22 April 2015: In April, the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region worked to advance coastal, marine and sustainable fisheries management through a forum convened by the Blue Solutions Initiative and the launch of the Caribbean Billfish Project by the Common Oceans Program, a Global Environment Facility-funded (GEF) initiative coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

Over 100 participants convened in Cancun, Mexico, and discussed “blue solutions” to coastal and marine challenges, including marine spatial planning, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and sustainable finance at the Regional Forum on Solutions for Oceans, Coasts and Human Well-Being. The workshop used a “solutioning” approach in which keynote speakers provided brief, concrete descriptions of building blocks that had contributed to coastal and marine management success stories. Participants then discussed how to use and adapt these building blocks to solve new and emerging challenges.

“While all the stories were different, common approaches and building blocks could be spotted quickly and the innovative ones readily stood out,” explained Téa García-Huidobro, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Mexico, Central America and Caribbean. She reflected that this “solutioning” approach helped facilitate the sharing of lessons learned and understanding of how others were tackling similar challenges. The solutions and building blocks discussed at the workshop will be incorporated into an exchange platform.

The Mexican Government, its Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT) and Protected Area agency (CONANP) supported the Forum, which was organized in collaboration with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI).

Also in April, the Common Oceans Program officially launched its Caribbean Billfish Project, which aims to support sustainable management and conservation of billfish within the Western Central Atlantic ocean. It has four components: generating value and conservation outcomes through innovative management; strengthening regional billfish management and conservation planning; a functional and responsive Consortium on Billfish Management and Conservation; and business plans developed for pilot investments in sustainable management and conservation of billfish. The billfish fishery includes both commercial and recreational fishers that contribute to the Caribbean’s economies, livelihoods and food security. It is threatened by overfishing and by-catch from tuna long-line fisheries, according to the project. [IUCN Press Release] [Blue Solutions Website] [Common Oceans Billfish Project]