Twinning Exchange Report - Caribbean and Micronesia

Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (BE-CLME+) Project.
The “BE-CLME+”: Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus Project seeks to promote blue economy development in the CLME+ through marine spatial planning and strengthening of marine protected areas (MPAs), ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), and sustainable seafood value chains. The CRFM, an inter-governmental CARICOM agency, is the executing agency for the 4-year BE-CLME+ project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which endorsed the Project in November 2022 and provided a US$6.2 million grant for the project.
The participating countries are Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Panama, and Saint Lucia, while the partner organizations are the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), CRFM, the University of the West Indies Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (UWI-CERMES), University of Florida Sea Grant, which has committed co-financing of approximately US$41.7 million. The CRFM is the executing agency, while FAO and CAF are the GEF co-implementing agencies. These partners will support the governments of the participating countries in implementing the project interventions, from which benefits will be spread across the region. The project’s budget includes US$25 million in co-financing from CAF, for lines of credit through national financial institutions to support the development of fisheries value chains.