Discover the latest news and events from the Blue Charter
26 November 2019
Commonwealth countries are joining forces to improve how they protect the ocean, as part of the voluntary actions being rolled out under the ground-breaking Commonwealth Blue Charter. The Blue Charter is an agreement by all 53 member countries to actively cooperate to protect ocean health and promote good ocean governance, with nine action groups to…
08 November 2019
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland celebrated new in-roads made by Sri Lanka, chair of the Commonwealth’s Blue Charter Action Group on mangroves, by planting a mangrove plant in the country’s famous Koggala Lagoon. The area is home to 10 out of the 22 true mangrove species found in Sri Lanka, and the site of extensive mangrove restoration efforts involving local communities, businesses and the government. With about a quarter of the population living…
25 October 2019
The Commonwealth is working to establish a fund to help member countries take practical action on ocean sustainability. Ministers leading Commonwealth Blue Charter action groups met in Oslo with marine experts, investors and philanthropists to discuss the shape of the proposed fund. The meeting took place during the Our Ocean Conference, to build partnerships between government, industry, science and…
09 October 2019
Commonwealth countries are meeting this week in Negombo, Sri Lanka to decide on a work plan to help save the world’s mangroves. The plan includes joint actions, projects and funding strategies for the short and medium term. The activity is part of the work carried out under the Commonwealth Blue Charter – an agreement by…
27 September 2019
A 14-strong international panel working to accelerate action for ocean protection features seven Commonwealth member countries. Australia, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Ghana, Jamaica and Kenya all helped produce a report unveiled at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit which found that ocean-based climate action can play a much bigger role in shrinking the world’s carbon footprint…
Environment ministers from across the Commonwealth have jointly committed to work together to tackle the devastating impacts of climate change, build resilience and collaborate on ocean action. During a roundtable side event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, ministers with responsibility for the environment, oceans and climate change representing 26 countries across…
05 September 2019
New funding from the Government of Canada will help protect marine health and promote good ocean governance, aligned with the Commonwealth Blue Charter’s action group on ocean observation. The Commonwealth Blue Charter is an agreement made by the 53 member states to actively co-operate to solve ocean-related problems and achieve sustainable ocean development. As one of world’s largest maritime nations…
05 August 2019
The Commonwealth Secretary-General has emphasised the “immense urgency” of taking action to protect the world’s oceans. Patricia Scotland joined representatives from the Commonwealth, United Nations, governments and other international organisations at the first meeting of Oceans Ambassadors, hosted by the Government of Malta. Highlighting the “very pressing” issues of ocean health and sustainability, the Secretary-General…
The Commonwealth Blue Charter – Shared Values, Shared Ocean. A Commonwealth commitment to work together to protect and manage our ocean.
