For many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, access to natural resources continues to play a critical role in shaping their sustainable economic and social development. Twenty-five of the world’s 39 SIDS are members of the Commonwealth and these countries’ concerns are central to the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work.

The Commonwealth Secretariat provides guidance on policy making, technical support and advisory services to its SIDS member countries on request, in the form of support for the development of maritime areas legislation, preparing and conducting maritime boundary delimitation negotiations, and preparing and making extended continental shelf submissions to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Over the past five years, the Commonwealth Secretariat and CARIS have partnered to provide technical support for maritime boundary delimitation utilizing CARIS LOTS Limits and Boundaries software. CARIS' Dan Morash was recently in Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to train maritime department personnel, as well as officials engaged in maritime boundaries work from Saint Lucia, on the use of CARIS LOTS Limits and Boundaries.

The software will be utilized by these agencies in the coming months to assist in the drawing of baselines and other aspects for use in future maritime boundary negotiations. It is expected that this exercise, which was very well received, will strengthen the technical capacity of these countries and enable more effective and sustainable ocean governance and management in order to more fully realize the potential benefits of the ocean economy.

The Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Maritime Administration received training on CARIS LOTS Limits and Boundaries by CARIS LOTS specialist Dan Morash.