The SPAW Protocol in a Nutshell
| This page provides a brief summary of the SPAW Protocol and links to relevant documents. |
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The Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the Cartagena Convention) is the only legally binding environmental treaty for the Wider Caribbean. 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 recognized 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 utilizing 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 regionalization 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
| The SPAW Protocol | ||
| Hypertext version of the
Protocol En español | En français |
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| Annexes | ||
| Text version of the Annexes to the Protocol; consists of lists of floral and faunal species dealt with by the Protocol | ||
| Current status of the Protocol | ||
| A Listing of the current Parties to the Protocol | ||
| The Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region | ||
| Text of the Final Act of the meeting at which the SPAW Protocol was adopted by the Parties to the Cartagena Convention | ||
| Resolution of the Meeting | ||
| Text of the resolution adopted by the Parties to the Conference to adopt the SPAW 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. | ||
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