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OurPlanetThe magazine of the United Nations Environment ProgrammeSpecial
Issue
caribbean enVirOnMenTPrOGraMMe
Lo b
Needed: Full Support
Jog e. illMuch Achieved; Much to be Done
K L. ektA Voice for the Turtles
b Pt
Collision Causes Cooperation
Slvo boThe Road Travelled
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Evey yea ove 14 million touistsaive on cuise ships attacted bythe coal eefs, coasts, beathtaking
beaches, and wondeful people of thewide Caibbean. Thei aival is causefo both celebation and concen.
Touism, sensitively and sustainablymanaged, can be a welcome souce offoeign exchange, helping to ovecomepovety and povide livelihoods andemployment oppotunities. But, badlymanaged, it can supplant cultuesand communities and damage themangoves, eefs and othe ecosystems
upon which local people and touismitself depend.Like many low-lying coastal aeas andsmall island developing states, the nationsof the Caibbean face many challenges.Some ae common woldwide: like theimpacts of climate change, inceasinglevels of solid waste and sewage and theimpact of invasive alien species.
But some theats, like pollutionfom ships, ae deemed geate in theCaibbean than elsewhee. A 3,000passenge cuise ship, it is estimated,geneates 400 to 1,200 cubic metes
of watey wastes each day includingdainage fom dishwashes, laundy andshowes and 70 lites of hazadouswastes, including photo pocessingchemicals, paints, solvents, pintecartridges, and dry cleaning uid. It alsopoduces an estimated 50 tonnes of solidwaste a week. Cuise ships, it is thought,account fo almost a quate of the900,000 tonnes dumped in the woldsoceans each yea.
Then there is intense oil tanker trafcin the Sea. Ninety pe cent of the enegyused in the egion is deived fom cude,
and it contains many oil poducing andexpoting nations including Colombia,Mexico, Tinidad and Tobago, the UnitedStates of Ameica, and Venezuela.
Global and egional conventions many unde the aegis of the United
www.ouplne.com
2 Eioil3 Neee:fullsuppo LeonieBarnaby,MinistryofLocal GovernmentandEnvironment, Jamaica.
5 flghipohese VeerleVandeweerd,RegionalSeas Programme,UNEP
6 Muchachiee;Muchobedone JorgeIllueca,Secretariatofthe UnitedNationsForumonForests inNewYork
8 avoicefohetule KarenL.Eckert,WiderCaribbean SeaTurtleConservationNetwork
10 ColliionCueCoopeion BrianPeter,InternationalMaritime Organization(IMO)andRAC REMPEITC-Carib
11 deelopingsoluion AntonioVillasolNez,CIMAB
13 toherecue AmoyLumKongandHazelMcShine,
InstituteofMarineAffairs,Trinidad andTobago
14 socilConeion MauriceAnselme,RegionalActivity CentrefortheSPAW
16 therotelle SalvanoBriceo,UNInternational StrategyforDisasterReduction
OurPlne, the magazine of theUnited Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP)PO Box 30552 Naiobi, KenyaTel: (254 20)621 234
Fax: (254 20)623 927e-mail: [email protected]
ISSN 101-7394
Director of Publication: Eic FaltEditor: Geoffey LeanCoordinators: Naomi Poulton, ElisabethWaechteSpecial Contributor: Nick NuttallCirculation Manager: Manyahleshal KebedeDesign: Shaon BowenProduction: UNEP/DCPIFront cover: John Cancalosi/Still Pictues
The contents of this magazine do not neces-sarily reect the views or policies of UNEP orthe editors, nor are they an ofcial record. Thedesignations employed and the pesentation donot imply the expessions, opinion whatsoeveon the pat of UNEP concening the legal status
of any county, teitoy o city o its authoity,concening the delimitation of its fonties oboundaies.
UNEP promotes environmentally friendly practicesglobally and in its own activities.This magazine isprinted on 100% recycled, chlorine free paper.
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fomheeko
achiM STeinerUnited Nations Under SecretaryGeneral and Executive Director,UNEP
UNEP
Nations International MaritimeOganization equie ship opeatosto behave in envionmentally fiendlyways. But signicant volumes ofhydocabons and othe substances
ae still being dischaged. Suveysindicate that coastal sediments inplaces like Jamaicas Kingston Habouand Cubas Havana Bay ae suffeinglightly chonic oil pollution. And highconcentations of ta balls fom oilspills and dischages have been foundon beaches fom Cuba and Cuacao toTinidad and Tobago.
Much has been done undeageements like the UNEP-bokeedConvention fo the Potectionand Development of the MaineEnvionment of the Wide Caibbean
region (Catagena Convention). Butclealy moe is needed, including bettepovision of pot-based waste eceptionfacilities, and stepping up complianceand enfocement of shipping teaties.
Shipping is just one of the challengesand oppotunities facing countiesin the Caibbean, bought into shapfocus by ecent UNEP publications: theCaibbean Envionment Outlook, theGlobal Envionment Outlook fo LatinAmeica and the Caibbean and twoegional epots unde the unique GlobalEnvionment Facility-funded GlobalInternational Waters Assessment.
These cedit Caibbean countiesfo good pogess towads achievingthe intenationally ageed MillenniumDevelopment Goals by 2015, especiallyconcening education, health cae anddinking wate. But they add that thesegains could be lost if envionmentaldegadation continues to hameconomies.
The regions countries are ndingsolutions to many of the challenges theyface. UNEP can help though the BaliStategic Plan fo Technology Suppotand Capacity Building, and I urge
govenments to put fowad pojects andpoposals unde this new scheme. Butthe intenational community must takeesponsibility fo othe ones, includingdeveloping a fai and equitable tadeegime, and combating climate change,pobably the geatest theat of all toCaibbean counties.
An estimated 70 pe cent of theegions people live in low-lyingaeas vulneable to ising sea levelsand exteme weathe. They must besuppoted to adapt, but thee is a limit tohow much they can do befoe they ae
ovewhelmed by the waves, o a welteof hurricanes. Industrialized nationsmust meet thei commitments unde theKyoto Protocol as a rst step towardsthe even deepe cuts needed to stabilizethe atmosphee
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When many of thegovernments of theWider Caribbean region
adopted the Action Plan ofthe Caribbean EnvironmentProgramme (CEP) 25 years ago
and later became Parties to theCartagena Convention in 1983 they committed themselves toimplementing a wide range ofprojects and activities to addressthe environmental problems ofthe regions marine and coastalareas.
The Government of Jamaicahas had a particularly closerelationship with the CEP and
the Convention. It is proud ofthe Programmes achievementsover marine pollution, wildlifeand protected areas, education,training and awareness, and
information systems for themanagement of marine andcoastal areas.
There is now no question asto the importance accorded tothe Sea. Indeed, countries in the
region have sought United Nationsrecognition of the concept of theCaribbean Sea as an area ofspecial importance in the contextof sustainable development.
Ciiclelemen
However, our reections on thepast twenty-ve years will showthat the CEP has had to adapt
to varying levels of support andcommitment. The report of the10th Intergovernmental Meetingof the Parties to the CartagenaConvention in 2002 noted some
critical elements in the role ofmember Governments. It saidthey should:1. be active partners indeveloping and implementingthe Programme participatingthroughout the year, not just atmeetings.2. continue to sharpen CEPactivities to focus on the highestpriority areas within the scope ofits mandate, and to look towardnational implementation ofthe Convention and Protocols,while not overextending theProgramme.3. recognize global environ-mental developments andinitiatives in which ourgovernments are actively
involved, such as the WSSD andSIDS processes, and ensurethat appropriate linkages areestablished with CEP, throughboth our national and regionalagendas, and under theframework of the new Strategyfor CEP.4. address the nancial situationof the Caribbean Trust Funddecisively and responsibly as the
sustainability of the Programmeis at stake without the regularcontributions to cover thebasic costs of operations andmanagement.
LeOnie barnabystresses the importance of support fromGovernments in implementing the Caribbean EnvironmentProgramme and calls for more
n:full support
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It noted that a fully operational CEP must have thefull political, programmatic and nancial supportof Member Governments so that it can full itsobligations with them. The CEPs strategy of 2004
also addressed the need to enhance its sustainabilityand effectiveness through: Increasing member state / country ownership; continuing to promote and facilitate translatingthe Cartagena Convention and its protocols intoeffective implementation through ratication andcomplementary national legislation; engaging and involving civil society and theprivate sector; building institutional capacities of relevantnational ofcial agencies of the parties and otherstakeholders; ensuring viable sustainable nancialarrangements; and developing indicators and assessment/evaluationprocedures where appropriate.We must take these exhortations into account as welook at CEPs future.
Within the next 25 years, countries should meetsuch global targets, as the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, the goals of the programmes of work of theConvention on Biological Diversity, the JohannesburgPlan of Implementation, and the Mauritius
Strategy for the further implementation, of the
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Barbados Programme of Action for the SustainableDevelopment of Small Island Developing States. Theeffects of climate change will be more evident bythen and the need for planning and adaptation even
more critical.The CEP is vibrant and responding to the needs of
countries, through the several regional initiatives ithas recently launched. The fullest participation of allthe regions countries in the Cartagena Conventionand its protocols would enhance the Action Planseffectiveness
The Regional Coordinating Unit of the ActionPlan of the Caribbean Environment Programme hasworked commendably. At the national level we mustacknowledge the Action Plans achievements andsee that our requirements are taken into account.
The Governments of the region have a vestedinterest in successfully implementing thiscomprehensive regional programme which theythemselves created in collaboration with UNEP.CEPs effectiveness, its clear value to the people ofthe Caribbean and its continued contribution to oursustainable development require that all partnersplay their part
LeonieBarnabyisSeniorDirectoroftheEnvironmental
ManagementDivisionoftheMinistryofLocalGovernment
andEnvironment,Jamaica.
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the Caibbean Envionment Pogamme (CEP) is
one of UNEPs agship Regional Seas Programme
(RSP). It provides an excellent example of how
counties who shae a sea togethe with ove 40 patneoganizations both in the egion and woldwide - can join
to addess common envionmental challenges.
Like many othe rSPs, the CEP initially eceived much
suppot fom UNEP, but is now an independent, stong
and vibrant entity. From its ofces hosted in Kingston,
Jamaica, the CEP coves 28 membe states and thei
dependent teitoies, speaking thee languages (English,
Spanish and French). It has jurisdiction for the marine
envionment of the wolds second lagest sea coveing
some 2,648,000 km2, bodeed both by continent and
by small island states, and uniting people of diffeent
cultues and eligious and political pesuasions. The
Wide Caibbean region mainly made up of counties
whose economies heavily depend on tourism and sheries
has an active huicane season, is subject to devastating
eathquakes and volcanic activity, and pone to landslides
and ooding.
The CEP has had to cope with many challenges
including changes in the development agenda, the state
of the coastal and maine envionment, the intenationalpolicy framework, scientic knowledge and socio-
economic ealities and tends. The same is tue in
many othe regional Seas and so, 30 yeas afte its
inception in 1974, the global regional Seas Pogamme
coodinated by UNEP with the paticipation of the
Chais o epesentatives of the Confeence of Paties
and Intergovernmental Bodies of the various Regional
Seas Conventions and Action Plans (rSCAPs) endosed
a set of stategic diections fo 2004-2007, aimed
at stengthening the rSP at the global level, while
continuing to implement the wok pogammes of theindividual rSPs (http://www.unep.og/egionalseas/
About/Stategy/).
CEP woks acoss linguistic and political divides,
encouaging key govenmental and civil society patnes
to join in setting up egional policies and ageements.
Though eceiving contibutions fom membe counties
emains challenging, it has managed to attact consideable
institutional support and project nancing from the
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA),
the Global Envionment Facility, the United Nations
Foundation, and such membe govenments as Fanceand the United States of America, including USAID. It
shaed its expeience on stengthening domestic esouce
mobilization and on the value of patneships, paticulaly
fo capacity building, at the last global meeting of the
rSCAPs in Octobe 2005 in Helsinki, Finland.
The CEP will seek to enhance its pogammatic
stategic options by (a) woking with othe regional
Seas Pogammes; (b) integating national and egional
socio-economic development plans, including coastal
and maine components, into a pogamme stategy;
(c) woking to impove and include global and egionalmonitoing and suveillance plans and pogammes;
(d) inceasing the integation of wok pogammes and
agendas fo ad hoc and othe goups and intenational
initiatives; and (e) woking both extenally and intenally
to impove coodination mechanisms within and between
sub-pogammes.
Afte 25 yeas of sevice to the egions peoples, the
CEP has emained tue to its coe mission, and povides
an excellent example of a famewok fo egional
coopeation
VeerleVandeweerd is the Head of the Regional Seas
Programme(RSP) and theCoordinatorof theGlobal
ProgrammeofActionfortheProtectionoftheMarine
EnvironmentfromLand-basedActivities(GPA).
Flagship
fo t SsVeerLe Vandeweerddescribes howenvironmental needs can best be addressedby partnerships and integrated planning
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the regional Seas Pogamme,initiated ove 30 yeas ago,
is one of UNEPs cowning
achievements. Thee ae now a
total of 18 individual egional
pogammes 13 of them with
thei own conventions coveing
most of the wolds coastal aeas
and involving ove 150 counties.
Fouteen of them wee developed
with UNEPs suppot, but all 18
egulaly attend global meetings thatit convenes.
The individual pogammes
which began with establishing the
Mediteanean Action Plan in 1975
ae building blocks suppotingthe constitution of the oceans,
the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea. Unlike
othe multilateal envionmental
ageements, they often followed a
dual tack appoach of simultaneously
negotiating and adopting both
a famewok convention and
an action plan. This allowed
paticipating states immediately to
stat addessing pioity poblemsthough the action plan, even befoe
the convention enteed into foce.
Unlike them, too, the pogammes
ae coss-sectoal, intedisciplinay
and equie coodinated national
implementation by divese goven-
mental institutions.
Two egional seas pogammes
wee launched in Latin Ameica andthe Caibbean in 1981 the Caibbean
Envionment Pogamme (CEP) and
the South-East Pacic Action Plan
and Lima Convention.
Leningexpeience
As Executive Secetay of Panamas
National Commission on the
Environment at the time, I found that
in many ways, CEP became a school
fo us on integated envionmentalmanagement. The ealy 1980s wee
a fomative peiod in this aea fo
most counties in the egion. Few
had established envionmental
ministries. I remember well how
UNEP, though CEP, povided
us with leaning expeiences that
helped foge ou envionmental
institutions and pogammes.
regional seas pogammes made
us look at envionmental poblemsin an integated and holistic way by
addessing the links between such
divese issues as oil spills, maine
emegencies, land-based souces
of pollution, maine and coastal
biodiversity, sheries, watershed
management, coastal development,
and touism and eceation.
Globlgeemen
The Caibbean EnvionmentPogamme has been one of the
developing wolds most successful
egional seas pogamme: twenty-
fou of its 28 membe nations
ae developing ones. While the
nancial contributions of the four
developed county membes have
been substantial, seveal developing
county paties have also made
signicant contributions.
An impotant pat of UNEPsmandate is to pomote coodination
and collaboation among multi-
lateal envionmental ageements.
This is much easie said than done,
MuchAchieved
M to doJOrGe e. iLLuecasurveys the last 25 years of the CaribbeanEnvironment Programme and looks to the future
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HideyukiIhashi/UNEP/StillPictures
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but the egional seas pogammes
have been paticulaly open and
disposed towads collaboation.
Because of thei coss-sectoal
natue, egional seas pogammeshave established collaboation
with a boad ange of multilateal
environmental agreements. In
seveal cases they also have
poved to be effective vehicles fo
suppoting the implementation of
global ageements.
Enionmenlgeemen
CEP has distinguished itself in this
way, especially in the ten yeassince the appointment of Nelson
Andade, the Coodinato of the
regional Coodinating Unit. Thee
potocols have been developed
unde the Catagena Convention
and ae being implemented in close
collaboation with global multilateal
envionmental ageements. The Oil
Spills Potocol is closely linked
to seveal of the maine pollution
conventions of the InternationalMaritime Organization (IMO),
which is involved in opeating
the Potocols regional Maine
Pollution, Information and Training
Centre. In 1997 a Memorandum
of Undestanding was signed with
the Convention on Biological
Divesity, stengthening links with
the Specially Potected Aeas and
Wildlife Potocol. The Auba
Potocol Concening Pollution fom
Land-based Souces and Activitiesdiectly suppots the implementation
of the Global Pogamme of Action
fo the Potection of the Maine
Envionment fom Land-based
Activities. And Memoanda of
Undestanding have been signed
to stengthen collaboation with
the secetaiats of the ramsa
Convention on wetlands and the
Secetaiat of the Basel Conventionon hazadous wastes.
The past decade has seen the
emegence of twinning aangements
in which moe developed egional
seas pogammes povide technical
suppot to those that ae newe o
less developed. The Coodinato
of the Caibbean rCU povided
invaluable technical suppot and
backstopping to the negotiations of
the Northeast Pacic regional seas
pogamme, extending along thePacic coast of Mesoamerica from
Colombia to Mexico, in which I was
heavily involved.
The rst twenty-ve years of CEP
have seen such majo achievements
as the Catagena Convention
and its thee potocols, national
advances in capacity building fo
the integated management of the
maine and coastal envionment,
establishing a netwok of maine and
coastal potected aeas, assessingand managing maine pollution,
developing infomation systems
fo managing maine and coastal
esouces, and foging stonge ties
with othe MEAs and intenational
oganizations. While the Caibbean
Envionment Pogamme continues
to matue, stategic suppot fom
UNEP is essential.
suinbleeelopmen
In 1999, through Decision 20/19, its
Govening Council called on UNEP
to evitalize the regional Seas
Pogamme, which some had felt
had been declining in impotance
in the oganizations wok. Much
emains to be done on this. The
regional Seas Pogamme needs to
be etuned to the coe of UNEPs
pogamme as it was fom 1974
to 1997. UNEP has a leading oleto play in the consevation and
sustainable development of the
wolds oceans and coastal aeas,
and the futue of CEP and othe
egional seas pogammes will
depend on it
Jorge Illueca, a former Assistant
Executive Director ofUNEP and
Director of UNEPs Division of
Environmental Conventions. Heis now the Principal Forest and
Environment Policy Ofcer in the
Secretariat of the United Nations
ForumonForestsinNewYork.
T pst ss t mg oftg gmts mo
vlop gol sspogmms povtl sppot to tostt o lssvlop J.K
assanchuk/UNEP
/StillPictures
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sea turtles were onceabundant in the Caribbeanregion. Indeed, they are
thought to have been integralkeystone species for coral reefsand seagrass beds in pre-
Columbian times, performingcritical ecological roles essentialto these ecosystems structureand function. Now numbers areso severely reduced that someconsider them to be virtuallyextinct as far as their role inCaribbean marine ecosystems isconcerned.
There have long been regulated,but largely unmanaged, seaturtle sheries. Tens andperhaps hundreds of thousandsof turtles also die every yearafter being accidentally caught
in active or abandoned shinggear. Coral reef and seagrassdegradation, oil spills, chemicalwaste, persistent plastic andother marine debris, high densitycoastal development, and anincrease in ocean-based tourismhave damaged or eliminatednesting beaches and feedingareas. Threats accumulate overlong periods and can occuranywhere in a populations range;thus declines typically resultfrom a combination of factors,and reversing them is politicallyand spatially complicated.
Yet from the earliest days ofnegotiation over the prioritiesof the Caribbean EnvironmentProgramme (CEP), sea turtles
have served as a agshipfor developing models ofinternational cooperation inpreventing the further declineof depleted living resources,restoring them to their formerabundance, and maintainingthem for sustainable use.
Enngeepecie
All Caribbean sea turtles receivefull protection under the Protocolconcerning Specially ProtectedAreas and Wildlife (SPAW) of theConvention for the Protectionand Development of the MarineEnvironment of the WiderCaribbean Region (also known asthe Cartagena Convention). Theprotocol is arguably the worldsmost comprehensive regionalwildlife protection treaty, withprovisions on environmentalimpact assessment, planningand management regimesand buffer zones, as well as arange of protection measures,including species recovery plans.It recognises that protectionof threatened and endangeredspecies will enhance the culturalheritage and values of thecountries and territories in the
Wider Caribbean Region andbring increased economic andecological benets to them.
Newpnehip
The Wider Caribbean SeaTurtle Conservation Network(WIDECAST) was founded in1981 by Monitor Internationaland emerged coincident withthe CEP. With 55 volunteercountry coordinators activein more than 40 nations andterritories, it has served as amodel Regional Activity Network
a Vo fohe turlesKaren L. ecKerTdescribes how an initiative, which bringstogether science and policy, is helping to save criticallyendangered species
Ts ppss of toss
of ttls v ft g tllgt tv oo sg g
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within the SPAW Programmefor a quarter-century. Countrycoordinators meet annually todiscuss and rank con-servation
priorities, identify gaps, committo develop innovative researchand management tools, andcreate new partnerships,making possible proactive andprogressive collaboration. Theyremain in contact via email,programme exchanges and peer-training, and regular sharing ofdata and analyses.
Enhncecpciy
National Sea Turtle RecoveryAction Plans (STRAPs) prepared by WIDECAST andpublished by the CEP aimsystematically to documentthe status and distribution ofremnant stocks, major causesof mortality, the effectivenessof existing legislation, and thepresent and historical role of
sea turtles in local culture andeconomy. Implementing STRAPrecommendations has resulted inchanges in sheries regulations;the designation of protectedareas; the realisation of long-term sea turtle populationmonitoring programmes; theadoption of standardised record-keeping and database manage-ment protocols; the training of
enforcement and natural re-source ofcers; the developmentof public awareness materials;the creation of grassroots.organizations; the promotionof sustainable livelihoods inmarginalised communities; acommitment to new partner-ships (such as co-management);and a broadly enhanced capacityfor sea turtle management withinCEP nations.
The experience has set anexample for other initiativesunder the aegis of the CEP. In1994, a UNEP meeting of experts
concluded that in light of thesuccessful sea turtle recoveryeffort of WIDECAST a similarstructure would be desirable for
the implementation of manateeactivities in the region. Theresult was the RegionalManagement Plan for the WestIndian Manatee.
snieguieline
The unique partnership betweenWIDECAST and the CEP hasalso resulted in region-wide
initiatives, such as a marineturtle tagging centre based atthe University of the West Indies(Barbados) which providesstandardised guidelines training,tags, database managementsoftware, and other tools tostrengthen and coordinate
dozens of otherwise isolatedsmall-scale tagging projects,and to encourage and enablecollaboration among range
states.Promoting best practices,
facilitating training and institutionstrengthening, encouragingcommunity involvement, reducingthreats to sea turtle survivalsuch as by working directly withsheries and tourism sectors and raising public awareness,the WIDECAST network, likethe SPAW Protocol itself, offers
a framework for collaborationtoward a regionally uniedapproach to managing andconserving migratory species
KarenL.EckertisExecutiveDirector
of the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle
ConservationNetwork(WIDECAST).
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They ae just ove the hoizon:few of us see the titanic shipsthat cay ove a tilliongallons of oil each yea on the wates
of the Caibbean Sea.
They load cude oil in the Middle
East, Venezuela, Mexico, and Afica
and afte spending up to weeks
at sea discharge it to reneries
thoughout the Caibbean and the
US Gulf Coast. At any moment,
one could un agound on one of the
countless pistine eefs, shoals and
brian PeTerdescribes how the worlds biggest shipping oil spill led to action that hasreduced pollution of the Caribbean
collso css Cooperaion
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islands that make the Caibbean Sea
world famous, or catch re, explode,
o sink. The wost-case scenaio is
fo two of these tankes to collide,
binging catastophe to a county o
small island state in the path of the
spilled oil.
Coningencypln
The last such collision took place
decades ago, even though the
density of shipping has inceased
since. That is not meely due to
good fotune. The 1979 collision
of the tankes, Atlantic Empess and
Aegean Captain, ten miles off the
island of Tobago, caused the wolds
biggest-eve shipping oil spill but
also spaked action by the egions
govenments. Since then, the isk of
shipping accidents and oil spills hasbeen geatly educed, pimaily due to
the way the govenments togethe
with intenational oganizations,
the oil, gas and shipping industies
and othe impotant patnes have
coopeated to addess the shipping of
oil on lage vessels.
Fotunately the slick fom the
collision did not affect neaby islands,
but as a diect esult of it and othe
accidents at the time the states andteitoies of the wide Caibbean Sea
took steps to pevent and espond
to oil spills. They implemented
intenational envionmental con-
ventions, poduced national oil spill
contingency plans, conducted taining
and oil spill esponse execises, and
enhanced co-opeation with the oil,
gas and shipping industies to educe
pollution.
aiionluppo
They also asked the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) and
UNEP to suppot a regional Activity
Cente, with expetise in combating
maine oil pollution, to facilitate
thei effots and pomote taining and
exercises. IMO, which has worked
successfully fo decades to educe
the amount of oil enteing seas fom
ships, has found the establishment of
such Centes , in coopeation with the
UNEP regional Seas Pogamme,
paticulaly successful.
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The regional Maine Pollution Emegency,
Information and Training Centre Wider Caribbean
(RAC/REMPEITC-Carib) based in Curacao, in the
Nethelands Antilles opened on 15 June 1995 unde
the management of IMO, the UNEP Caribbean Searegional Coodinating Unit (UNEP-CAr/rCU) and
the Government of the Netherlands Antilles. It is the
institutional oganization fo implementing the Potocol
Concening Coopeation in Combating Oil Spills unde
the Convention fo the Potection and Development of
the Maine Envionment of the Wide Caibbean region
(commonly called the Catagena Convention). Fance,
the United States of Ameica, and Venezuela second
expets to it, and many bodies including companies in
the oil, gas and shipping industies, and govenmental
and non-govenmental oganizations povide additionalsuppot. This coopeation has povided the foundation
that enables the Cente to cay out missions detailed in
a two yea stategic plan based on the long tem goals of
both the UNEP-CAR/RCU and IMO.
Beepepe
RAC/REMPEITC-Carib has had noteworthy success
duing the past ten yeas in contibuting to the eduction
in the numbe of epoted oil spills in the Caibbean Sea.
This is attributed to a clearly dened strategy based on ashaed envionmental vision (the Caibbean Envionment
Pogamme), to continued implementation of the national
legal famewok to bing compliance to the vaious
intenational maine envionmental potection teaties
and to pomoting coopeation with all stakeholdes,
including envionmental goups, tade oganizations,
industy, govenments, intenational oganizations, and
non-govenmental oganizations.
Twenty six sailos died and foty six million gallons
of crude oil spilled as a result of the ery collision
between the Atlantic Empess and the Aegean Captain.The Atlantic Empess was the lagest ship that has eve
sunk afte buning fouteen days and spilling eight
times the amount that poued out fom the infamous
Exxon Valdez: no one knows how much was consumed
in the ames. Such was the tragedy that gave birth to
RAC/REMPEITCCarib. But the seas are cleaner and
the egion is now bette pepaed fo disaste as a esult
both of the esponse to this accident and of the Centes
wok
Brian Peter, a Commander of the US Coast Guard,
is Senior Consultant to the International Maritime
Organization(IMO)andtheRegionalMarinePollution
Emergency, Information and Training Centre Wider
Caribbean(RAC/REMPEITC-Carib).
dvlopgSoltosanTOniO ViLLaSOL nez outlinesthe need for sustainable development andenvironmental improvement in the region anddescribes how it is being met
the Caribbean Environment Programme ActionPlan is celebrating its twenty-fth anniversaryto the satisfaction of those living in the Wider
Caribbean Region, as well as the many peoplearound the world who enjoy their holidays here attracted by magnicent landscapes, beautifulbeaches with crystal clear water, marvellous andeye-catching biodiversity, and the rich variety oftraditions and customs arising from the mix of racesand cultures.
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Its work is greatly needed. AsUNEPs GEO Cities report shows,sixty of the 77 most importantcities in Latin America and the
Caribbean lie within the coastalzone. Three out of every ve peoplein the region live less than 100 kmfrom the sea. The determiningfactors in shaping urban centresand their relationships withthe environment have been theindustrialisation that began
in the regions major cities inthe 1940s, rapid growth in theservice sectors, proliferation ofinformal economic activities,and the recent implementationof the globalization model. LatinAmerica and the Caribbean
exhibit serious deciencies inachieving economic development.Growth has been unstable andeconomic benets have beenpoorly distributed.
scienicciiie
This situation has contributed torapid environmental deteriorationand loss of biodiversity, principally
in the rivers and marine/coastalzones. This has resulted fromdumping of untreated, orimproperly treated urban andindustrial waste; soil erosion
based sources, providing adviceon the use of clean technologiesand on the treatment anddisposal of solid and liquid
urban and industrial waste in anenvironmentally sound way.
A more rational use ofnatural resources has beenachieved, by developing tourism economically important formany of the countries in theregion by holding training
caused by deforestation and pooragricultural practices; and anincrease in maritime activitiesin the harbours, without proper
treatment and disposal of waste.Regional Activity Centres
(RAC) were founded to develop,coordinate and carry out technicaland scientic activities and tasksunder the Protocols associatedwith the Cartagena Convention.The Centro de Ingeniera y
Manejo Ambiental de Bahas yCostas (CIMAB), based in Cuba,is one of two RACs supporting theimplementation of the ProtocolConcerning Pollution from Land-based Sources and Activities(LBS Protocol).
Enionmenlconiion
CIMAB works in collaborationwith the second LBS/RAC theInstitute of Marine Affairs (IMA)in Trinidad and Tobago topromote the ratication of theLBS Protocol, so that it can enterinto force as soon as possible,as a practical tool for combatingmarine pollution.
The LBS/RACs also workwith regional governments andenvironmental authorities inreducing pollution from land-
workshops for specialists anddecision-makers. The LBS/RACshave also developed national andregional projects for sustainablecoastal zone management.
The LBS/RACs, togetherwith other research institutions
in the region, make up the nowdeveloping Regional ActivityNetwork (RAN) of institutions,which, under the supervision ofUNEP-CAR/RCU, are workingto conserve and improveenvironmental conditions inthe Wider Caribbean Region.This in turn is vitally importantfor achieving sustainabledevelopment
AntonioVillasolNez isDirector
of Centro Ingeniera y Manejo
Ambiental de Bahas y Costas
(CIMAB)inHavana,Cuba.
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To t RescueaMOy LuM KOnGand hazeL MShinedescribe work to reduce pollution to theCaribbean from land-based sources
Livelihoods in the Wide Caibbean region ae
inexticably linked with the Caibbean Sea which
povides food, tanspotation, enegy, medicine,
constuction mateial, and eceation. The economies
of most Caibbean counties heavily depend on maine
touism, which in tun elies on a healthy envionment.
Yet gowing envionmental pessues including
overshing, planned and unplanned coastal develop-ments, unsustainable land use pactices, and land-based
souces of pollution ae inevitably compomising the
integity of the sevices povided to all Caibbean people.
Domestic, industial and agicultual wastes and un-off
account fo about ninety pe cent of all maine pollution
with domestic sewage the lagest point souce categoy
theatening coastal and maine envionments and thus
the egions socio-economic health.
regionlcoopeion
The Convention fo the Potection and Development of
the Maine Envionment of the Wide Caibbean region
(Catagena Convention) engendes egional coopeation
on envionmental issues including land-based souces of
maine pollution. But its Potocol Concening Pollution
fom Land-based Souces and Activities (LBS Potocol),
though adopted in 1999, has yet to ente into foce. Guided
by scientic data analysis, it establishes efuent and
emissions limitations and/o best management pactices
fo pioity pollutants, and pomotes coopeation in
monitoring, research and exchange of scientic and
technical infomation on land-based pollution.
regional Activity Centes (rACs) wee established
to help the Caibbean Envionment Pogamme (CEP)
develop and implement the LBS Protocol. In 2002, the
Intergovernmental Meeting accepted the proposal of
Cuba and Tinidad and Tobago to host the LBS/rACs
at Centro de Ingenieria y Manejo Ambiental de Bahias
y Costas (CIMAB) and the Institute of Marine Affairs
(IMA), which both have strong research capabilities on
pollution contol and envionmental management. They:
povide coodination, technical guidance andadministative ovesight of poject activities;
establish a regional Activity Netwok (rAN) of
technical institutions that povide input, pee eview and
expetise to the CEP; and
coodinate technical inputs of rAN and othe
collaboating institutions.
Thei activities, epesenting the pioities of membe
govenments, opeate unde the CEPs Assessment
and Management of Envionmental Pollution Sub-
pogamme. They facilitate egional coopeation on
envionmental mattes, theeby contibuting to the
egions sustainable development.
The LBS/rACs, opeational since 2002, wok
towads meeting the Potocols objectives, taking action
to addess land-based souces of maine pollution in the
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egion. Poject activities ange fom technology tansfe,
though pomotional wokshops, to establishing wate
quality citeia.
They analyze in situ data and infomation to establish
a baseline fo wate quality in high-isk pollution aeas,
and develop methodological guidelines to help classify
maine wates, as outlined in the Potocol. An oveview
of the egions land-based souces of pollution the 1994
UNEP/CEP Technical repot No. 33 is being updated.
reseach and decision-making tools, such as emote
sensing and Geographic Information Systems, are being
used to enhance the egions capacity to map pollution
levels and loads fom land-based souces.
technicluppo
The rACs facilitate technology awaeness and tansfe
through training workshops. In 2003/2004 these were
held on nutient emoval technologies and wastewate
management and on sewage sludge emoval and euse.
Taining was geaed towads building egional awaeness
and capacity to addess eutophication and othe nutient
enichment poblems aising fom excessive dischages
of domestic wastewater to the sea. In 2005 and 2006,
wokshops focused on methodologies fo assessing point
and non-point pollution loads; chaacteizing municipal
and industrial wastes; and dening water quality indicators
fo national and egional monitoing pogammes.
Othe activities include encouaging Caibbean
counties though national and egional pomotional
wokshops, to atify/accede to the LBS Potocol and
bing it into foce, as well as developing a Demonstation
National Pogamme of Action fo Potecting the Maine
Envionment fom Land-based Activities fo Tinidad
and Tobago.
In the process, the LBS/RACs have established
patneships with such funding dono agencies as the
Swedish International Development Agency and the U.S.
Depatment of Commece; othe UN agencies such asUNESCO-IOCARIBE; and such technical institutions
as INVEMAR of Colombia and Universidad de Oriente
in Venezuela, both of which will be integated into the
rAN.
The impotance of the Caibbean Sea to the egion, the
vulneability of its ecosystems to land-based souces of
pollution, and the inability of many counties to deal with
envionmental poblems, emphasize the need fo the LBS/
rACs to povide technical suppot to thei govenments.
In so doing, they will contribute to ensuring sustainable
development both nationally and egionally
AmoyLumKongisDirector(acting),andHazelMcShine
the immediate pastDirector of the Institute ofMarine
Affairs,TrinidadandTobago.
Social
cosvtoMaurice anSeLMe points out that local peoplemust be involved from the outset if biodiversityis to be conserved
the relationship between the Caribbean peopleand nature is rst and foremost one betweenits men and women: They are an integral part
of the ecosystems they use, partially or wholly, fortheir subsistence. An Eden populated by poor people
is unthinkable, and so conserving the environmentmust also mean conserving a social bond.Conservation policies are the product of a
naturalistic representation of human societies,dened by the key concepts of anthropological
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pressure and load capacity.By contrast, the tools used fornature conservation are based onpolitics, economics and the social
sciences.Human degradation factors
add to natural ones in theWider Caribbean Region, slow-ing the development andhindering the preservation ofcoral communities. This could
jeopardize the economic activitieswhich rely on exploiting them.
The cost of conservingbiodiversity is generally imposedon local communities, whilemost of the benets accrue to amuch broader constituency. Itis a matter of managing globalenvironmental resources throughapplying local solutions.
Pecuionypinciple
Ensuring a central role for localpopulations requires involvingthem from the outset in develop-
ing conservation objectives.The environmental issues atstake are long-term ones, suchas sustainably managing eco-systems or resolving conictsbetween protected areas andpopulations.
The insular, tropical natureof the Caribbean region and thehigh concentration of people inthe area make it necessary to act
according to the precautionaryprinciple, requiring properconsideration of all issues atstake and conducting thoroughrisk assessments. This leads toa search for an equitable logic,linking economic activities tothe proper management ofresources: in fact, the price of
things is usually dened by thethreat of their becoming rare, ordisappearing.
The Regional Activity Centrefor the SPAW Protocol (theProtocol Concerning SpeciallyProtected Areas and Wildlife)began operating at the endof the year 2005, after theestablishment of the legalmanagement framework eagerly
sought by Contracting Parties.But it had already contributed, asearly as April 2004, to organizingthe meeting of the Scienticand Technical Committee oncreating guidelines and criteriafor listing protected areas underthe SPAW Protocol. Carried outin collaboration with UNEPsCaribbean Regional CoordinatingUnit in Kingston, Jamaica,
this was the SPAW/RACs rstactivity under the CaribbeanEnvironment Programme (CEP).CEP denes the actions withinthe geographical areas covered
by the Cartagena Convention andits implementing SPAW Protocol,which are to be undertakenwith support from ContractingParties.
The SPAW/RAC must secureenough nancial and humanresources to ensure that theexpectations of ContractingGovernments are met for eachaction they have jointly decided,
as well as to cover the cost ofglobal biodiversity conservationin the Wider Caribbean Region. Itacts as a liaison between the willof Contracting Governments andthe programmes undertaken withpartners in the Wider CaribbeanRegion. And it continuallycontributes to strengthening therole of local communities by itsclose work with local partners
Maurice Anselme is Director of
the Regional Activity Centre for
the SPAW protocol in Basse-Terre,
Guadeloupe.
T vomtl ssst stk log-tm
os, s s sstlmgg osstmso solvg otst pott s popltos
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t
he Caibbean is full of contasts. A micocosm of theentie wold extemely ich and poo counties,vey lage and small populations and teitoies, a
wide ange of cultues and languages of Afican, Asian,Euopean, and indigenous oigins, capitalist and socialistgovenments lives togethe, shaing esouces andexposue to natual hazads in a teitoy smalle thanEuope.
All depend on shaed maine and coastal esoucesessential fo thei economies, mostly based on touism,sheries and other maritime activities. Althoughentangled in thei histoy, and vey much intedependent,each society has employed ceativity and had wok ifin diffeent ways, and with some having geate successthan othes.
By denition, an effective Caribbean initiative is anopen, espectful and toleant endeavou that encouagesand nutues solidaity within the wide community.
Enionmenlegion
The rst instrument adopted by Governments as partof the Caibbean Envionment Pogamme (CEP), wasthe Action Plan, aimed at collectively addessing theimpending theat of egional envionmental degadation.Negotiations on the Law of the Sea had spaked a globalmobilization to potect and manage the oceans: but theislow pogess motivated envionmentally-concened
Govenments apidly to addess its envionmental aspectsby developing a series of programmes to face specicegional needs. UNEPs Executive Diecto, MostafaTolba and the rst Director of UNEPs Regional SeasPogamme, Stjepan Keckes immediately esponded tothis challenge.
Venezuela had then just created one of the rstministries of environment and, as I was responsible forinternational relations, I became immediately involved inthe negotiations of the egional seas initiative at UNEP,focused on the Caibbean. With motivated delegates fomBabados, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican republic,Fance, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, USA, and gadually
othes, we became apidly involved in most inteestingand ewading negotiations.
Govenments in the Med-iteanean, spued bythe geate theat of maitime pollution in thei egion,moved faster and adopted the rst of the Regional Seas
SaLVanO briceO looks back on theachievements of the last quarter of acentury and identies a key challenge forthe future
TheRoad
Tvll
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Conventions in Bacelona. This spaked geat inteestin Caibbean delegates, and they adopted the CaibbeanAction Plan in Montego Bay on July 1981 soon followedby the signing of the Catagena Convention in 1983, the
setting-up of the Caibbean Tust Fund and the openingof the regional Coodinating Unit in Kingston in 1986.
That year UNEP asked me to become the rstCoodinato of the Pogamme a geat honou and,more importantly, a tremendous challenge. I arrived inJamaica in Januay 1987 and began putting togethe acoe staff and basic systems and pocedues. An amicableand poductive elationship ensued with the host countyas the Jamaican Govenment esponded apidly to thenew Units demands.
Pime Ministe Edwad Seaga had played an essentialole in attacting it to Jamaica following aduousnegotiations with othe potential hosts, including
Venezuela (epesented by no othe than myself!) andthis poved vey helpful in stengthening the Unit inKingston. When Michael Manley came to powe in 1989,we also pusued a vey active and fuitful collaboationwith his Govenment, paticulaly with Pecival Patteson
then as Deputy Pime Ministe esponsible fo theenvionment potfolio, late the longest seving PimeMiniste in Jamaican histoy.
suinbleeelopmen
Climate change was among the rst challenges to betackled: specic expert recommendations paved the wayfo Govenments in the egion to become key actos inthe climate change negotiations that began in 1991.
When the Action Plan and the Catagena Conventionwee adopted, the impact of natual hazads such ashurricanes, oods, drought, earthquakes, volcaniceruptions, tsunamis had not yet been identied as amajo theat to the egions development. Howeve, apiduban gowth, coupled with acceleated envionmentaldegadation and the theat of climate change has madeit inceasingly ugent to pay close attention and givehighe pioity to educing isk and vulneability.
These hazads and disastes tiggeed by human,
social, economic and envionmental vulneability, suchas oil and chemical spills, industial and waste watepollution and othe land-based souces of maine pollution
continue to pose a grave threat to tourism and sheries,the egions main souces of livelihood. Focusing on theve priority tasks identied by the Hyogo Framework forAction (2005-2015) to build the esilience of nations andcommunities to disastes, as a peequisite fo sustainableCaibbean development, is now a key and ugent challengefo the CEP.
This will continue what CEP epesents so well:twenty-ve years of challenge in a region full of culturaland biological divesity and a pomising oppotunity
to ensue that egional coopeation leads to sustainabledevelopment
Salvano Briceo, the rst Coordinator of CEP, is DirectoroftheUNInternationalStrategyforDisasterReduction.