On Monday, June 26, 2023, representatives from the Government of Barbados, various regional national conservation trusts, local and regional development partners, regional GEF SGP UNDP National Coordinators, as well as grantee partners will meet for high-level discussions on biodiversity.
This meeting is just one part of a two day “Caribbean Biodiversity and Financing Conference & Knowledge Fair” hosted by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) in association with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. The opening ceremony will be held on Monday June 26, 2023, at the Hilton Barbados Resort, Needham’s Point, St. Michael at 9:00 am and will feature addresses by Sir Trevor Carmichael, President of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society; Adrian Forde, Minister of Environment & National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy; Ms. Limya Eltayeb, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme – Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean; and Ms. Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.
Over the two days, the Conference will facilitate high-level discussions on biodiversity financing, debt for nature swaps, and trends in marine conservation in the Caribbean. On June 26, a knowledge fair will be running concurrently to showcase environmental and climate change projects from local and regional partners in the areas of biodiversity conservation and marine management. Students from public primary and secondary schools will be engaged on environmental issues via digital screenings of biodiversity projects, access to value-added products derived from biodiversity projects and knowledge sharing through featured exhibits by the GEF SGP in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, civil societies organisations and other partners.
On June 27, the discussion on debt for nature swaps continues, focusing on the technical implementation of this innovative finance mechanism with experiences from both Barbados and Belize conservation trust funds. Furthermore, a dedicated session on marine protected area conservation initiatives in the region and another session on sargassum will also be included.
Persons wishing to virtually attend the conference may do so by registering via the following link:
Monday, June 26, 2023: http://tiny.cc/bioconference
Tuesday, June 27, 2023: http://tiny.cc/bioconference2
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