| The Secretariat has been quite busy with the SPAW
sub-programme in the first half of 2000 and considerable progress has been made in a
number of areas.
First and foremost, it is important to
note that on June 18, 2000, the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife
(SPAW Protocol) entered into force after being ratified by the Government of St. Lucia.
This brings a lot of additional responsibilities to the RCU Secretariat, as well as to the
Parties of the Protocol. (See Editorial).
Additionally, the SPAW sub-programme made considerable
progress with the following activities:
- The second Training of Trainers course for MPA managers was held in collaboration with
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the Dominican Republic on 1-13 May 2000, for the
Spanish-speaking countries of the region. Fifteen MPA managers benefited from the course
and UNEP-CAR/RCU received funding for this activity mostly from the UN Foundation for
Institutional Partnerships (UNFIP) and the World Bank. (See the
Marine Protected Areas
Corner for further information).
Follow-up to the MPA managers training courses (Saba, 1999 and the Dominican Republic,
2000), including the preparation of Memoranda of Understanding with the various MPAs which
will be conducting training activities at the local level (so far MPAs in Trinidad and
Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia are
preparing their local training activities).
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- A Small Grants Fund (SGF) was established to provide direct assistance to MPAs with
their management capability through development of management/administrative systems, with
special emphasis on financial management and cost recovery systems; damage assessments and
restoration; staff training and purchase of selected equipment (restrictions apply). The
SGF selection criteria, announcement and launching was also done through the CaMPAM
network (i.e. through the list-serve) and through other relevant mechanisms. (See
Marine Protected Areas
Corner for further information).
- Continue the support for the preparation of the national and sub-regional coral
reef status reports for presentation at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Bali
(October 2000) in coordination with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) of
ICRI.
- The Marine Protected Areas network (CaMPAM) and its list serve is being
reactivated and updated in co-ordination with the SPAW-RAC, IUCN-North America and
Biscayne National Park and using the updated e-mail addresses from the MPA training
courses, the MPA database and other relevant sources. (See the Marine Protected Areas
Corner for further information).
For more information, please
contact:
Alessandra Vanzella-Khouri,
Programme Officer,
UNEP-CAR/RCU,
14-20 Port Royal Street,
Kingston, Jamaica;
Tel: (876) 922-9267
Fax: (876) 922-9292
E-mail: avk.uneprcuja@cwjamaica.com |
