The Regional Coordinator of the UNDP/GEF/UNOPS PROCARIBE+ Project and Director of the Secretariat of the Wider Caribbean Ocean Coordination Mechanism (OCM), Mr. Patrick Debels, participated as a panelist in the Session: “Connecting Experiences: Lessons Learned and Opportunities from the Implementation of GEF projects”, during the Third International Forum on Blue Economy and Growth organized by IMIPAS and celebrated in Cancun, Mexico last week. 

The occasion lend itself for PROCARIBE+ to also organize a side meeting with the “Gulf of Mexico LME”, “Pacifico Sostenible” and “IW:LEARN” GEF projects as well as with colleagues from the Cartagena Convention Secretariat (UNEP) and IOCARIBE (UNESCO), to for joint preparatory talks on the planning of the First “Partnership Forum on a Regional Marine Data and Information Infrastructure”, to be held in October this year in connection with the 78th GCFI Conference, in Cartagena, Colombia.

Additionally, an informal exchange of ideas between Mr. Debels  and Mrs. Cynthia Barzuna, Secretariat of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (World Resources Institute) on the newly created Wider Caribbean Ocean Coordination Mechanism (OCM), provided highly valuable insights and suggestions on the way forward for the OCM.

The Forum  took place at Anáhuac University in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico, from August 20 to 23, 2025. It counted with the participation of regional, national and international experts, practitioners and authorities.