abroad, and ensuring non-monetary and monetary benefit-sharing
  • Common (harmonized) templates providing elements and options for ABS permits and ABS contracts (for further development and adoption in the Member States)
  • Common prototype for a single-window IT-based online ASS application, permitting and monitoring system (for further development and adoption in the Member States)

National implementation of the regional ABS framework I Guidelines I Action Plan

  • Development of templates for ABS permits and ABS contracts for national adaptation
  • ABS contract training
  • Implementation of the single-window IT-based online ABS application, permitting and monitoring system
  • Supporting indigenous peoples and local communities in effective participation in ABS decision making and negotiation processes
  • Negotiation of ABS contracts

More about national ABS frameworks and other elements needed for successful ABS implementation here.

  • 2015: Study on clauses in ABS permits and ABS contracts of CARICOM Member States
  • Regional training on ABS contract negotiations, co-hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat and the Government of Suriname with participants from 13 CARICOM Member States
  • 2015 - 2018: Member of the Steering Committee of the regional UNEP GEF ABS project “Advancing the Nagoya Protocol in countries of the Caribbean Region” executed by IUCN
  • 2016: Supporting the Bahamas Environment, Science & Technology (BEST) Commission in setting up a national UNEP GEF ABS Project
  • 2019: Supporting the Bahamas Environment, Science & Technology (BEST) Commission in convening the inception workshop of the national UNEP GEF ABS Project
  • 2020: Regional workshop for OECS Member States on finalization of ABS Guidelines and discussion on a regional IT-based system for ABS applications, permitting and monitoring was cancelled due to Corona and replaced by virtual national workshops, preparing for a face-to-face meeting in early 2021

Major achievements

  • Supporting the activities of the regional ABS UNEP GEF project
  • Supporting the setup and launch of the ABS UNEP GEF project of The Bahamas