30 August 2011: The 14th issue of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) News Update features articles about the forthcoming climate change talks in Durban, South Africa, deforestation in Brazil, and a World Bank/Global Environment Facility (GEF) investment to protect marine ecosystems in the eastern Caribbean.

On the climate change talks to be held in Durban, the Update notes that South Africa Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has expressed doubts that the negotiations would produce a strong agreement to halt global warming. The Update also highlights that: deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon increased by 15 percent during the past 12 months; and the CCCCC and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have strengthened their partnership to assist Caribbean countries in developing climate change adaptation strategies by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalize this collaboration.

The Update also notes that the World Bank and Global Environment Facility are financing the protection of marine ecosystems in eastern Caribbean, one of the top five global biodiversity hot spots in the world. Finally, it notes that the Caribbean and Pacific Regions are working to reduce disasters through a South-South collaboration involving the use of the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy. [Publication: CCCCC News Update Issue 14]