The Trinational Initiative (3NI) is an effort to advance collaboration and conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean among the three countries that border the Gulf: Cuba, México, and the United States. 3NI began in 2007 with the goal of establishing a framework for ongoing joint scientific research to preserve and protect our surrounding and shared waters and marine habitats. Since its beginnings, 3NI has facilitated research and conservation collaboration mainly through its annual workshops. Today, 3NI has contributed to numerous trinational collaborations, including the Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Area Network (see video below).
Video by Shireen Rahimi
8TH TRINATIONAL INITIATIVE WORKSHOP A SUCCESS!
The 8th Trinational Initiative took place April 26-27 in Mérida, Yucatán, México. Over 80 participants from the U.S., México, and Cuba representing government agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions attended the workshop hosted by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and funded by JetBlue, The Ocean Foundation, Harte Research Institute, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, IWLearn (a GEF project), the Henry Foundation, and the Chistopher Reynolds Foundation. Participants discussed research priorities for the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean region and designed research and conservation projects that involve all three countries. Read the workshop summary here.
The Cuba Marine Research and Conservation (CubaMar) Program of The Ocean Foundation has been organizing and facilitating the Trinational Initiative Workshops since 2007.
To learn more about CubaMar, please visit us at carimar.org |