At an official side gathering of the 2026 Our Ocean Conference, Caribbean ocean governance crossed a major threshold, as Jamaica formalized its membership in the regional Ocean Coordination Mechanism (OCM) through a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Barbados. The agreement was signed by Jamaica’s Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, the Hon. Mathew Samuda, on behalf of the Jamaican government, while H.E. William Alexander McDonald, Barbados’ High Commissioner to Kenya, signed for the Barbadian government, per a joint official statement released after the ceremony.
The historic signing ceremony was co-hosted by the Government of Jamaica, the OCM, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), and a wide coalition of regional and international partners focused on ocean sustainability. Organizers of the event frame the accession as a transformative leap forward for cross-border cooperation focused on advancing a regenerative, inclusive blue economy across the entire Wider Caribbean region.
The OCM was established specifically to confront longstanding systemic challenges facing the Caribbean’s shared marine environments. The region’s ocean ecosystems are inherently interconnected, spanning national boundaries and tying communities together through overlapping environmental, economic and cultural ties to the sea. For decades, however, fragmented national governance frameworks, accelerating marine environmental degradation, and the intensifying impacts of anthropogenic climate change have held back sustainable development efforts, limiting the ability of local communities to access and benefit from marine resources equitably.
By design, the OCM addresses these gaps by strengthening aligned coordination between national governments, intergovernmental bodies, and the full spectrum of ocean-focused stakeholders, from non-profit conservation groups to local fishing cooperatives. Through enhanced cross-sector collaboration and streamlined institutional efficiency, the mechanism works to tackle pressing marine threats while unlocking the full range of social, economic and ecological benefits that healthy, productive oceans provide to regional populations.
In an era of growing global conversation around ocean stewardship, the OCM has positioned the Wider Caribbean as a global leader in regional ocean governance. International attention has increasingly centered on the urgent need for stronger cross-organization coordination for marine resource management and ocean protection, and the OCM provides a uniquely tailored framework for regional cooperation that addresses the specific needs of Caribbean nations. This structure is particularly critical at a time of shifting overseas development assistance patterns and disjointed ocean action across national and regional levels, offering a centralized strategic platform to amplify the impact of existing resources and align action across the region.
Addressing attendees at the signing ceremony, Minister Samuda underscored Jamaica’s longstanding commitment to collaborative ocean stewardship, explaining the country’s decision to join the mechanism. “Jamaica has recognized the OCM as an important regional coordinating mechanism on ocean-related matters, it is for this reason we have decided to become a member of the OCM. Jamaica looks forward to a constructive partnership with the OCM in advancing the global, regional and national ocean agenda,” Samuda said.
Already, the OCM has advanced multiple high-priority initiatives to advance regional ocean health. Key ongoing projects include the development of a comprehensive regional Ocean Action Programme, the launch of a regular public reporting series on the “State of the Marine Environment and Associated Economies,” and targeted capacity-building efforts to strengthen climate-resilient ocean-based economies across the region.
These efforts carry disproportionate importance for the Caribbean’s Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which rely almost entirely on healthy marine ecosystems and sustainable ocean industries for livelihoods, food security and economic growth, while bearing the brunt of climate change impacts including sea level rise, ocean acidification and more intense tropical storms.
Looking ahead, regional stakeholders expect Jamaica’s accession to the OCM to deepen collective collaboration across the Caribbean, strengthening unified action on ocean governance, marine conservation, and inclusive sustainable economic development for all nations in the region.