The CEP was initiated in 1976 by the United Nations Environment Programme with the assistance of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at the request of the Governments of the Wider Caribbean Region. A framework for regional projects and activities was first formulated in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 6-8, April, 1981, when the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme was adopted by the First Intergovernmental Meeting.

The programme objectives embraced by the Caribbean Action Plan, include the following:

• Assistance to all countries of the region, recognising the special situation of the smaller islands
• Co-ordination of international assistance activities
• Strengthening existing national and subregional institutions
• Technical co-operation in the use of the region's human, financial and natural resources

The Action Plan for the CEP contains several interdependent components to promote regional cooperation. Assessment activities identify the problems that need priority attention in the region. Regional agreements are negotiated to strengthen cooperation among States in addressing the identified problems in a given region. They also provide an important tool for national policy makers to implement national control activities. Management activities, aimed at controlling existing environmental problemsand preventing the development of new ones, are one of the means by which States fulfil their treaty obligations.  Coordinated assessment activities then continue to assist Governments by providing scientific information by which to judge whether the legal agreements and management policies are effective.