Alberto Pacheco Capella, head of the Regional Sea Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, said that the region, known for its extraordinary beauty, vibrant cultures and ecological wealth, is facing unprecedented environmental pressures.

Capella argued that human activity is pushing ecosystems that sustain life to unsustainable levels. “Coastal development, untreated wastewater, marine litter, unsustainable fishing practices are degrading coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass,” Capella said.

He revealed, while speaking at the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the Cartagena Convention on Monday, that every year tens of thousands of tons of plastics enter the oceans, suffocating marine life, damaging tourism and undermining food security and the very essence of people’s livelihoods. “We are witnessing the exposure of the region’s vulnerability in terms of sea level rise, ocean acidification and coral bleaching events. Droughts and saltwater incursion threaten our freshwater supplies, while coastal erosion imperils communities and economies across islands and coasts.”

Capella also stated that the region is facing a growing biodiversity crisis. “The Caribbean hosts 10 per cent of the world’s coral reefs, and yet more than half have already been degraded. Mangroves, seagrass meadows vital for carbon sequestration and coastal protection, are extremely under threat.”

The loss of these ecosystems, he said, erodes the very foundation for resilience in countries’ cultural identity in the Caribbean region. “These three interconnected crises of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are undermining the social and economic fabric of our region, jeopardising the well-being of our people and our shared future. And we are seeing very specific consequences of this conversion in the sargassum blooming that is being experienced in this region,” Capella added.

However, he underscored that, fortunately, Caribbean states have the tools to change the course of these environmental crises. “For more than four decades, the Cartagena Convention and its three protocols on oil spills, land resources of pollution and specially protected areas and wildlife have provided a clear roadmap for action and shared vision of a clean, healthy, productive and resilient Caribbean sea. But our vision is not enough.

“Our task now is to bridge the gap between the commitment and action to ensure that the convention and its protocols are fully integrated into national frameworks, enforced effectively and supported through strong institutions,” he continued.

This Capella said requires robust laws, cooperation among authorities and accelerated efforts to expand and manage marine protected areas, advancing the goal of conserving 30 per cent of marine and coastal ecosystems by 2030.

“The Cartagena Convention plays a critical role in linking the global frameworks like the BBNJ Agreement with national and regional initiatives. Together, we can form a seamless system to protect the Caribbean Sea from ridge to reef to high seas.”

However, he noted that a critical enabler of success is the long-term financial sustainability of the Convention. “We sincerely appreciate the contracting parties that have made their contributions to the Caribbean Trust Fund this year…but without predictable, adequate, funded secretariat, the realities of the Convention cannot deliver on its mandate, support the implementation at the national level, or sustain the technical and institutional continuity that the region depends so deeply.

“This conference, therefore, presents an opportunity to reaffirm our collective commitment to ensure that the secretariat has the stable and diversified resources it needs to fulfil the vital coordinating and catalytic role that it has played over the years,” he added.