CANCUN, Mexico (CMC) – Caribbean countries were among more than 190 countries that have pledged to support efforts to integrate biodiversity into the policies of their forests, fisheries, tourism and agriculture sectors.

The pledge was made at a conference now underway in Mexico with the United Nations indicating that the countries adopted the Cancun Declaration, named after the Mexican city where the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known as “COP13”.

“The Declaration represents an unprecedented recognition from the international community that biodiversity protection must involve different governmental and economic sectors and not just environment ministries,” the UN said.

“The Cancun Declaration and the powerful commitments made here at the High Level Segment send a strong signal that countries are ready to achieve the Aichi Targets,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, executive secretary of the CBD, referring to the 20 biodiversity targets that Parties to the CBD are meant to achieve by 2020.

During the meeting, the UN said countries participated in roundtables discussing how the fisheries, tourism, forestry and agricultural sectors can take biodiversity into account and how they can contribute to its protection and conservation.

“For the first time, through the efforts of all parties, we are really speaking meaningfully to one another about the real value of biodiversity to tourism, to agriculture, to forestry, to fisheries – to the very lifeblood of our economies,” said Erik Solheim, the executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition to the Cancun Declaration, the UN said various countries announced their own commitments to accelerate action to meet the Targets’ deadline in less than four years.

The UN biodiversity conference continues until December 17.