Caribbean Challenge Initiative StoryMap: Interactively tracking progress towards the 20-by-20 ocean protection goal

The Caribbean Basin is rich in marine resources and biodiversity. Marine habitats in the region are essential not only to livelihoods but also to coastal protection from flooding due to storms and climate change impacts. These resources, however, are being threatened by climate change, overfishing, pollution, and unsustainable development. Careful protection and management are needed to balance economic activities with long-term sustainability of ocean resources.

The Caribbean Challenge Initiative was launched with the goal that each Caribbean country protects 20% of its nearshore environment by 2020. Eleven countries have committed to this goal, which would effectively triple marine protected area coverage in the region.

The Nature Conservancy has committed to tracking progress of these countries towards this goal, which requires careful quality control of three main datasets: a protected areas database, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), and the nearshore environment. Review from local experts and stakeholders is critical to maintaining these datasets as well as ensuring understanding of the calculations and acceptance of the results.

The Caribbean Challenge Initiative StoryMap showcases these datasets and reports progress in a transparent and interactive way, ensuring quality control, stakeholder understanding, and commitment accountability. To date, five countries have exceeded the 20-by-20 goal.