JULY <strong>2017</strong> CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 14 See why the <strong>Caribbean</strong> is worth defending. Join The Nature Conservancy and help us Defend Paradise. The Nature Conservancy works throughout the region to protect seas, coastlines, and coral reefs on which we all depend. We need your help to protect our waters and our way of life. To find out how you can make a lasting impact on conservation in the <strong>Caribbean</strong> and to join our campaign to Defend Paradise, visit nature.org/defendparadise.
CARIBBEAN ECO-NEWS ‘The <strong>Caribbean</strong> Must Lead’ In a statement on the occasion of World Environment Day <strong>2017</strong>, June 5th, Ambassador Irwin Larocque, Secretary-General of the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Community, CARICOM, said, “On the occasion of World Environment Day, the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Community would like to remind the Region that environmental stewardship is the responsibility of everyone. “The <strong>Caribbean</strong> is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, from the pristine islands of The Bahamas to the dense jungles of Suriname, from the vibrant coral reefs of Belize to the energy-rich volcanic island of Montserrat. The resources harvested from our lands and from the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Sea have sustained our people for thousands of years. Our ancestors did so sustainably, taking only what they needed and storing for those leaner days. “Historically, our societal and cultural practices have been intertwined with our natural patrimony, including through our culinary expression. We have used our rivers, waterfalls and beaches as places for comingling and communing with nature. Our artists have been inspired by their natural surroundings. “However, our environmental resources continue to be adversely affected by human activity and natural disasters and this is exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Climate change is real. We are living it. Rising temperatures are threatening food production, killing our reefs and burning our forests. Rising sea levels are flooding our lowlands, contaminating our water supply and eroding our beaches. Global warming gives rise to more severe weather events of greater intensity and frequency including hurricanes, drought and excessive rainfall. These are causing more loss of life and creating more havoc than ever before. New and more infectious diseases are cropping up, challenging our ability to respond to them. “We played an important role in ensuring that the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was concluded and addressed the needs of Small Island and low-lying coastal Developing States. It is therefore with deep disappointment that we have received the news of the withdrawal of the United States. “It must be noted that environmental and natural resources management is an integral part of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs our Community. The promotion of environmental resilience is among the priorities identified in the CARICOM Strategic Plan for the period 2015-2019, with one of the stated goals being to ‘ensure effective management of the natural resources across Member States’. “The Region is responding through the development of a <strong>Caribbean</strong> Community Natural Resource Policy Framework and Action Plan. Member States are about to engage in national stakeholder consultations on the Draft Policy and Action Plan, which will see the involvement of civil society, including the indigenous fishing communities that are often on the frontlines, as well as the private sector. “Healthy societies and economies are dependent on a healthy environment. Our citizens should be encouraged to consider ways by which they can take advantage of the extensive natural heritage with which this Region has been blessed and how they can play a part in safeguarding it for our future generations. “The destiny of the planet is in our hands. We cannot depend on others. We must lead. Others will follow our lead.” <strong>Caribbean</strong> Receives Climate-Action Loan In May, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and <strong>Caribbean</strong> Development Bank (CDB) signed a US$110 million financing agreement to support investment projects in the <strong>Caribbean</strong> under CDB’s climate action policy. The EUR 100 million climate-action initiative is the EIB’s biggest loan to the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. Eligible investments under the Climate Action Framework Loan II include climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, road transport, water infrastructure and community-level physical and social infrastructure that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience to the impacts of climate change. <strong>Caribbean</strong> Makes Strides with Marine Protected Areas According to a June 1st report in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, the <strong>Caribbean</strong> has, in recent months, made progress on the protection of marine areas vital to the sustainability of the region’s tourism product. This includes a new sister sanctuary agreement signed between the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Government of the Netherlands in May (see details in item below). The Government of Haiti also declared two new MPAs, Jeremie-Abricot and Baraderes-Cayemites, located in the Grand’Anse Department of Haiti (Grand Sud region), bringing the total of MPAs officially declared by the government of Haiti to 11. The government of Grenada declared its own Grand Anse as a new MPA in April. This MPA is home to a coral-replanting project to help rehabilitate damaged reefs along the Grand Anse Bay. Many of the smaller islands in the <strong>Caribbean</strong> are better placed to establish and effectively manage MPAs, following the conclusion of the Eastern <strong>Caribbean</strong> Marine Managed Areas Network project. “UN Environment continues to support these and other governments and stakeholders to manage their MPAs more effectively,” the UN’s <strong>Caribbean</strong> Environment Program (CEP) said. The CEP works with countries and regional partners to establish and manage marine protected areas. Approximately 32 protected areas have been designated under the SPAW Protocol, with the most recent being the Cayos San Felipe National Park in Cuba. CEP continues to implement and execute projects such as the Biodiversity for Sustainable Development in the <strong>Caribbean</strong> through ecosystembased management. These projects promote local community engagement and the use of ecosystembased management approaches. Read the full story at http://jamaica-gleaner.com/ article/news/<strong>2017</strong>0601/caribbean-makes-stridesmarine-protected-areas New ‘Sister Sanctuary’ Agreement Further Protects Whales A new “sister sanctuary” agreement signed this spring between NOAA and the government of The Netherlands adds to a network of marine protected areas stretching from New England to the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Sea, and now provides refuge for North Atlantic humpback whales at both ends of their 3,000-mile annual migration. The agreement between NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of Massachusetts, and the Yarari Marine Mammal & Shark Sanctuary of the <strong>Caribbean</strong> in the Dutch Lesser Antilles, provides for joint whale research, monitoring, education and conservation. From April through December, humpback whales feed in Stellwagen Bank, and migrate to lower latitudes in the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Sea during the winter to mate and calve. Yarari sanctuary is a breeding and calving ground for the humpback whale population of around 1,000 whales that travels between the two nations. The nearly 9,000-square-mile Yarari sanctuary joins sanctuaries off the Dominican Republic, the French Antilles and Bermuda in the sister sanctuary network that now encompasses 257,000 square miles in the western North Atlantic. The sister sanctuary concept is part of a plan for marine mammal protected areas worldwide and is partially supported by the United Nations Environment Programme. Rapid Reef Assessment Training In March and April, members of the Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas joined a regionwide workshop hosted by the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) Program and The Nature Conservancy to train persons in coral reef monitoring techniques. The AGRRA method, formed in 1998 and used extensively across the <strong>Caribbean</strong> and Latin America, provides a quick overview of coral reef health that marine managers can use to share and compare to see how their MPAs are performing. Designed to monitor the health of corals, AGRRA is innovative in that it also surveys organisms that affect coral health indirectly. The training took place in St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines, involved persons from Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Lucia, and was led by AGRRA experts Dr. Judy Lang and Ken Marks. Graduates of the course, including St. Vincent & the Grenadines Fisheries, Akim Clement of Sandy Island/Oyster Bed MPA in Carriacou, Olando Harvey and Denzel Adams of Grenada’s MPAs, and Sonia Jind of Sustainable Grenadines, will now be able to use these new skills to improve reef conservation, management, and policy. Bonaire Beach Protection Project With the installation of information signs at Atlantis (Kite Beach) and the restriction of vehicle access to all the vulnerable sea turtle nesting areas in the south of Bonaire, Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire’s Beach Protection Project has come to a successful end. The Beach Protection Project aims to restrict vehicle access to sea turtle nesting beaches, give nature a chance to restore natural vegetation, and reduce pollution on the beach by improving the trash collecting facilities. The project is funded with “Natuurgelden” made available by the Dutch government and executed in collaboration with Wild Conscience and the openbaar lichaam Bonaire. Visit www.bonaireturtles.org for more information. SONIA JIND JULY <strong>2017</strong> CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 15
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