Joachim Schmillen 
This week (14.12.2020) the UNESCO published on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) the second edition of the “Global Ocean Science Report 2020–Charting Capacity for Ocean Sustainability.” The report is a helpful resource for policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders seeking to assess progress towards the Sustainable Development … Read more
The Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF) calls for proposals to stimulate projects within Caribbean-based, blue economy companies/actors to enhance their economies of scale and scope in the delivery of products and services, and collectively increase competitiveness, revenues, employment, and export within the COVID scenario. The CCPF will support cluster projects with up to a maximum … Read more
“The world is waiting for a vaccine! There is no vaccine coming for climate change!” With this urgent appeal, the World Bank handed over a Law Enforcement Vessel to the Jamaican National Fisheries Authority (NAF) to take better and more decisive action against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) on its territories including the Exclusive … Read more
The World Economic Forum and its Digital Platform for Crowdsourcing are asking for a second Ocean Solutions Sprint. Dateline is October 31, 2020. Take Action. UpLink is an effort to accelerate the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is an open platform designed to engage anyone who wants to offer a contribution … Read more
As for many other problems that we have to deal with, it is also true for the handling of the Sargassum Seaweed that we have to collect enough data to develop a promising strategy that acknowledges different aspects. We know from studies of Chuanmin Hu at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and his … Read more
The idea of Blue finance There was great expectations, excitement and hope in 2018 that “Blue bonds” could save the World’s Oceans in funding a range of climate adaptations. This optimism was based on the Republic of Seychelles. They launched in October 2018 the first sovereign blue bond. The idea is exciting: blue financing, especially … Read more
The world is facing a huge waste problem. Researchers have simulated how much plastic will be produced in the coming decades and how it will be discarded. The forecast is grim. Plastic waste is omnipresent: it can be found in oceans, rivers, and lakes worldwide. Tiny particles can also be found in people and animals. … Read more
What is Sargassum is? Where is it coming from? Today I was invited by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to attend the 2nd Webinar about Sargassum in the Caribbean and West Africa. In this online meeting with up to three hundred experts worldwide, we discussed topics like: What is Sargassum? Where is it coming … Read more
Since the coronavirus keeps tourists at home, countries in the Caribbean region have to expect an economic decline in tourism. A new report (Extreme Outlier: The Pandemic’s Unprecedented Shock to Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean) by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 estimates that some of the most tourism-dependent economies … Read more
Since 2012/13, we have been battling seaweed named Sargassum in the Caribbean. While Sargassum is a normal part of ocean life, and an important habitat, the warmer waters produced by climate change allow it to proliferate at an explosive rate. Appearing in such vast quantities, Sargassum quickly turns dangerous. Aggregations of Sargassum can block the … Read more