A four-day workshop on financing biodiversity in the Region being held by the CARICOM Secretariat at theCity View Hotel in Antigua and Barbuda ended on Thursday.

The CARICOM Secretariat has partnered with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean to deliver the workshop.

Presentations were conducted by representatives of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, the World Resources Institute, the Nature Conservancy, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute and environmental economist Jean-Louis Weber, a noted international expert in ecosystems accounting.

Case studies from a number of countries including The Bahamas, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago were presented where discussions ensued on how each country can learn from these experiences to enhance their own financing mechanisms. Participants also had the opportunity to work in groups and come up with hypothetical financing situations and plan their approach and execution.

The group also went on a field trip where they got to observe protected mangrove areas and see the renowned Sting Ray City and the Great Bird Island which is one of many offshore islands associated with Antigua and Barbuda.

The CARICOM Secretariat’s engagement in this partnership is part of a wider project for capacity-building related to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.  The project is funded by the European Union, and coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme.