Caribbean & Central America - January 2022

Late last year Costa Rica and Panama joined Colombia and Ecuador in signing an agreement to discuss extending the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) to make an interconnected protected area.

Signed on 3 November at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, the agreement would result in a fishing-free corridor spanning over 500,000km² by joining together existing marine protected areas. It would cover a hugely important migratory route for species such as sharks and sea turtles between the islands of Coco in Costa Rica, in the north, to the Galápagos in Ecuador in the south, covering the Colombian islands of Malpelo and Coiba in Panama. The area is also home to 160 endemic and migratory endangered species. 

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) highlights that the Eastern Tropical Pacific is currently home to five Unesco Natural World Heritage sites: Cocos Island National Park (Costa Rica); the Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve (Ecuador); the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary and Gorgona National Natural Park (Colombia); and Coiba National Park (Panama). In recent years scientific studies have shown that this area constitutes one single ecosystem, according to the office of Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado. “We aren’t protecting any old ecosystem,” said Alvarado in a statement published 9 November. “It is one of the most valuable ecosystems in the world.” The statement also underlined how these migratory corridors provide services to both the ecosystem and the communities of the region. The plan will strengthen existing marine protection areas (MPAs) in each nation and start a process to extend the MPAs to make one large marine biosphere reserve.

Work on the initiative started in 2004, when the four countries created the CMAR in a joint declaration with the stated aim of protecting the islands. Authorities have worked together on the sustainable management of marine resources, which are threatened by illegal fishing, as well as conservation, responsible tourism and surveillance of protected areas. This latest deal marks the start of a new dialogue between the four nations, and the move is part of global efforts to protect 30% of the world’s oceans and terrestrial resources by 2030 under the so-called 30x30 initiative.

The move was hailed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which said it believes that the governments will be able to make the reserve a reality if they work “hand in hand” with communities and industries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. This includes those who target waters around both Coco and Coiba island in illegal fishing operations, and authorities in Costa Rica and Panama respectively will have to come up with creative solutions to this problem if they are to truly protect these ecosystems.

• Agreement to extend the CMAR

Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo hailed the agreement to extend the CMAR. “We have heard lots of speeches about climate change, lots of agreements, the majority of which are not met,” he said. “This is a powerful message, an action, and that’s what the country and the world needs.”