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The Newsletter of the UNEP Caribbean Environmental Programme
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CEPNEWS on the World Wide Web
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(Also available in French and Spanish.)
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Vol. 13 No. 4 Fourth Quarter 1998
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Season's Greetings
The members of the Staff of the Regional Co-ordinating Unit of UNEP's Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and the CEPNEWS Editorial Board wish to extend sincere thanks and appreciation to the National and Technical Focal Points of CEP, the partner organizations, the governmental and non-governmental organizations for the support and help received during 1998.
A special "thank you" to the various readers, experts, and writers who provided articles or material for CEPNEWS editions.
We wish for you and yours a peaceful and prosperous 1999!
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1998:
The International Year of the Ocean
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This final issue of CEPNEWS for 1998 marks the end of the International Year of the Ocean. Reports in this issue on the effects of two hurricanes (see Editorial), unprecedented coral bleaching and the perilous state of coral reefs worldwide (see the Marine Protected Areas Corner), only highlights the need to make every year an International Year of the Ocean.
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In the Wake of Two Hurricanes
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The hurricane season of 1998 has seen two storms inflicting major impact in some of the countries in the Wider Caribbean Region. Hurricane Georges made its way to the Eastern Caribbean on September 20th and 21st, striking St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. On September 22nd the storm hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti, continued to Cuba, and finally passed through the Florida Keys in the early afternoon and evening of Friday September 25th. Hurricane Mitch followed in late October, narrowly bypassing Jamaica. It then moved towards Central America where it remained relatively stationary over the Honduran coast from Tuesday October 27th to Sunday November 1st, causing devastating damage to Nicaragua, Honduras and the surrounding areas. While the impact on lives, property and infrastructure has been extensive, and the subject of many news reports, the destruction to the coastal and marine environments still remains to be assessed. Both hurricanes Mitch and Georges have caused coastal erosion, sedimentation and flooding. Additional concerns about damage to the fragile coral reefs of the impacted regions have also been voiced.
While the damage caused by hurricane
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Mitch on the coral reefs of the Wider Caribbean Region has yet to be assessed, some preliminary coral reef damage evaluations have been conducted following the passage of hurricane Georges.
In the Florida Keys, surveys of the underwater environment were quickly initiated after the passing of the hurricane. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) staff, as well as Reef Relief teams, several researchers and concerned individuals participated in the evaluation and reported their findings on the coral list-server. From these assessments, some common trends and patterns emerge.
The most heavily impacted areas seem to (Continued on page 2)
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