Report of the Expert Consultation on the Operationalisation of the Caribbean Sea Commission

The Expert Consultation on Operationalisation of the Caribbean Sea Commission: Building a science-policy interface for ocean governance in the Wider Caribbean, was held at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados July 7-9, 2010.

It was funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland and was organised by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) of University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus on behalf of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

The ACS and partners have been pursuing the Caribbean Sea Initiative since 1998 through the UNGA Resolution (63-214). Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generations‘ at the UN General Assembly. In the process, the CSC was established in 2008 to promote and oversee the sustainable use of the Caribbean Sea.The CSC is envisaged as having the following characteristics:

• It would make best use of the full range of information and expertise available in the region by creating an effective network;
• It would allow for two-way communication and information flow: upwards from information sources through an advisory mechanism to policy makers and back down for feedback and queries;
• Its processes would be regular and transparent.