Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST

CEP Technical Report No. 12
4.32 Regional cooperation
It is likely that hawksbill turtles move freely among the islands of the Lesser Antilles (as
is known to occur in other sea turtle species), and collaborative conservation efforts by several
different countries will be required to safeguard depleted populations. This may prove to be
difficult since some other countries, such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, rely relatively
heavily on sea turtle exploitation. Nonetheless, the cooperation of neighbouring states is important
to the success of any sea turtle protection measures instituted in Barbados. One mechanism
for co-operation on a regional scale is the Convention for the Protection and Development of the
Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the "Cartagena Convention"). The
Cartagena Convention is coupled with an Action Plan, known as the Action Plan for the Caribbean
Environment Programme (APCEP). The First Intergovernmental Meeting on APCEP was
convened by UNEP in cooperation with the Economic Commission for Latin America in Montego
Bay, Jamaica, in 1981. The representatives of Governments from 22 States in the region,
including Barbados, adopted APCEP at this meeting and established the Caribbean Trust Fund to
support common costs and activities associated with the implementation of the Action Plan.
In March, 1983, a Conference of Plenipotentiaries met in Cartagena, Colombia, to
negotiate what would become known as the Cartagena Convention. Representatives from 16
States participated. The Conference adopted both the Convention and a Protocol concerning cooperation
in combating oil spills in the region. The Convention describes the responsibilities of
Contracting Parties to "prevent, reduce and control" pollution from a variety of sources (i.e., atsea
dumping of waste, pollution from ships, land-based and airborne sources, and from sea-bed
activities). Article 10 is of special interest to sea turtles in that it addresses the responsibilities of
Contracting Parties to "individually or jointly, take all appropriate measures to protect and
preserve rare or fragile ecosystems, as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered
species, in the Convention area." Barbados ratified the Cartagena Convention on 28 May 1985.
In January 1990, a Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)
to the Cartagena Convention was adopted by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries, providing a
mechanism whereby species of wild fauna and flora could be protected on a regional scale. The
landmark Protocol grants explicit protection to species listed in three categories, or annexes.
Annex I includes species of flora exempt from all forms of destruction or disturbance. Annex II
ensures total protection and recovery to listed species of fauna, with minor exceptions.
Specifically, Annex II listing prohibits (a) the taking, possession or killing (including, to the
extent possible, the incidental taking, possession or killing) or commercial trade in such species,
their eggs, parts or products, and (b) to the extent possible, the disturbance of such species,
particularly during periods of breeding, incubation, estivation or migration, as well as other
periods of biological stress. Annex III denotes species in need of "protection and recovery", but
subject to a regulated harvest.
On 11 June 1991, Plenipotentiaries again met in Kingston, Jamaica, to formally adopt the
Annexes. The Conference voted unanimously to include all six species of sea turtle inhabiting
the Wider Caribbean (these are: Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata,
Dermochelys coriacea, Lepidochelys kempii, L. olivacea) in Annex II (UNEP, 1991; Eckert,
1991). The unanimous vote on this issue is a clear statement on the part of Caribbean govern-
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