Latest content: Commonwealth Blue Charter

Newly-signed partnership will promote sustainable maritime transport through joint activities in selected countries.

Two Commonwealth member countries – Trinidad & Tobago and Antigua & Barbuda – are taking further steps to advance their transition to sustainable ‘blue’ economies, so that they can effectively tap into ocean resources and support long-term economic growth while also protecting marine and coastal ecosystems.

A new assessment finds Barbados’ southern and western coastal urban corridor vulnerable to extreme heat events and coastal erosion, and identifies investments and recommendations needed to protect coastal communities

New assessment says Kiribati vulnerable to coastal flooding and erosion and identifies investments and recommendations to protect coastal communities.

New assessment finds Sri Lanka vulnerable to extreme rising temperatures and coastal flooding, and identifies investments and recommendations needed to protect coastal communities 

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has called for a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to tackle the increasing threat of food insecurity across the world, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, the climate crisis, and political, social and economic inequalities.

Blog by Dainalyn Swaby, Ocean Youth Outreach Assistant

Guest blog by Paulina Gerstner, Program Director of the Allen Coral Atlas

A new method to swiftly assess the climate vulnerability of island and coastal communities has been successfully trialled in Barbados, Kiribati and Sri Lanka.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, made a powerful plea for ocean action today at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Antigua and Barbuda has announced its intention to join the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods, emphasising that the coastal forests are vital to mitigating and building resilience to the harmful impacts of climate change.

Today, at the Commonwealth Blue Charter Champions and Partners Strategy meeting at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced its support for the Commonwealth Blue Charter Project Incubator, a new effort to help governments develop and implement high-impact pilot projects to reduce threats to the ocean and improve community resilience.

A new initiative launched today in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, will support Commonwealth ocean states in cultivating and scaling-up projects that protect the marine environment while also tackling climate change.

In case you missed it:  

Small island nations are calling for strengthened global support for ocean and climate change action, just days before Commonwealth leaders convene in Kigali, Rwanda, to decide on the group’s priorities for the next two years.

Multiple stressors on the ocean, including overfishing, marine pollution and climate change, are threatening life under water as well as on land, but global efforts to protect the ocean are underway.

A new 3-minute video released on Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee takes viewers around the Commonwealth, and underscores the importance of cooperation to protect the ocean.

By Muhammed Badamasi and Idongesit Amba, Commonwealth Correspondents

The Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification (PPOA) is a four-year collaborative project between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme SPREP, the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the Pacific Community (SPC) with the goal of building resilience to ocean acidification in the Pacific Islands.

By Sushma R, Commonwealth Correspondent

By Chukwuebuka Nnabugwu, Commonwealth Correspondent

By Muhammed Badamasi and Chimaobi Omeye, Commonwealth Correspondents

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has called for the international community to prioritise funding for ocean action, to address challenges such as rapidly depleting fish stocks, dangerous levels of plastic pollution and disappearing coral reefs.