The Ocean Action 2030 Coalition is composed of leading institutions that provide technical and financial assistance to develop and implement Sustainable Ocean Plans, with the objective of having all coastal countries develop a jurisprudence by 2030 that ensures the preservation of marine ecosystems and enhances the blue economy.

According to the Ocean Panel’s ‘100% Sustainable Ocean Management: An Introduction to Sustainable Ocean Plans’ guide, which is the basis for the Coalition’s work, there are nine attributes for an ocean plan to become sustainable:

1. Developed collectively, in such a way that all relevant interests are heard and addressed from the beginning
2. Integrating, in coordination between government agencies and ocean sectors
3. Iterative: working for today and anticipating tomorrow’s changes
4. Localized: covering all marine and coastal areas within national waters
5. Ecosystem-based: recognizes interactions within ecosystems and with people
6. Knowledge-based: backed by science, including local and indigenous knowledge
7. Politically supported by national governments at the highest level
8. Sufficiently fundedin the long term
9. With sufficient training to ensure implementation

“CAF is developing a climate action agenda with which we intend to lead the fight against climate change and advance the development of a blue economy in Latin America and the Caribbean that help improve the living conditions of the millions of Latin Americans who rely on the ocean. In this connection, our adhesion to the Ocean Action 2030 Coalition is key to ensuring that the work of all stakeholders participating in the blue economy is guided by sustainability criteria,” said Alicia Montalvo, CAF’s Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity Manager

CAF’s commitment to ocean preservation

Over the next five years, CAF will allocate USD 25 billion to finance green projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, and its green financing will increase from 26% in 2020 to 40% in 2026. Furthermore, all its operations will be aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the post-2020 biodiversity framework.

The amount allocated to preserve oceans will total USD 1.25 billion, and go towards designing and implementing projects and programs that advance the blue economy, with emphasis on the restoration of marine and coastal environments, blue carbon, renewable marine energy, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, integrated coastal management, nature-based solutions, payment for ecosystem services, ecotourism and improved management of marine protected areas, among others.

One of the first projects to be funded is the agreement for the protection of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR), a region shared by Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama that generates USD 3 billion annually derived mainly from fishing, tourism and maritime transport. CAF will disburse USD 1 million for joint strategies to be implemented with the participation of the governments of the four countries, civil society, international cooperation organizations and NGOs.

Currently, oceans face serious sustainability problems, mostly caused and accelerated by climate change, including increasingly acidic and warmer waters, rising sea levels and overexploitation of marine stocks. In Latin America and the Caribbean, marine ecosystems show a reduction in the abundance, density and coverage of coral and fish stocks and marine fauna, as well as changes in plankton and loss of wetland ecosystems.