“Act now and act together to protect our ocean,” says Commonwealth Secretary-General

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has urged Caribbean countries to work together to protect the ocean and build a sustainable blue economy.

Scotland who was speaking at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) says the hallmark of the Commonwealth is “our unique combination of shared interests, practical advantages, common values and the willingness to tackle the problems of the world together.  We all share, rely on and have a common responsibility for the ocean – and because the challenges of the ocean cannot be solved by any single country – multilateral action is essential”

She said through initiatives like the Commonwealth Blue Charter, “we can help individual countries to make tangible progress with the right assistance, and we can aggregate and scale up our achievements when we work together.”

Hosted by the government of Canada in Vancouver from 3-9 of February, IMPAC5 is a global forum that brings together top ocean conservation professionals and global decision-makers to act on marine protected areas.

The meeting comes just six weeks after the Convention on Biological Diversity, where achieving 30% marine protection by 2030 (30 by 30) was endorsed as a new target.

The Commonwealth Blue Charter is an agreement by all 56 Commonwealth countries to actively cooperate to address ocean-related challenges and meet commitments for sustainable ocean action.

The recently launched Commonwealth Blue Charter Project Incubator supports the development of governments’ projects under the Commonwealth Blue Charter and helps them to accelerate their transition to fair, sustainable and inclusive marine conservation and maritime development, while mitigating and adapting to climate change.