Introduction

Countries of the Wider Caribbean have committed to principled ocean governance through several multilateral environmental and fisheries agreements at both the regional (e.g., the Cartagena Convention SPAW Protocol) and international level (e.g., the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing). They have also committed to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) targets for fisheries and biodiversity conservation. However, the ongoing challenge is to put in place the measures required to give effect to these principles at the local, national and regional levels (Fanning et al. 2009). While not minimising the important role of science in an ecosystem approach to managing the living marine resources of the Wider Caribbean Region, the chapters in this book serve to highlight the importance that regional experts have placed on the role of governance to address the problems in the region.

This synthesis chapter presents the outputs of a discussion specifically relating to the role of governance in achieving and implementing a shared vision for ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the Wider Caribbean, using the process described in Chapter 1. In terms of structure, the chapter first describes a vision for governance and reports on the priorities assigned to the identified vision elements. It then discusses how the vision might be achieved by taking into account assisting factors (those that facilitate achievement) and resisting factors (those that inhibit achievement). The chapter concludes with guidance on the strategic direction needed to implement the vision, identifying specific actions to be undertaken for each of the vision elements.

The Vision

The occupational breakdown of members of the Governance Working Group reflected the diversity of affiliations present at the EBM Symposium and included governmental, intergovernmental, academic, non-governmental and private sector (fishers and fishing industry and consulting) representatives. With guidance provided by the facilitator, this diverse grouping of participants was asked to first address the question: “What do you see in place in 10 years’ time when EBM/EAF has become a reality in the Caribbean?”. This diversity provided for a fruitful and comprehensive visioning process, the results of which are summarised in Table 25.1, in terms of the key vision elements and their subcomponents, and in Figure 25.1, which illustrates the level of priority assigned to each of the vision elements.