| |
Wider Caribbean
Mr Nelson Andrade Colmenares, Coordinator, Caribbean
Environment Programme, Regional Co-ordinating Unit (CAR/RCU)
The Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) has been under the watchful
eye of the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) for over
20 years. Encompassing an area of strategic geographic importance
to maritime and shipping activities to its 28 UN member
states, the WCR abounds with enchanting biodiversity as
diverse as the Wider Caribbean’s people and cultures.
The CEP is governed by the Convention for the protection
and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean
Region (Cartagena Convention) as agreed by the countries
of the WCR in 1983. The Cartagena Convention is a framework
for regional cooperation whose specific areas of focus include
pollution from ships, dumping of wastes, land-based sources,
seabed activities, airborne pollution and conservation of
wildlife and specially protected areas. The Convention is
supported by three Protocols which addresses specific environmental
issues in the areas of cooperation in combating oil spills,
specially protected areas and wildlife and monitoring pollution
from land-based sources and activities.
In keeping with its mission of promoting regional cooperation
for the protection and development of the marine environment
of the WCR, the CEP has remained relevant in addressing
the changing environmental needs and concerns of the WCR.
One such activity that embraces this concept is the GEF
project to build partnerships in Integrating Watershed and
Coastal Areas Management (IWCAM) for Caribbean Small Island
Developing States (SIDS). This project addresses a number
of water-related needs under the Barbados Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of the SIDS (1994), which
encompasses the interface between freshwater basins and
coastal management of the island states. Formulated by the
CEP and the UNDP under the framework of the Cartagena Convention
and expressly for SIDS, the IWCAM project supports legislative
and policy reform at the island states level, capacity building
to implement those reforms, and demonstration projects on
key issues facing individual states, ranging from groundwater
supply protection and management, surface water supply protection,
innovative sewage collection and treatment, watershed treatment
to protect coastal ecosystems, agricultural best practices
implementation, establishment of Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs), and integrated coastal management in ‘Hot
Spots’ of development pressure.
In its continued efforts to protect marine biodiversity
in the WCR, the CEP is the regional contact point for the
International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the designated
lead organization within the International Coral Reef Action
Network (ICRAN) for WCR activities. A primary objective
of ICRAN’s Caribbean activities is to build the capacity
on the ground for sustainable management of coral reefs,
emphasizing the role of MPAs, local communities and the
tourism sector.
To this end a number of regional and local activities are
being implemented including the promotion of better practices,
training, coral reef monitoring and assessments, mapping
of MPAs and their habitats, and public awareness building
targeted mostly towards decision-makers and developers.
An additional initiative within ICRAN is the Mesoamerican
Reef Alliance (MAR), a partnership that relies on many individuals
and organizations, including from the private sector, working
together to achieve a common goal for the benefit of the
livelihoods of people and communities, through improving
the chances for the future health of coral reefs.
The CEP is Co-Chair of the White Water to Blue Water (WW2BW)
Initiative which seeks to develop partnerships that would
enhance integrated approached in areas such as wastewater
and sanitation, sustainable agricultural practices, integrated
coastal management, sustainable tourism and environmentally
sound marine transport in the WCR. WW2BW also provides for
discussions and information sharing between potential partners
from the different areas to collaborate on projects to be
implemented in the WCR.
In spite of the challenges of institutional weakness,
lack of finance, constrained human resources and other needed
capacity along with external incidents beyond its control,
the CEP has endured the ebbs and flows that come with working
to protect the marine environment. Experience has taught
that a coordinated framework of activities along with the
provision of assistance is needed, in order to achieve sustainable
development in the WCR. Cooperation among all stakeholders,
including international partners, is a necessity because,
as the CEP has shown, environmental protection is everybody’s
business.
|
