Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)

Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)
Name	Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife
Date signed	1990
Location signed	Kingston, Jamaica
Parties	Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Depositor	Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention
Language	English language

Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)

The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife is a multilateral environmental agreement negotiated under the auspices of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region known as the Cartagena Convention, concluded in Kingston, Jamaica in 1990 and entered into force in the 1990s. It engages coastal and island States and territories of the Caribbean Sea, links to regional mechanisms such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and interfaces with global instruments including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Background and Adoption

The Protocol was developed in the context of regional concerns raised at forums like the Caribbean Conservation Association, the Organization of American States meetings, and the Inter-American Development Bank consultations, responding to pressures on ecosystems observed in case studies from The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, and Dominican Republic. Negotiations drew on precedents from the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic and lessons from the Mediterranean Action Plan, while delegates referenced scientific assessments from Smithsonian Institution, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and researchers associated with University of the West Indies and Yale University. Adoption at the Kingston Conference reflected commitments by signatories to harmonize measures comparable to instruments like the Barcelona Convention and the Convention on Wetlands.

Objectives and Scope

The Protocol’s principal objective aligns with targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity and priorities of the United Nations Environment Programme: to protect, manage, and restore specially protected areas and wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region. Its scope covers territorial seas, exclusive economic zones referenced in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and migratory corridors linked to species listed under the Convention on Migratory Species and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. The text addresses habitats recognized in inventories by institutions like the IUCN Red List, National Audubon Society, and studies from Oxford University and Harvard University.

Key Provisions and Obligations

The Protocol obliges Parties to adopt legal and administrative measures similar to obligations under the European Union Habitats Directive and to cooperate on transboundary conservation reminiscent of arrangements within the North American Free Trade Agreement environmental side agreements. Parties commit to designation of specially protected areas, species protection lists akin to CITES appendices, measures for habitat restoration referenced to methodologies from WWF and Conservation International, and controls on bioprospecting paralleling Nagoya Protocol discussions. It prescribes mechanisms for environmental impact assessment comparable to frameworks applied in World Bank safeguards and regional development banks.

Institutional Framework and Implementation

Implementation is coordinated through the Cartagena Convention Secretariat hosted by UNEP and through regional bodies such as the Caribbean Regional Seas Programme, the Caribbean Community, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and technical partners including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and the Caribbean Development Bank. Scientific guidance has been provided by networks associated with IUCN, Ramsar Secretariat, NOAA Fisheries, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, and academic centers like Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of Miami. Funding and project implementation often involve partnerships with Global Environment Facility, World Wildlife Fund, and bilateral agencies such as United States Agency for International Development.

Parties and Geographic Coverage

Parties include states and territories bordering the Wider Caribbean, from Mexico and Belize through the Caribbean Netherlands and France’s overseas departments such as Guadeloupe and Martinique to northern South American States like Colombia, Venezuela, and Suriname. Coverage encompasses critical ecosystems identified in regional assessments such as the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and continental shelf areas adjoining Central America and South America. The Protocol also intersects political jurisdictions involved in regional agreements like the Association of Caribbean States.

Conservation Measures and Protected Areas

The Protocol establishes criteria for the designation of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance-style sites adapted for the Caribbean, guiding management planning for sites comparable to Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, Banco Chinchorro, Los Roques National Park, and Hol Chan Marine Reserve. It promotes species conservation measures for taxa highlighted by IUCN Red List assessments—sea turtles such as Chelonia mydas, marine mammals noted by IWC, and endemic birds documented by BirdLife International. Restoration projects have mirrored approaches used in Great Barrier Reef management and incorporated tools from Coral Reef Conservation Program initiatives.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Compliance

The Protocol establishes reporting obligations analogous to reporting under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention, requiring periodic national reports submitted to the Cartagena Convention Secretariat with data collection standards reminiscent of GOOS and OBIS. Compliance is overseen through regional meetings of the Contracting Parties, scientific and technical advisory panels that include experts from IUCN, UNEP-WCMC, FAO, and academic partners such as McGill University and University of the West Indies, and by project evaluations funded by entities like the Global Environment Facility and multilateral development banks. Enforcement relies on domestic legal measures comparable to statutory frameworks in United States and France, and on cooperative mechanisms for dispute resolution promoted in other regional environmental instruments.

Category:Environmental treaties Category:Protected areas of the Caribbean