Congratulations to the Wider Caribbean Region!!!

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Hilary Hudson
5 years ago
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1 *** IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE (05 May 2011) *** Congratulations to the Wider Caribbean Region!!! Effective May 1, 2011 the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) (Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) became a designated Special Area under Annex V of the MARPOL Convention which prohibits the discharge of all garbage by ships i. Figure 1 - A victim of a discarded fishing net (Caribbean Environment Programme) With this, MARPOL 73/78 ii (Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) Special Area designation, the Wider Caribbean Region becomes the 6 th zone to be protected against the discharge of all garbage from ships, other than organic materials under certain conditions such as distance from shore and particle size. Other Special Areas include the Baltic Sea (effective since October 1989), the North Sea (February 1991), the Antarctic area, south of latitude 60 degrees south (March 1992), the "Gulfs" area (August 2008) and the Mediterranean Sea (May 2009). The entry into force

2 of the Special Area for the Black and Red Seas, which have also been designated under the Annex V, is not yet effective. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), Marine Environmental Protection Committee, (MEPC), recognized the sensitivity of the Wider Caribbean Region by assessing its oceanography, undersea topography, the interconnectedness of the area s ecosystems and the volume of shipping traffic and thereby designated it as a Special Area under Annex V in However, due to a lack of waste reception capacity and an absence of notifications to IMO regarding adequate waste reception facilities, the status was delayed. In the Wider Caribbean Region, 25 Countries are Parties to MARPOL and its Annex V. This Annex prohibits the discharge of all plastics, but allows, under certain conditions, for the discharge of other types of garbage (e.g. dunnage, paper, lining, metal, etc.), unless in designated Special Areas. In March of 2010, at the IMO MEPC meeting in London, twenty-two Caribbean Parties to the MARPOL 73/78 Convention stated that adequate waste reception facilities for garbage are provided in most relevant ports within the region. Based upon that, the effective date was established as May 1 st, The WCR contains 28 coastal and insular Countries (or overseas territories) that have coasts on the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and part of the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of more than 3.3 million km 2, from the United States of America to French Guiana. The region s highly productive but extremely sensitive ecosystems provide a livelihood (tourism, artisanal/industrial fisheries, sea bed exploitation) for many coastal communities and more than 41 million people live within 10 km of the coastline. Garbage in the marine environment is a significant threat, both environmental and socioeconomic. It damages habitats, kills wildlife, and directly impacts the quality of life of local communities and adversely affects the economies of the region, notably its consequences on tourism. A study conducted by UNEP iii assessed that litter from oceanbased sources (such as fishing nets, gear and supplies, ropes, etc.) accounted for at least 11% of all marine litter in the WCR. To aid all vessels with complying with this requirement, the IMO has established a database listing the location of port reception facilities in the region. It is integral within the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) and can be accessed at this link:

3 UNEP, IMO and RAC/REMPEITC continue to remain committed to assist countries in complying with regional and international agreements requirements for the protection of the coastal and marine environment of the Wider Caribbean. For additional information please contact: RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe Seru Mahuma z/n, Curacao Tel.: Fax: ABOUT MARPOL MARPOL is a comprehensive Convention for the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships. It covers potential sources of pollution from ships with six annexes (namely Oil, Noxious Substances in Bulk, Harmful Substances in Packaged Form, Sewage, Garbage and Air Emissions), both in accidental or operational situations. ABOUT UNEP s CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME AND REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTRES Recognizing the importance of the Wider Caribbean Region s marine landscape, in 1976 the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) established the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) under the framework of its Regional Seas Programme. A Caribbean Action Plan was adopted by the Caribbean Countries that led to the adoption, in 1983, of the only regional legally-binding agreement for the protection of the marine environment, the Cartagena Convention iv. The Convention and its first Protocol v entered into force in 1986, and were later followed by the SPAW vi and LBS vii Protocols, in 1990 and 1999 respectively. The SPAW Protocol entered into force in 2000, whereas three more countries need to ratify the LBS Protocol before it can become international law. The Regional Coordinating Unit (UNEP CAR/RCU) serves as the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention and is based in Kingston, Jamaica. To assist countries of the Wider Caribbean in implementing these various Protocols, supporting Regional Activity Centres have been developed. These Centres are based in Curacao (Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Information and Training Center for the Wider Caribbean, RAC/REMPEITC), Guadeloupe (RAC/SPAW), Cuba (Centre of Engineering and

4 Environmental Management of Coasts and Bays) and Trinidad & Tobago (Institute of Marine Affairs). ABOUT RAC/REMPEITC In the mid-nineties, the World Bank and IMO started a project aimed to help Caribbean countries to ratify and implement the MARPOL Convention viii. Following this initiative, RAC/REMPEITC a joint UNEP-IMO Activity Center that implements technical cooperation activities to prevent and respond to maritime pollution, most notably oil spills, and to assist with the prevention of invasive alien species from ships via the GloBallast Partnership program. Figure 2 - The Wider Caribbean Region

5 i The MARPOL Convention applies to: (a) Ships entitled to fly the flag of a Party to the Convention; and (b) Ships not entitled to fly the flag of a Party but which operate under the authority of a Party. ii International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL). iii UNEP, Marine Litter: A Global Challenge. Nairobi: UNEP. 232 pp. iv Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region. v Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region (Oil Spill Protocol). vi Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Cartagena Convention. vii Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities. viii GEF/WB Wider Caribbean Initiative for Ships Generated Waste,

United Nations Environment Programme

UNITED NATIONS EP United Nations Environment Programme Distr. RESTRICTED UNEP(DEPI)/CAR IG.28/INF.9 1 July 2008 Original: ENGLISH Thirteenth Intergovernmental Meeting on the Action Plan for the Caribbean