Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in the Caribbean

This Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) webinar provided an overview of OECMs from Harry Jonas who is the co-chair of the IUCN WCPA specialist group on OECMs. He described what OECMs are, the origin of the definition, and what they mean for conservation. This was followed by international expert Imen Meliane, who is the IUCN WCPA Vice Chair for North Africa, Middle East and West Asia, who presented on the marine aspects of OECMs and gave an overview on the progress in identifying marine OECMs. We also heard from Colombian expert Clara L. Matallana Tobón, who is a member of the IUCN WCPA specialist group on OECMs, giving first-hand experience on how Colombia undertook the process of identifying OECMs in the country, and the lessons learned during this process. Fifty-five (55) participants from multiple countries across the Caribbean, North, Central and South America and Europe attended this session.