Recalling that the Seventh Intergovernmental
Meeting on the Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme
and Fourth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for
the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider
Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention), Kingston, 12-14 December
1994, noted that "...the comprehensive SPAW Protocol is a fundamental
instrument to assist with the implementation of the Convention on
Biologicla Diversity in the region" and requested through Decision
No. 1 that the Regional Co-ordinating Unit (RCU) to the Caribbean
Environment Programme "prepare a draft SPAW-CBD Co-operation
Programme to be considered by the CBD Secretariat."
Recalling that the Third Meeting of the Interim
Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC) to the SPAW Protocol,
Kingston, 11-13 October 1995, recommended that "the CBD-SPAW
Co-operative Programme should:
- take into consideration and be compatible
with the discussions and/or decisions of the Second CBD Conference
of the Parties (COP2)(Jakarta, 6-17 November 1995) in particular
the decisions concerning Agenda Item 8-2 "Co-operation with
other Biodiversity-related Conventions";
- be constructed in a flexible manner in order to
accommodate collaborating partners, as well as other entities concerned
with the conservation of biodiversity in the Wider Caribbean;
- incorporate the philosophy expressed in document
UNEP (OCA)/CAR WG.19/INF.16;
- include a collaborative arrangement between the
CEP Secretariat and the CBD Secretariat and, among other things,
identify the appropriate linkages between STAC, the SPAW RAC and
the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological
Advice (SBSTTA); and
- recognise that collaborative linkages will, inter
alia, depend on adequate resources being made available to
CEP."
Noting that the Second Meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Jakarta,
Indonesia, 6-17 November 1995) adopted Decision 11/13 on "Co-operation
with other Biodiversity-Related Conventions," under which the
Convention's Executive Secretary is requested "to co-ordinate
with the Secretariats of relevant biodiversity-related conventions
with a view to:
- facilitating exchange of information and
experience;
- exploring the possibility of recommending procedures
for harmonising, to the extent desirable and practicable, the reporting
requirements of Parties under those instruments and conventions;
- exploring the possibility of co-ordinating their
respective programmes of work;
- consulting on how such conventions and other international
legal instruments can contribute to the implementation of the provisions
of the Convention on Biological Diversity."
Aware that the Secretariat of the Cartagena
Convention is prepared to co-operate with the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity in order to promote co-operation and co-ordination
in the Wider Caribbean on biodiversity conservation, together with
other relevant convention secretariats;
Therefore the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity and the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention
(Regional Co-ordinating Unit of the Caribbean Environment Programme
of UNEP), hereinafter referred to as "secretariats" decide
as follows:
Article 1.
Institutional Co-operation
- The secretariats will explore the possibility
for the organs of one Convention to participate as observers at
meetings of the other.
- The secretariats will inform their respective focal
points in each Contracting Party of their co-operative activities,
and will seek to promote consultation and co-operation between focal
points in those Contracting Parties where the focal points for the
conventions are different.
Article 2.
Exchange of Information and Experience
- The secretariats will institute procedures
for regular exchanges of information in their respective fields
of action.
- The secretariats will work out modalities for exchanging
data on biodiversity contained in their databases and the Clearing-house
Mechanism under the Convention on Biological Diversity and for co-operating
in preparing relevant documents under each Convention.
Article 3.
Co-ordination of Programmes of Work
- The secretariats will explore the possibility
to co-ordinate the preparation of their respective work plans.
- The secretariats will explore the possibility of
harmonising the reporting requirements of Contracting Parties under
both Conventions.
Article 4.
Joint Conservation Action
- The secretariats will contact their Contracting
Parties with a view to encouraging integration and consistency between
National Strategies. Plans or Programmes under the Convention on
Biological Diversity and the Cartgvena Convention and its SPAW Protocol.
- The secretariats will consult their Contracting
Parties with the view to encouraging effective conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity, particularly for the purposes of
promoting the conservation of coastal and marine resources and ecosystems.
- The secretariats will co-operate on other issues
as agreed from time to time and as appropriate.
Article 5.
Consultation, Reporting and further guidance
The secretariats will institute measures for consultations
on the implementation of this Memorandum of Co-operation and will
report accordingly to their respective governing bodies and seek further
guidance on new areas of co-operation.
Article 6.
Review and Termination
This agreement may be reviewed at the request of either
party and will be terminated by either party giving a one-year written
notice.
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