UNEP-Caribbean Environment Programme_Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPECIALLY PROTECTED AREAS AND WILDLIFE PROTOCOL

This page provides a brief summary of the SPAW Protocol and links to relevant documents.

Hypertext version of the SPAW Protocol
The Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries 1990 (a ceremonial signing which reflects a summary of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries)
Resolution adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries at the adoption of the Protocol 1990
The Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the adoption of the Annexes to the Protocol 1991
Resolution adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries at the adoption of the Annexes 1991
Appendix and Annexes to the Protocol 1991
Current Status of the Protocol
Summary Fact Sheet of the Protocol April 2003
(en Español, en Français)
SPAW Brochure (cover, inside) 2002
SPAW Species Database 2003

The Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the Cartagena Convention) is a legally binding environmental treaty for the Wider Caribbean Region. The Convention and its Protocols constitute a legal commitment by the participating governments to protect, develop and manage their common waters individually or jointly.

The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (the SPAW Protocol) has been internationally recognised as the most comprehensive treaty of its kind. Adopted in Kingston, Jamaica by the member governments of the Caribbean Environment Programme on 18 January 1990, the SPAW Protocol preceded other international environmental agreements in utilising an ecosystem approach to conservation. The Protocol acts as a vehicle to assist with regional implementation of the broader and more demanding global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The objective of the Protocol is to protect rare and fragile ecosystems and habitats, thereby protecting the endangered and threatened species residing therein. The Caribbean Regional Co-ordinating Unit pursues this objective by assisting with the establishment and proper management of protected areas, by promoting sustainable management (and use) of species to prevent their endangerment and by providing assistance to the governments of the region in conserving their coastal ecosystems.

The SPAW Sub-Programme of the Caribbean Environment Programme is the operational entity within the CAR/RCU responsible for co-ordinating activities in support of the SPAW Protocol. The SPAW Programme is responsible for the regionalisation of global conventions and initiatives such as the CBD, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).

Related Documents:

Annexes
	Text version of the Annexes to the Protocol; consists of lists of floral and faunal species dealt with by the Protocol
Original Signatories to the Final Act and Protocol
	List of the Parties that originally signed the Protocol and the Final Act of the Conference that established the Protocol
Memorandum of Co-operation between SPAW and the CBD
	The Memorandum of Co-operation signed between the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention.
Memorandum of Co-operation between SPAW and Ramsar
	The Memorandum of Co-operation signed between the Bureau of the Convvention on Wetlands and the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention.

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