30% of Barbados seas to be protected under innovative “blue bond” financing scheme
The Nature Conservancy announced it will work with partners to buy a piece of Barbados’ national debt and refinance it to facilitate this goal.
Caribbean
Barbados’ High Court strikes down laws criminalizing sodomy
Barbados becomes the third Caribbean nation this year to repeal such laws used to criminalize gay men.
Cuba approves same-sex marriage in historic turnabout
Cubans approved a measure to legalize same-sex marriage, part of a new family code that’s among the most progressive in Latin America, defying a long tradition of machismo on the island.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court strikes down ban on buggery
The Offenses Against the Person Act, imported from England, criminalized “unnatural offenses” and carried a maximum penalty of 10 years with hard labor.
Caribbean court strikes down gay ban in Antigua & Barbuda
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court found that Antigua and Barbuda’s 1995 Sexual Offenses Act “offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex.”
Haiti hikes minimum wage by up to 54% following worker protests
The office of Prime Minister Henry posted a sliding scale of wage hikes that vary by industry, with the greatest increase going to workers in areas such as the electricity and telecommunications.
Cuba bolsters conservation efforts with new 271 square mile Marine Protected Area
The MPA will protect mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs, and boost the nation’s overall marine protected coverage to 28.5% of its marine continental shelf.
AXIS Capital becomes first North American insurer to commit to phase out coal business
AXIS Capital announced new measures restricting insurance and investments in coal, tar sands oil, and Arctic oil and gas, as part of the company’s efforts to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Barbados elects first ever president ahead of becoming republic
The government announced the plan to move to a republic status last year. It said “the time [had] come” for Barbados to “fully leave our colonial past behind”.
Cuba is the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child HIV and syphilis transmission
The country’s efforts include prenatal care, HIV and syphilis testing for pregnant women and their partners, treatment for women who test positive and their babies, cesarean deliveries and breastfeeding substitution.