Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST

The series of CEP Technical Reports contains selected information resulting from the
various activities performed within the framework of the UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme
(CEP). CEP was initiated in 1976 by UNEP with the assistance of ECLAC, at the
request of the Governments of the region. A framework for regional projects and activities
was first formulated in Montego Bay in 1981, when the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment
Programme was adopted by the First Intergovernmental Meeting.
The major legal instrument of CEP was adopted at the Second Intergovernmental
Meeting, convened at Cartagena de Indias, in 1983: the Convention for the Protection and
Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region. The Cartagena
Convention provides a framework for the development of specific protocols.
The implementation of CEP is supported by the Caribbean Trust Fund, established by
the participating States and Territories. Their active participation is ensured through regular
Intergovernmental and Contracting Parties Meetings, a rotating Monitoring Committee
formed by representatives from nine States and Territories and through the National Focal
Points. The principal focal point in each State or Territory is the ministry or department responsible
for external relations or foreign affairs. Additionally, the agency responsible for
the management of marine and coastal resources is the focal point for technical purposes.
Currently, the Action Plan of CEP concentrates in six major areas for the management
of marine and coastal resources: Overall Co-ordination, Specially Protected Areas and
Wildlife (SPAW), Assessment and Control of Marine Pollution (CEPPOL), Integrated Planning
and Institutional Development (IPID), Information Systems (CEPNET), and Education,
Training and Awareness (ETA).
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The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) to the
Cartagena Convention was adopted in two stages: the text of the Protocol was adopted on 18
January 1990 and the initial Annexes listing relevant marine and coastal species, were
adopted on 11 June 1991. The Protocol will enter into force following ratification by nine
Contracting Parties.
The Regional Programme for Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider
Caribbean Region (SPAW) was designed to implement the provisions and requirements of
the SPAW Protocol. Its objectives are: (a) to develop specific management plans for economically
and ecologically important species; (b) to significantly increase the number of
adequately managed protected areas and species in the region; and © to develop a strong regional
capability for the co-ordination of information exchange, training and technical assistance
in support of national, subregional and regional efforts on management of protected
areas and wildlife.