Headlines:
Major
intergovernmental agreements and actors
Action
programmes, strategies, and research
State
of the regional environment
GEF
Projects
in the region
Other
actors and initiatives
Major
intergovernmental agreements and actors
Convention
for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Area
of the South-East Pacific
The
Lima Convention was adopted 1981 and came into in force
in 1986. Its objective is to protect the marine environment and
coastal zones of the South-East Pacific within the 200-mile area
of maritime sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Parties, and beyond
that area, the high seas up to a distance within which pollution
of the high seas may affect that area. The Contracting Parties
agree, inter alia, to take all necessary measures to prevent,
reduce and control pollution of the Convention area, particularly
pollution from land-based sources, from or through the atmosphere,
from vessels and from any other installations and devices operating
in the marine environment. The Convention has six protocols:
Permanent
Commission of the South Pacific, CPPS
The Commission — Comisión Permanente del Pacífico
Sur, CPPS — serves as the Secretariat of the Lima Convention
and the South-East
Pacific Action Plan (published here only in Spanish).
Convention
for the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
The
Convention, which was adopted in 1949 and came into force in 1950,
deals with yellowfin and skipjack tuna (and other species taken
by tuna fishing boats) in the East Pacific Ocean. The Convention
provides for investigation into population, biology and ecology
of yellowfin and skipjack tuna and species used as bait ; and
into effects of natural and human impacts on those species. It
also provides for analysis of information regarding population
trends; studies of fishing methods and methods of maintaining
and increasing populations; control over taking ; joint action
to ensure maximum sustained catch ; compilation of catch statistics;
publication of reports and scientific, statistical and other data.
The principal duties of the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission are
to study the biology of the tunas and related species of the Eastern
Pacific Ocean, with a view to determining the effects that fishing
and natural factors have on their abundance, and to recommend
appropriate conservation measures so that the stocks of fish can
be maintained at levels which will afford maximum sustainable
catches. In 1976 the Commission's duties were broadened to include
work on the problems arising from the tuna-dolphin relationship
in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It was decided that the Commission
should strive to maintain a high level of tuna production and
also to maintain porpoise stocks at or above levels that ensure
their survival in perpetuity with every reasonable effort being
made to avoid needless or careless killing of porpoise.
Eastern
Pacific Ocean Tuna Fishing Agreement
The
Agreement of 1984 applies to certain highly migratory species
of tuna and tuna related fish in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Provides
for the establishment of a Council entrusted with the task of
implementing the agreement. Provides for the issuance of international
licences authorizing holders to fish for the species covered by
the Agreement in the Agreement Area including the EEZ of states
which are parties thereto (coastal states of the eastern Pacific
Ocean or members of the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission). The 12-mile territorial sea is,
however, outside the Agreement Area. The Agreement empowers the
Council to make recommendations to parties concerning tuna resources
but not until all States that fish for tuna in the area have acceded
to the agreement.
UN
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,
ECLAC
The site of UN ECLAC comprises News; Publications; Main Studies;
ECLAC Series; Research and Studies; Statistics; Projects; Library;
Events; Work Programme; as well as ECLAC Headlines and Latest
News.
Organisation
of American States, OAS
OAS
Water Resources Programme: In conformity with the mandates
of OAS member states, the Unit for Sustainable Development and
Environment (USDE) is engaged in several projects on transboundary
water resource management in partnership with UNEP, the World
Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) in major river basin of South and Central
America. The Unit is the secretariat for the Inter-American Water
Resources Network (IWRN) - see below
- and serves on the Board of Governors of the World Water Council.
USDE is also collaborating with the Pan American Health Organization
to organize inter-American conference on the link between water
and health.
UNEP
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, ROLAC
See for example Forum
of Environmental Ministers for Latin America and the Caribbean
(only in Spanish).
Financial
institutions
Inter-American
Development Bank,
IADB
The Inter-American Development Bank, the oldest and largest regional
multilateral development institution, was established in December
of 1959 to help accelerate economic and social development in
Latin America and the Caribbean.
Action
programmes, strategies and research
UNEP
Regional Seas Programme
The
Regional Seas Programme was initiated in 1974 as a global programme
implemented through regional components. The Regional Seas Programme
is UNEP's main framework in the field of the coastal and marine
environment. It includes 14 regions and three partner seas, involves
more than 140 coastal states, and focuses on sustainable development
of coastal and marine areas. Each regional action
plan is formulated according to the needs and priorities of
the region as perceived by the Governments concerned. Regional
conventions are in place for several areas. See a map
of all regional seas, and go to more information on the Black Sea,
Wider Caribbean, Mediterranean,
East Asian Seas, South Asian Seas, Eastern Africa, Kuwait Region,
North West Pacific, Red Sea And Gulf of Aden, South East Pacific,
North East Pacific, South
Pacific, Upper
South West Atlantic, and West
and Central Africa. The UNEP Regional Seas web site also contains
information on What's
at stake, Major
threats, and Actions.
State
of the regional environment
GEO
2000 State of the Environment: Latin America and the Caribbean
Global
Enviroment Outlook 2000. GEO is:
-
a global environmental assessment process, the GEO Process,
that is cross-sectoral and participatory. It incorporates regional
views and perceptions, and builds consensus on priority issues
and actions through dialogue among policy-makers and scientists
at regional and global levels.
- GEO
outputs, in printed and electronic formats, including the GEO
Report series. This series makes periodic reviews of the state
of the world's environment, and provides guidance for decision-making
processes such as the formulation of environmental policies,
action planning and resource allocation. Other outputs include
technical reports, a
web site and a publication for young people.
GEF
Projects in the region
Projects
under implementation
World
Bank - GEF - Biodiversity:
Sustainable
Use of Biodiversity in the Western Slope of the Serrania del Baudo,
Colombia
The objective of the project is the development of a strategy for
the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity with the participation
of local communities and administrations. The project supports dialogue
and lays the basis for a more environmentally grounded development
plan for the region given that the recently proposed development
programs for the region have presented conceptual and methodological
differences in approach with respect to the cultural systems of
its inhabitants and to their relationship with the natural environment.
World
Bank - GEF - Biodiversity:
Monitoring
System for the Galapagos Islands
The purpose of the project is to establish a monitoring system to
measure the well-being of the ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands.
World
Bank - GEF - Biodiversity:
Wetland
Priorities for Conservation Action, Ecuador
This GEF medium-size project will build upon the experience gained
from the pilot phase to expand the identification, characterization,
and prioritization to a national level, facilitating the establishment
of regional workgroups that will act according to local realities
and with the support of the generated information. The project will
also promote the importance of wetlands among environmental and
decision-making groups. The objective of this project is to promote
and support the conservation of wetlands in Ecuador through their
accurate identification, characterization, and priorization. The
Project will contribute to the maintenance of global biodiversity
by producing technical data for a National Wetlands Conservation
Action Plan which will be the basis for future government action.
It will also help increase the number of Ecuadorian wetlands in
the list of Wetlands of International Importance.
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Other
actors,
initiatives and resources
International
Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management,
ICLARM
An international research organization "devoted to improving
the productivity, management and conservation of aquatic resources
for the benefit of users and consumers in developing countries".
ICLARM is one of the research centres of CGIAR,
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. See,
for example, Caribbean
Marine Protected Areas Project: The Role of Marine Protected Areas
in Fisheries Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Coral Reef
Ecosystems. ICLARM, in collaboration with the the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other partners, and
with support from the European Commission, has also developed FishBase,
a global information system on fishes for research scientists, fisheries
managers, zoologists and many more. FishBase contains full information
on 23,500 species. Furthermore, ICLARM has developed similar systems
on coral reefs and their resources (ReefBase)
and management of fish stocks in Asia (TrawlBase).
International
Coral Reef Initiative, ICRI
An
environmental partnership that brings stakeholders together with
the objective of sustainable use and conservation of coral reefs
for future generations. ICRI is an informal mechanism that allows
representatives of over 80 developing countries with coral reefs
to sit in equal partnership with major donor countries and development
banks, international environmental and development agencies, scientific
associations, the private sector and NGOs to decide on the best
strategies to conserve the world's coral reef resources.
Coral
Health and Monitoring Programme,
NOOA
The mission of the NOOA Coral Health and Monitoring Program is to
provide services to help improve and sustain coral reef health throughout
the world. Long term goals:Establish an international network of
coral reef researchers for the purpose of sharing knowledge and
information on coral health and monitoring.Provide near real-time
data products derived from satellite images and monitoring stations
at coral reef areas. Provide a data repository for historical data
collected from coral reef areas. Add to the general fund of coral
reef knowledge.See also Global
Coral Reef Monitoring Network, GCRMN.
Pacific
Central American Coastal - a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)
A
Large Marine Ecosystem,
LME,
is a "region of ocean space encompassing coastal areas from
river basins and estuaries to the seaward boundary of continental
shelves and the seaward margins of coastal current systems. It is
a relatively large region characterized by distinct bathymetry,
hydrography, productivity, and trophically dependent populations."
See also Rhode Island University map
of LMEs.
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