Quarterly Update Dear LBS Focal Points, Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) UNEP-CAR/RCU This is part of ongoing efforts by the AMEP Secretariat to provide LBS focal points with information on the status of projects and activities to support the ratification and implementation of the Oil Spills and Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution Protocols. This update will be circulated by e-mail to LBS focal points on a quarterly basis. The Report will be structured under the main thematic areas of AMEP: A. Programme Coordination; B. GEF Projects; C. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment; D. National Programmes of Action; E. Integrated Waste Management; F. Integrated Watershed Management; G. Wastewater Management; H. Oil Spills and I. Other. For further details on the information provided and/or to provide comments and recommendations, please contact Christopher Corbin, AMEP Programme Officer at cjc@cep.unep.org or Ms. Nadia-Deen Ferguson, AMEP Programme Assistant at ndf@cep.unep.org. Thanks for your continued support. A. Programme Management The United States of America became the 6 th country to formally accede to the Protocol on the Control of Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution. Arrangements are being made for the appropriate documentation to be sent by the US to the Government of Colombia as Depository. The 13 th Intergovernmental Meeting of the Caribbean Action Plan and 10 th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Cartagena Convention was successfully concluded in Antigua and Barbuda from September 8 th to 12 th. A summary of the major Decisions of the meeting and the full report of the meeting is available at http://cep.unep.org/cepnew3/events-andmeetings/13th-igm-1 The 5 th LBS ISTAC Meeting is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2009. Discussions are ongoing with interested Governments to host the meeting. 1
Three one minute Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in English on the LBS Protocol have been completed. Copies were provided to country delegates at the 13th IGM in Antigua. New UNEP CEP brochures are also now available in English. The Secretariat is seeking funds to translate this promotional material into Spanish and French. The full LBS Promotional DVD is still available in Spanish and English from the Secretariat. The AMEP Media Brief has been completed and will be published in December. Under the IWCAM Project, support will be provided to participating countries to convene LBS Promotional Workshops in 2009 to assist in efforts to ratify/accede to the LBS Protocol. B. GEF Projects The third project steering committee meeting for the GEF IWCAM Project was held in Jamaica on October 6,. A copy of the meeting report which approved the work plan and budget for 2009 can be downloaded at http://cep.unep.org/iwcam/documents/meeting-reports/gef-iwcam-projectsteering-committee-meetings/gef-iwcam-third-project-steering-committeemeeting/ The Third Project Steering Committee Meeting for the GEF REPCar Project was held in Nicaragua from November13-14,. The UNEP IADB GEF Proposal on the development of a Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CreW) was approved by the GEF CEO for submission to the GEF Council in November. The following countries have submitted formal letters of endorsement for this project through their GEF focal points: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, and St. Lucia. The list of IWCAM Focal and Demo Project Points for the 13 participating countries can be downloaded at: http://cep.unep.org/iwcam/participatingcountries The contact data for the Regional Coordinating Unit and the list of REPCar focal points for the three participating countries can be downloaded at: http://cep.unep.org/repcar/contact-us 2
C. Environmental Assessment and Monitoring The draft updated CEP Technical Report 33 will be submitted by LBS/RAC- CIMAB to LBS focal points in November for their review and comment. The final report will be published by December. UNEP CAR/RCU in coordination with the GEF REPCAR project is developing a web-based interactive map to showcase the results of AMEP Projects and activities. This tool will be available on the CEP web site by February 2009. UNEP CAR/RCU will convene a meeting with the LBS RACs, CEHI and the GEF IWCAM Project Unit in November to develop a work plan for conducting Hot Spot Assessments under the IWCAM Project. Water quality monitoring at hotspots included in the Know-Why Network Project is currently executed and results for Havana Bay (Cuba), Bluefields Bay (Nicaragua), Gulf of Cariaco (Venezuela), Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta (Colombia), Point Lisas (Trinidad and Tobago), and Kingston Harbour (Jamaica) will be completed by the end of the year. Under the GEF-IWCAM Project, and lead by CEHI, laboratory capacity building has taken place in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba. Lab Capacity assessments conducted by CEHI will continue in and 2009 as the basis for additional lab capacity strengthening. The REPCar project started an assessment of the pollution of coastal and marine environments by pesticides residues in Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The monitoring locations can be observed at: http://cep.unep.org/repcar/activities/coastal-monitoring/coastalmonitoring-1. The project documents including the analytical manual can be downloaded at http://cep.unep.org/repcar/actividades/monitoreocostero/monitoreo-costero-1/view?set_language=es (Spanish only). A regional meeting of the coastal monitoring programme is scheduled for February 2009. 3
D. National Programmes of Action Joint UNEP CAR/RCU and NOAA Mission conducted to Suriname in October to initiate development of a NPA for Suriname. New MOU developed between NOAA and UNEP GPA to support NPA development and implementation in Grenada, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. Work is nearing completion on the Pilot NPA development for watershed areas (part of the Demerara Watershed) around the City of Linden in Guyana. This work is being supported by NOAA and is being implemented by CEHI (part of a parallel effort in partnership with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to formulate a Water Safety Plan for the water utility in Linden). Report of the NPA mainstreaming workshop held in July in Jamaica with support from UNEP GPA can be downloaded at: http://cep.unep.org/cepnew3/about-cep/amep/national-programme-ofaction1 GEF- IWCAM Project in coordination with CEHI will continue to support the development and implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plans in late and 2009 in CARICOM countries. GEF REPCar Project has produced a draft manual for the Programa de Monitoreo Costero entitled Guía para el muestreo, preparación y análisis de contaminantes orgánicos en muestras ambientales (agua, suelos/sedimentos y biota) available at http://cep.unep.org/repcar/activities/coastal-monitoring/coastalmonitoring-1 E. Integrated Waste Management Online data base for Marine Litter has been completed and will be available on the CEP web site from November. Marine Litter Pilot Projects have been completed in Saint Lucia and Barbados. 4
Final case studies on marine litter will be prepared following the completion of the Guyana pilot project in November. Joint IMO/UNEP/REMPEITC Seminar conducted on MV Freewinds in Curacao on October 22nd and 23rd on LBS Protocol and MARPOL 73/78 Convention F. Integrated Watershed Management Case studies for the Small Grants programme to support Best Management Practices in Agriculture coordinated by Earth University have been completed and will be available online by November. Water and Climate Change project in Guatemala and Honduras supported by UNEP DEPI and coordinated jointly by CATIE and CATHALAC has been completed and final reports will be available on the CEP web site by December. Project concepts have been prepared to seek additional funding for follow up activities. Pilot Project on watershed management in Guatemala within their NPA was completed with the support of CATHALAC. The REPCar project is starting-up demo projects in Good Agricultural Practices in the coastal areas of Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The targeted crops are banana, plantain, pineapple, oil palm and beans. The demo projects will validate Best Management Practices in pesticides management and include an ambitious farmers training programme. More information will be son available on the project website. G. Sewage and Wastewater Management Pilot Project on Water and Sanitation supported by UNEP DTIE in Breadnut Valley, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica will be completed by December. Joint UNEP/PAHO Project to assess status of wastewater treatment plants in Jamaica in support of the LBS Protocol to commence in November 5
l SSFA signed with Government of Saint Lucia to support Constructed Wetlands Project with co-financing from GEF-IWCAM Project and the European Union. Project expected to be implemented between November and November 2009. Funds have been mobilized to conduct a Sewage Needs Assessment for Belize in 2009. Similar assessments have already been completed in Tobago, Panama and Saint Lucia. Wastewater Management Training with financial support from UNEP GPA and technical support from PAHO, CEHI and CAR/RCU has been completed in Suriname, Jamaica and Barbados. Follow up training is expected to take place in Trinidad and Tobago in late and in the Bahamas and Dominican Republic and Belize in 2009. H. Oil Spills Planning National workshop on Oil Spill Contingency Planning to be held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines by December under coordination of RAC REMPEITC. I. Other The newly updated web site for CEP will be launched in November. Focal points are encouraged to submit comments and recommendations for further improvements. A document entitled 'A Summary of Facts and Findings on Marine and Coastal Issues in the Wider Caribbean Region has been prepared under AMEP and will be made available on the new web site. This will be translated into Spanish by end of December. Three more signatories are required to bring the LBS Protocol into force. The current list and contact information for LBS Focal Points can be downloaded from http://cep.unep.org/cepnew3/about-cep/amep. Please advise the Secretariat of any changes to this list. 6 Contact: Mr. Christopher Corbin, AMEP Programme Officer, UNEP CAR/RCU, 14-20 Port Royal Street, Kingston, Jamaica, Tel.: (876) 922-9267-9; Fax: (876) 922-9292; Email: cjc@cep.unep.org