OECS advances Regional Biodiversity goals at meetings in Panama
THE ORGANISATION of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission participated in and supported OECS Member States at the recently concluded 27th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-27) under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), and the first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) (SB8J) in Panama.
These high-level global biodiversity meetings brought together governments, academia, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, representatives of women and youth, and other observers from around the world to advance implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and strengthen international cooperation to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
In a release, the Commission said the OECS delegation, led by Dr. Helena Jeffery Brown, Programme Director for the OECS Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services Unit, was supported by the EU-funded BioSPACE Programme. Their attendance was to support the OECS Member States in improving their participation at these UNCBD meetings.
The SBSTTA-27 meeting held Oct 20 – 24, 2025, was intended to advance scientific and technical advice to the implementation of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Discussions focussed around the process of planning, monitoring, reporting, and review of parties in their implementation of the GBF. Further to this, Parties focused on inter-linkages between biodiversity, climate change, and human well-being. Key topics included addressing invasive alien species under GBF Target 6, integrating biodiversity into agriculture, forestry, and ecosystem- based approaches for adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and incorporating the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to enhance evidence-based decision-making within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Throughout SBSTTA-27, the OECS Commission delegation worked alongside OECS Member States to advocate for regional priorities, along these lines.
Delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, and other SIDS shared insights on the importance of the meetings for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), highlighting the essential role of biodiversity in sustaining livelihoods, improving resilience, and conserving and restoring ecosystems.
The inaugural SB8J meeting held on Oct 27 30, 2025, marked a landmark moment under the UNCBD, establishing the first permanent UN body dedicated to traditional knowledge, rights, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
Several OECS Member States participated along with the delegation from the OECS Commission, emphasising the significance of this new subsidiary body for the Eastern Caribbean, home to the Indigenous Kalinago people and communities whose traditional practices form the foundation of cultural and ecological resilience.
Comments
