Courtesy Visit of Mr. Christopher Corbin, Acting Coordinator, Cartagena Convention Secreteriat, UNEP

21st JULY, 2022

Mr. Christopher Corbin, Acting Coordinator, Officer in Charge - Pollution and Communications Programmes of the Ecosystems Division of the Cartagena Convention Secretariat, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) paid a courtesy visit to the Association of Caribbean States Secretariat on July 21 2022 to meet the ACS Staff. Mr. Corbin met with the staff of the Directorate for Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea (DECS) discuss areas of joint interest and collaboration between UNEP and the ACS.

The Director for Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea, Ana Leticia Ramirez Cuevas provided Mr. Corbin with an overview of her directorate’s environmental projects and initiatives, including the Caribbean Climate Mobility Initiative and Sandy Shorelines Project. Mr. Corbin shared several of UNEP’s initiatives and discussed UNEP’s various partnerships in the Latin American and Caribbean region. 

The Directorate staff used the opportunity to seek guidance from Mr. Corbin’s intimate knowledge of emerging issues in the region on the work being done by the ACS in Disaster Risk Reduction and through the Caribbean Sea Commission.  Several common focal points were discussed including the shared challenge of ocean governance, sargassum seaweed and which are key priority areas of the Caribbean Sea Commission. Mr. Corbin emphasised the importance of bridging the gap between regional technical knowledge and tangible actions as he shared his valuable experiences and lessons from working in several capacities within UNEP. 

The ACS looks forward to a close working relationship with UNEP as we cooperate for the benefit of the Greater Caribbean region.

About the ACS

The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curacao, (France on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin ), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten, (The Netherlands on behalf of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius ), Turks and Caicos.