© Montebello Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Biodiversity is life-Biodiversity is our life

This Inter-Ministerial Meeting will embrace a workshop for experts from the English-speaking Caribbean region in order enable participants exchange their views and acquire skills to identify projects to relevant sectors, products and services by promoting the conservation of biological diversity and natural resources. The meeting aims to secure the engagement of Ministers in the creation of new sites as a contributing factor in addressing sustainable development as well as adaptation of climate change. The event would define the important role of UNESCO in providing technical and institutional support, overall strategic management of the project, following up the deliberations reached by Ministers at this conference and facilitating receipt of extra-budgetary funds to finance MAB projects at regional level, in close cooperation with the national authorities.
Caribbean faces unique challenges in coping with the climate change, sea-level rise, natural disasters, alleviation of poverty and sustainable development. The concept of Biosphere Reserve is an integrative tool that allows addressing these challenges. There is a great interest in this concept in the Caribbean, notably, in St. Kitts and Nevis, which has approved now the first Biosphere Reserve in English-speaking Region. This Inter-Ministerial and Experts Conference has the following objectives:
- To facilitate discussions on the identification of appropriate locations for new Biosphere Reserves as well as their integration with the local/national sustainable development and adaptation to climate change plans;
- To galvanize participants in discussing of the creation of an expert network for designations of new Biosphere Reserves in the English-speaking Caribbean.
- To identify specific initiatives that can be developed in the already existing Biosphere Reserves leading to the development and promotion of new products, services and employment.
- To secure the engagement of Ministers from the English-speaking Caribbean in the creation of new sites in this region.