* Happy 2001 to all *
The members of  Staff of the Regional Co-ordinating Unit of UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and the CEPnews Editorial Board wish for all the National and Technical Focal Points of CEP, partner organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations a peaceful, prosperous and productive year 2001.

Happy 2001 also to our various readers, experts, and writers who provided articles or material for CEPnews editions.

Inside this issue:

Editorial

CEP had quite an active youth, learning and consulting with all parties involved in its upbringing. So active that after two years, in 1983, CEP adopted its well thought-out legal framework in the form of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention), accompanied by a Protocol to combat oil spill emergencies, at the time a major environmental priority for the region. Still today, the only legally binding environmental treaty for the Wider Caribbean is the Cartagena Convention. Infants are usually dependent for their development. The young CEP was no exception as it depended on the support of so many. UNEP was the main source of support for the early years as customary with its Regional Seas Programmes until they become self-dependent. The Caribbean Trust Fund was established shortly after the establishment of CEP by the member Governments, which together with the support from partner organisations, other governments and donors, have allowed the CEP to keep growing. In 1986, the Regional Co-ordinating Unit (CAR/RCU) was established in Kingston, Jamaica, to co-ordinate the Programme and provide the Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention.

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Came the adolescent CEP, strong and independent, producing two additional protocols, concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) in 1990 and Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS) in 1999. In 1997 Governments recognised that CEP’s development needed to focus in major areas to address the provisions of the Convention and priorities for the region. In this way four major areas of work were developed: SPAW, AMEP, CEPNET and ETA sub-programmes to support the Convention and its Protocols. But those were also difficult years. Preparations for the Earth Summit coupled with the economic problems in many countries, affected the participation of governments in the Programme and its further development. The RCU’s direction was for a while unstable and UNEP was restructuring its course and organisation. The CEP had a few stormy years but rapidly recovered under strong leadership by UNEP and the Parties.

By 2000, the SPAW Protocol entered into force. Overseeing, supervising, responsibilities…adulthood was about to come. But what is adulthood? Wisdom? Perfection? Complete knowledge? Certainly not. On the contrary, the responsible adult recognises that it is not alone, that one cannot be independent in the real world. The responsible adult looks for connections, exchanges and a way to share. He becomes inter-dependent. He works at developing fruitful relationships that will allow him to keep on broadening his perspectives while giving him the opportunities to grow and to expand his adolescent initiatives..

CEP will have to improve its analytical capacities to better help others doing the same. With the proper tools and the right message, CEP must be a responsible adult, recognised for its accomplishments and known for its strong capacities. A big challenge! But there is time; adulthood is the longest period of life, after all.

What lies ahead for CEP’s birthday? 2001 will be a big year. The First Meeting of the Interim Scientific, Technical and Advisory Committee (ISTAC) to the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities in the Wider Caribbean will be held from 19 to 23 February in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Then, the 13^th Meeting of the Monitoring Committee on the Action Plan for the CEP and a Special Meeting of the Bureau of Contracting Parties to the Cartagena Convention (MonCom) is planned for 25-29 June in San José, Costa Rica. And possibly, the First Meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to the SPAW Protocol and First Meeting of the Parties to the SPAW Protocol are planned with a tentative date and venue of 24-29 September in Havana, Cuba.

In this issue of CEPnews, the reader will also be able to judge from the Programme Updates that many more activities are being implemented this year. Finally, as a responsible adult CEP must be able to plan ahead, to forecast what is to come. Many challenges will have to be faced, many of them bringing many development opportunities.

Amongst them:

• the still-to-come Convention for the North East Pacific, which will include some member countries of the CEP. This should bring collaboration opportunities, transfer of experience and other opportunities;

• the creation of a RAC for the LBS Protocol;

• the need for co-ordination with the global/regional assessments and reporting initiatives like the Global Programme of Action (GPA), the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) or the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA);

• development of Internet-based decision-making tools such as: clearing-house, GIS and remote sensing data on-line, more networking, regional and global discussion forum

To prepare itself for these new challenges and to improve its role of facilitator, CEP will work hard this year at improving its communication tools. Readers can expect changes in the CEPnews format (frequency, languages, distribution mode, etc.) and more information content in its web site. It is hoped that these tools will be more open to your inputs and even more useful to assist you in your tasks and responsibilities. But still a long, and hopefully, happy way to wisdom!

The CEP Programme Officers

CEP Homepage

Last updated: 07 February, 2001

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