On Friday, January 14, Panama’s Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes participated in the inauguration ceremony for the newly expanded Hermandad-Galapagos marine reserve in Ecuador. The expansion links marine reserves in Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia to form the largest marine corridor on the planet – an effort initiated by Panama and agreed to during COP26.
The expansion will help further preserve the biodiversity of the region and protect critical migration routes. Together, the countries’ reserves will guarantee the survival of 40% of global marine species.
“We welcome Ecuador’s rapid response to honor the ’30×30′ alliance that ensures transnational protection to this great marine corridor,” said Mouynes. “The amount of biodiversity that’s been protected is setting an example to the world and has generated great interest. It’s definitely a gift we have given our planet,” she added.
At the inauguration, Minister Mouynes congratulated Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso for his country’s achievement, calling it “an important step in the protection of our common ocean.” She also spoke with regional and global conservation leaders, including Colombian President Iván Duque and former American President Bill Clinton.
Under Minister Mouynes’ leadership, Panama has made conservation a key pillar of its climate diplomacy agenda. Developments like this one demonstrate the effectiveness of Panama’s leadership on environmental issues, which has led to tangible results in safeguarding the region’s natural beauty and biodiversity. In conservation, Panama has led not only by example – by becoming the first country to commit to and achieve conserving 30% of its territorial waters – but also by spurring regional action, most recently initiating efforts to add Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands to the conservation corridor.
Panama pursues bold climate diplomacy initiatives like Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor in recognition that no single country can clean up our oceans or halt climate change by itself. Common problems necessitate common solutions.
Panama applauds Ecuador for its commitments to international marine conservation and looks forward to continuing to foster collaboration in Latin America and on the world stage.
In Galapagos, Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes spoke with former United States President Bill Clinton about the initiatives Panama promotes in environmental matters and she invited him to Panama to learn about projects such as the National Oceans Policy, which are generating so much positive attention from the international community.