Panama unveils the creation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor

Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador unveiled on Tuesday the creation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, a biosphere reserve between the Coco Islands, Malpelo, Coiba, and Galápagos, which is set to become one of the largest protected marine areas in the world. The announcement made during COP26 is aimed at achieving the global “30×30” goal, which targets protecting at least 30% of the global land and marine area by 2030. In June 2021, Panama became one of the few countries to reach this target, when the country announced on World Ocean Day the expansion of the Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area (MPA).

Panama supports the principle of co-responsibility which stresses that all members of the international community have an obligation to cooperate towards a common and sustained effort to ensure global environmental protection, and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

During Tuesday’s announcement, Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador acknowledged the need to join together and increase the size of their protected waters. The four countries will define a common framework to protect and manage a marine and biosphere reserve encompassing the Cocos, Galapagos, Malpelo, and Coiba islands, as well as the migratory routes that make up the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor. The initiative will include national measures, in their respective territories, which will be complemented by regional efforts. A dialogue mechanism will be instituted between the signatory states to achieve these goals, thus supporting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).