MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN

Rapport de l’Atelier sur le tourisme et le développement durable en Méditerranée
Antaly (Turquie), 17, 18 & 19 septembre 1998
• Foster regional cooperation among all States and Territories bordering the
Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico acting as Secretariat for the Cartagena
Convention and its Protocols
• Integral part of Regional Seas Programme of UNEP
• 34 member countries (dependencies and territories) which provide catalytic
funding through the Caribbean Trust Fund
• A Regional Coordinating Unit functions as Secretariat and is responsible for
overall coordination
T HE F RAMEWORK-CATALYST OF E NVIRONMENTAL A CTION
• assist countries to:
strengthen environmental institutions
harmonise environmental legislation in support of the Cartagena
Convention
assess and monitor environmental problems
enhance networking & human capacity and facilitate technology
transfer
• embodies four substantive programme areas:
information and data management (CEPNET)
assessment and management of environmental pollution (AMEP)
education, training and awareness (ETA)
specially protected areas and wildlife (SPAW)
M ARINE AND C OASTAL E NVIRONMENTS IN THE C ARIBBEAN
• 26% of coastlines in the LAC are under high potential threat of degradation and
a further 24% under moderate threat from coastal development- domestic
sewage, coastal erosion, industrial waste, mining & sediment runoff and
tourism growth are all increasing the stress
• 25% of the people in the region live in coastal areas (close to 100% in island
Nations)
• coastal habitats within the Caribbean region are areas of high and unique
levels of biodiversity: second largest barrier reef in the world; high percentage
of endemism and species richness
• vulnerability of the region’s ecosystems to climate and sea level changes as well
as natural disasters
T OURISM IN THE C ARIBBEAN
• tourism is an important part of the social and economical development of the
region
• the tourism industry depends heavily in the maintenance of the health of the
region’s marine and coastal resources; close to 60% of world’s scuba diving tours
are in the Caribbean
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Plan Bleu