AMEP - Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution

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Andre Dixon — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:05:00 -0500

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GEF Projects

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:49 -0400

Global Environment Facility Projects

ARTICLE V

a) IWCAM for Caribbean SIDS‏ (www.iwcam.org)

Laboratory Strengthening
Hot spot Diagnosis
GIS and Information Systems (PIMs)‏
Policy and Legal Reforms

b) Reducing Pesticide Runoff to the Caribbean Sea (www.cep.unep.org/repcar)

Coastal and Marine Monitoring
Development of DEMO Projects

c) Contaminated Bays in Cuba

Terminal Workshop

Integrated Waste Management

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:48 -0400

ANNEX I

Marine Litter

What is marine litter?

Scientists define marine litter (debris) as “any manufactured or processed solid waste material (typically inert) that enters the marine environment from any source.” It is more than an unsightly inconvenience for beach-bound vacationers or pleasure boaters; it is one of the world’s most pervasive pollution problems affecting our oceans and inland waterways. Any manufactured material can become marine litter. Cigarette filters, fishing line, fast-food packaging, disposable diapers, tampon applicators, six-pack holders, bottles, cans, syringes, and tires – the litany of litter is as varied as the products available in the global marketplace.

Why is marine litter a problem?

Litter collecting on our beaches detracts from the aesthetic beauty of a waterfront landscape and negatively affects tourism. Litter can also be a human health and safety hazard. Discarded fishing line, rope and plastic bags can wrap around and damage boat propellers, or be sucked into boat engines. Medical wastes and drug paraphernalia lying on beaches can carry diseases, and broken glass and other sharp objects lie in wait for a child’s bare foot. Marine litter can also cause habitat destruction by affecting water quality and causing physical damage. Coral reefs are very susceptible to the impacts of marine litter as well as sea grass beds and bottom-dwelling species in these habitats. Many wildlife often have lethal encounters with marine litter. Many species accidentally ingest trash, mistaking it for their food. Abandoned fishing nets and gear, discarded fishing line and other forms of debris can entangle marine wildlife – sea turtles, manatees, sea birds, and fish – maiming or even killing them.

Where does marine litter come from?

All marine litter originates from human activity. People produce waste, and if waste is not handled appropriately it will, in all likelihood, become litter. Marine litter originates primarily from two distinct sources, the sea (and inland waterways) and the land. Ocean/inland waterways-based sources include boats and ships, from the smallest sailboat to the largest container ship, along with offshore rigs and drilling platforms. The land-based sources include combined sewer overflows and storm drains, landfills, manufacturing and sewage treatment plants, and beachgoers. Once in the water, litter can end up thousands of miles from its origin carried by the wind, ocean currents and tides. Although most litter items are hard to trace back to their source, one fact is clear: marine litter ultimately comes from people, not places. Determining where marine litter originates is not an easy task, since trash can travel long distances before washing up on a beach or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. One approach is to focus programming efforts on the “activities” that are known to produce marine litter:
– Recreational and Shoreline Activities: indiscriminate and intentional littering by beachgoers, picnickers, participants at sports and festival events, and litter carried from inland streets and storm/sewer drains
– Ocean and Waterways Activities: improper handling of solid wastes from recreational fishing/boating, commercial fishing and shipping, military ships, cruise ships, and oil and gas offshore rigs
– Smoking-related Activities: improper disposal and littering of smoking-related materials and packaging by smokers
– Dumping-related Activities: improper disposal of building/construction materials, cars and car parts, and household appliances
– Medical/Personal Hygiene: discarded materials into sewer systems, dumped into storm drains (along roadways and culverts), toilets, and left by beachgoers
By focusing on these documented activities as primary sources of marine litter, prevention strategies can be developed to educate the public as to the problems associated with marine litter and how to prevent it. The only way that we are going to be able to manage this pollution issue is to change people’s behaviours in how they handle trash, concurrently working to increase the effectiveness of public education and enforcement of regulations related to litter and dumping.

Marine Litter Data

Data from the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) collected in the Caribbean Region (2000-2004):

62.8% Shoreline/Recreational Activities (LBS)
8.3% Ocean/Waterway Activities (OBS)
25.9% Smoking Activities (LBS)
2.1% Dumping Activities (LBS)
0.9% Medical/Personal Hygiene (LBS)

The dominant source of debris documented in the ICC data from the Caribbean Region is land-based-LBS (91.7%). Ocean-based (OBS) debris comes in at 8.3%.

Land-based sources of debris are documented to have a profound impact on tourism (and other economic indicators) and human health and safety. Ocean-based debris forms (e.g. fishing nets, gear and supplies, rope, fish traps, sheeting/tarps, and strapping bands) can also be harmful to wildlife (entanglement and ingestion) and damaging to sensitive aquatic habitats like coral reefs and sea grass beds.

What is being done?

In 2007, UNEP Regional Seas, UNEP-CAR/RCU, Regional Activity Centres IMA (Trinidad and Tobago) and Regional Activity Centre CIMAB (Cuba) in consultation with regional coastal experts, government and community stakeholders developed a 'Regional Action Plan for the Sustainable Management of Marine Litter'(RAPMaLi).

The RAPMaLi was preceded by the preparation of a detailed Regional Overview document that summarizes the existing status of Marine Litter in the Wider Caribbean Sea Region including a review of the relevant regional and national legal instruments, programmes and institutional arrangements

Additionally a draft regional monitoring and assessment methodology was developed in order to detect and determine amounts, distribution patterns, effects and trends of marine litter in the region.

Further to the development of the RAPMaLi and the increasing global threat of marine litter the UNEP Regional Seas and UNEP-CAR/RCU have initiated a project to implement the RAPMaLi in three pilot countries: Barbados, Guyana and St. Lucia

All of the related information on marine litter are available for download below.

Related Projects:

Implementation of the Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAPMaLi)
Support to the BASEL Convention

Integrated Watershed Management

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:47 -0400

Integrated Watershed Management

ANNEX IV & ARTICLE V

Related Projects:

GEF-IWCAM
Small grants programme for best management practices in agriculture- Costa Rica, and Guatemala

National Programmes of Action

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:46 -0400

National Programmes of Action

ARTICLE V

The development of National Programmes of Action (NPA) are being used to assist countries of the region to respond in a more integrated manner to the increasing threats to the marine environment from land based activities and sources of pollution.

The NPA project was designed to support the goals of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) which provides practical guidance to regional and national authorities to address marine degradation from land-based activities. The objectives of an NPA are to:

Implement an NPA as a long-term iterative process that feeds into national development plans and priorities;
Improve the effectiveness of existing action plans;
Mobilize political and financial support for the long-term programme and to demonstrate that land-based activities can be addressed using alternative, realistic and country-driven approaches; and,
Raise awareness and understanding of the value, benefits and vulnerability of strategic coastal and marine environments.

UNEP continues to work with countries to develop and finalize NPAs taking into account country specific considerations. Countries presently involved in the development and implementation of a National Programmes of Action are: Barbados Jamaica, St. Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

To view their respective reports, kindly click on the links below.

Barbados (coming soon)
Belize: Draft NPA
Jamaica: view NPA
Saint Lucia: NPA Final Report (Appendices: 1-9, 10 and 11-13)
Trinidad and Tobago (coming soon)

In July 2008, a regional workshop was convened to discuss strategies and mechanisms to mainstream NPAs into national plans and programmes.

Related Projects: Water and Climate Change in Central America (in collaboration with CATIE and CATHALAC)‏, GEF IWCAM Project – Integrated Water Resource Management plans.

Environmental Monitoring & Assessment

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:45 -0400

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

ARTICLE VI

Article VI of the LBS Protocol addresses the issue of monitoring and assessment programmes. It states that '...Such programmes may, inter alia:

systematically identify and assess patterns and trends in the environmental quality of the Convention area; and
assess the effectiveness of measures taken to implement the Protocol.'

To this end, Decision 1 of the Eleventh Intergovernmental Meeting of the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environmental Program (CEP), Jamaica 2004, identified the necessity to update the CEP Technical Report No. 33 describing the regional overview of land-based sources (LBS) of pollution in the Wider Caribbean Region. Following this decision, UNEP CAR/RCU, in collaboration with the Regional Activity Centre for the LBS Protocol, organized two regional workshops (one in Caracas, Venezuela and the other in Havana, Cuba) to discuss and approve methodologies to determine pollutant loads from land-based point sources and non-point sources.

To facilitate the compilation of information needed for the LBS survey, various methodologies were drafted to allow for the assessment of point and non-point sources of pollution as well as for estimating solid waste levels in the Wider Caribbean Region. These methodologies are available from 'Attachments' below.

Further to the update to Technical report 33, pollutant load data and supporting environment monitoring data have been incorporated into a GIS atlas. Information will be publicly available in March 2009 through the CEP website.

April 4-8, 2006 saw the convening of a Regional Workshop on Coastal and Marine Water Quality Indicators and Methodologies to Determine Pollutant Loads in the Wider Caribbean in Havana Cuba. The results of this workshop are also available below .

Related Projects: Update to Technical Report 33, Know Why Network Project, GIS Capacity Building Project, GEF IWCAM and REPCar, Hot Spot Diagnostic Analyses.

Assessment & Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP)

CEP Web Admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:32:45 -0400

Information material

AMEP Workplan 08/09

AMEP Brochure

LBS Brochure
Media Brief 08
AMEP Quarterly
Jan/Mar 09
Oct/Dec 08

LBS Focal Point Directory (April 09)

Pollution Issues

Heavy Metals
Solid Waste & Marine Litter
Nutrients
Oils (Hydrocarbons)
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Pesticides
Radioactive Substances
Wastewater, Sewage and Sanitation
Sedimentation and Erosion

AMEP Goal

To control, prevent and reduce pollution of the coastal and marine environment from land and marine-based sources and activities thereby enabling Countries of the Wider Caribbean to meet their obligations under the Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution and Oil Spills Protocols of the Cartagena Convention.

AMEP Objectives

Promote ratification of, accession to, and implementation of the LBS and Oil Spills Protocols;
Enhance coordination, collaboration, cooperation, and communication with regional and international organizations (CCCCs)‏ in project development and implementation related to AMEP

AMEP - Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution

Newsletters

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

GEF Projects

Global Environment Facility Projects

ARTICLE V

Integrated Waste Management

ANNEX I

Marine Litter

What is marine litter?

Why is marine litter a problem?

Where does marine litter come from?

Marine Litter Data

What is being done?

Integrated Watershed Management

Integrated Watershed Management

ANNEX IV & ARTICLE V

National Programmes of Action

National Programmes of Action

ARTICLE V

Environmental Monitoring & Assessment

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

ARTICLE VI

Assessment & Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP)

Information material

Pollution Issues

AMEP Goal

AMEP Objectives

AMEP Thematic Areas