Caribbean Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
Regional Overview of Environmental Problems and Priorities
Affecting the Coastal and Marine Resources of the Wider
Caribbean Region
CEP Technical Report No. 2
1989
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
1. INTRODUCTION
1. Background
2. Scope and Purpose of the Overview
-
Scope
-
Purpose
3. Principal Sources Used in Document Preparation
II. MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL AND MARINE RESOURCES
1. Land Management and the Marine Environment
-
Deforestation
- Erosion and sedimentation
- Beach and dune destruction
2. Coastal Ecosystems
- Mangrove wetlands and coastal forests
- Coral reefs
3. Habitat Loss and Species Reduction
- Threatened species
4. Fisheries
- The resource base
5. Natural and Technological Hazards
- Natural hazards
- Technological hazards
6. Climatic Changes and Sea Level Rise
7. Environmental Health
- Water borne diseases
- Mounting infrastructure needs
- Industrial port development
- Urban waterfront potentials
Page i
Page
8. Tourism Impacts and Opportunities
- Accelerating hotel construction
- Tourism impacts on the coastal and marine environment
- Symbiosis of tourism with marine resource protection
- Linking tourism with the designation of parks and protected areas
III. MARINE POLLUTION: A THREAT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Building on the resource base
- Pollution sources
1. Land-based Sources of Pollution
- Industrial effluents
2. Maritime Activities
- Impacts of marine pollution
3. Transboundary Movement and Dumping of Hazardous Materials
IV. CO-ORDINATION, INFORMATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Socio-economic Support
2. Legislation
3. Training, Education and Public Awareness
V. LIST OF REFERENCES
Page ii
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
1:
Map of the Wider Caribbean Region
2:
Average Beach Tar Concentration/Location (g/m)
3:
Average Floating Tar Concentration/Location (mg/m2)
4: Average
DDPH Concentration/Location (ug/1)
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1:
Partial List of Sediments Discharged by Rivers into the
Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
2:
Surface drainage in Central America
3:
Distribution and Status of Threatened Caribbean Coastal
and Marine Animal Species
4:
Declines in Lobster and Conch
5:
The Artisanal and Industrial Fish Production in Venezuela
(in metric tons)
6:
Implications of Climatic Changes in the Wider Caribbean Region
7:
Pesticide Poisonings in Five Central American Countries,
1971-1976
8:
Existing Marine Parks and Protected Areas in the Caribbean
Region
Page iii
Regional Overview of Environmental Problems and
Priorities Affecting the Coastal and Marine Resources of
the Wider Caribbean
1. INTRODUCTION
1. BACKGROUND
In accordance with decisions taken at the Fourth Intergovernmental Meeting (Guadeloupe.
26-28 October 1987), the Regional Co-ordinating Unit (RCU) undertook a re-assessment of
environmental problems affecting marine and coastal resources of the region. To aid the RCU in
identifying priority issues, national reports were requested from each of the country participants.
The resulting draft was reviewed by the Meeting of Experts on the Caribbean Environment
Programme, held in Mexico City, 7-9 September 1988. The recommendations and comments of
the meeting have been incorporated in this document.
2. SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF THE OVERVIEW
Scope
The Wider Caribbean region encompasses an area of 4.31 x 106 km2. It includes twelve
continental countries bordering this basin, as well as fourteen island nations and seven dependent
territories. Within this region is found a variety of people, cultures and political systems
representing countries with different types and stages of economic development. Apart from the
geomorphological and socio-political diversity within the Caribbean basin is the diversity of its
living species and habitats. Furthermore, in the case of the islands, there is also a high degree of
endemism, particularly floral, induced by their geographical separation.
The overview focuses primarily on the problems affecting coastal and marine resources of
the Wider Caribbean region. This focus, however, is not narrowly defined. The region's
environmental well-being is strongly linked, not only to social, cultural and political conditions,
but also to economic realities and financial constraints prevailing in most of the States and
territories of the region. The overview, therefore, recognizes and emphasizes various
interrelationships between the environment and socio-economic development with respect to the
coastal and marine resources of the region.
To cite just one example of linkage between ecology and economics, one has simply to look
at changes that are now occurring in the region's agricultural structure. In response to mounting
external debt, governments have pursued policies that encourage the cultivation of export crops
to generate foreign exchange earnings. Such policies have led to a significant increase in the use
of pesticides, artificial fertilizers and other agrochemicals. The result has been the introduction
of a large number of new chemical additives into the aquatic food chain, undoubtedly an
unforseen and unintended consequence of economic policy, but one nevertheless, with
potentially serious ecological impacts.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
The cumulative effects of numerous development initiatives have yet to be evaluated with
any degree of precision. Despite the absence of definitive scientific findings, however, the
potential impacts of various development policies cannot be ignored by those charged by their
governments with the responsibility for environmental protection and natural resources
management. Suffice it to say that while resource managers have no particular mandate to shape
economic or fiscal policy, they are responsible for pointing out the dangers inherent in the
single-minded pursuit of narrow sectoral programmes, whether for the promotion of tourism, the
restructuring of agriculture, or the exploitation of mineral resources, all of which can have
profound and irreversible impacts on aspects of the region's terrestrial and marine ecology.
Hence, while the Caribbean Environment Programme focuses on the region's marine and
coastal resource base, the perspective of those guiding the programme must transcend the strict
confines of marine and coastal ecology if those resources are to be effectively protected and
enhanced for the benefit of succeeding generations. Indeed, a major challenge facing
environmental planners and resource managers in today's world, is the need to devise strategies
in which the objectives of environmental conservation are harmonized and integrated with
programmes for economic development.
Purpose
The purpose of this regional overview is to highlight problems and issues of regional
concern in order that they will be considered in the preparation of a long-term strategy for the
development of the Caribbean Environment Programme. In addition, the overview has
endeavoured to reflect a consensual view of the relationships between environmental and
development issues that confront the States and territories of the Wider Caribbean region.
3. PRINCIPAL SOURCES USED IN DOCUMENT PREPARATION
The document has been prepared utilizing a variety of sources. Background material on
resource management issues was obtained from national re orts and a number of Country
Environmental Profiles, including those for Jamaica, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Belize, and one regional profile for Central America. National and sub-national coastal zone
management programmes were also consulted. Of particular assistance was the IOC/UNEP draft
report on the State of Marine Pollution in the Wider Caribbean Region", (1987), and the U.S.
AID/NOAA report on "Caribbean Marine Resources", (1987).
The RCUs, office files on environmental problems and issues in the Wider Caribbean region
and numerous UNEP Regional Seas reports, studies and evaluations were also examined.
"Development and Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Synthesis", (1982), was used
as a point of departure.
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Regional Overview ...
Figure 1. Map of the Wider Caribbean Region
II. MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL AND MARINE RESOURCES
Coastal areas are the interface between the land, sea and air. They are the sites of very
productive ecosystems such as wetlands, mangrove swamps, seagrass beds and coral reefs. They
are also the primary sites for human settlements, providing immediate access to fisheries and
other biolocical resources, as well as the locations of ports, harbours and recreational sites. In the
case of islands, the great majority of their populations live at or near the coast. Thus, the
depredation of ecological systems have been particularly acute in coastal areas. The peculiar
nature of coastal areas and their connection with the sea underlie their economic and social value
and their specific need for management and protection.
Over the past two decades, several terms have developed with respect to an integrated
approach to the planning and management of coastal lands and adjacent marine resources. Terms
such as "coastal zone management", "coastal area planning and management", "coastal resources
manaeement", "integrated rural development", etc. are concepts which implicitly recognize the
value and interdependent nature of coastal systems, upland areas and the open sea, and the need
to ensure that policies and activities in one area do not reduce the viability of other components
of the whole ecosystem. It is important to note that the concept of the coastal zone was
developed in a continental context where there was a significant geographical separation
between activities in the interior which impacted downstream on the coast and the coastal area
itself. In the case of small islands, the idea of a coastal area incorporates the whole island insofar
as activities taking place inland are concerned as they are relatively close to the coast and may
impact the coast directly and quickly. Furthermore, the new challenges put forward by the Law
of the Sea require the inclusion of all the resources of the sea in the development planning
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
process. The concept of sea-use planning has become essential to sustainable development of the
Wider Caribbean.
An integrated approach to the planning and management of coastal and marine resources
requires the co-operation and collaboration of all resource users, institutions and decisionmakers.
It needs a basic understanding of the economic value function and interrelated nature of the
coastal systems. It needs the common resolve to manage these systems in terms of maintaining
the long-term benefits that can be derived from them.
1. LAND MANAGEMENT AND THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
A comprehensive strategy for the protection, management and sustainable use of the region's
coastal and marine environment cannot afford to ignore the impacts of land clearing and
deforestation, coastal construction, sand extraction and the management of upland watersheds on
near-shore reef systems and fisheries. All of these activities are significantly impacting on the
ecology, particularly near-shore ecosystems.
Deforestation
As the nations of the Wider Caribbean pursue programmes of economic development by
encouraging export agriculture, industrial expansion and tourism, the clearance of forest lands
has accelerated. In many of the region's States and territories deforestation is causing serious
environmental degradation and impairing the long-term productive capacity of the resource base.
More than 2 million hectares of Caribbean tropical forests are destroyed annually, while a
mere 70,000 hectares are replanted.
Deforestation in the region follows a pattern that generally proceeds in three successive
stages. The first stage usually occurs when logging interests cut roads to gain access to select
valuable hardwoods. Agricultural settlers follow, attracted by the availability of arable land.
Using slash and burn techniques, agriculture settlers initially clear enough land for
subsistence. However, since forest soils tend to be shallow and of low fertility more land is
cleared to compensate for declining yields. As areas are successively cleared and abandoned,
cattle ranchers move in replacing subsistence farmers and the land is converted to pasture. This
cyclical process results in the creation of large deforested areas with soils that are heavily
compacted, organically weak and ill protected from rain, grazing livestock and sunlight, all
contributing to the land degradation process.
Erosion and sedimentation
Many of the major watersheds in the Wider Caribbean region are suffering from serious
devegetation and erosion as a result of shifting cultivation, seasonal burning, fuelwood collection
and roadbuilding. Locally in Central American countries, annual soil erosion rates have been
found to be as much as 500 metric tons per hectare. Water cycles are being disrupted and
extremely high sediment loads have been recorded in streams, rivers, coastal bays and estuaries
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Regional Overview ...
(Table 1 and 2). Water borne sediments pose serious problems in regulating and harnessing
stream flow with resulting adverse impacts on agricultural development, hydro power generation
and urban water supply.
Although desertification is not a phenomenon usually associated with the Wider Caribbean
region, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Haiti, Panama and Costa Rica all report
conditions of soil degradation characteristically leading to desertification. The process is caused,
in part by the clearance of vegetative cover and accompanying soil erosion. The impacts of wide-
scale land clearance are similar to those caused by drought. Soils do not retain the moisture
necessary for plant growth. The volume of stream flow is reduced to a fraction of normal.
Combined with exposure to intense sun, soils age rapidly with soil constituents, such as humus,
breaking down at a faster rate than can be absorbed by vegetation.
Table 1: Partial list of sediments discharged by rivers into the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea
River Drainage
area
Sediment discharge Specific transport Mean turbidity
(103 km2)
(106 tons per year)
(t/km2 per year)
(mg/l)
USA
Mississippi
2923
222
76
380
Apalachicola
44
0.16
6.8
15
Mobile
95
4.5
42
95
Brazos (Texas)
114
15.9
.139
3200
Colorado (Texas)
106
1.91
17.9
Rio Grande
467
very low1
COLOMBIA
Magdalena
235
234
1000
1000
VENEZUELA
Orinoco
950
85.0
91
90
1 Low values due to dams.
SOURCE: Ref.2.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
Table 2: Surface Drainage in Central America
Caribbean Pacific
Area
Percent Area Percent
(103 km2)
(103 km2)
Nicaragua
117
90%
13
10%
Honduras
92
82%
20
18%
Guatemala1
86
79%
23
21%
Panama
24
31%
53
69%
Costa Rica
24
47%
27
53%
Belize
23
100%
-
-
El Salvador
-
-
21
100%
TOTAL
366
70%
157
30%
1 Includes Gulf of Mexico
SOURCE: Ref.2 1.
Beach and dune destruction
Beaches and dunes perform vital functions in protecting uplands from the effects of
hurricane-induced storm surge and coastal flooding. They provide the habitats for a wide range
of flora and fauna and are particularly important as nesting sites for sea turtles. Threats to beach
and dune stability come from a number of sources.
Sand mining is a predominant cause of beach and dune destruction throughout much of the
insular Caribbean15. The mined sand is generally used in the construction industry for mixing
with cement. Coastal construction works also threaten beach and dune stability. The importance
of studying and understanding the dynamics of localized ocean currents before the construction
of breakwaters and other coastal engineering works cannot be overstated. As has been the case in
many coastal areas, the construction of groins, sea walls and jetties is often more detrimental
than beneficial for beach replenishment. When humans intervene in the dynamics of beach and
dune generation, it is often with disastrous effects, both to habitat and to the value of the resource
for flood and shoreline protection. Shore and beach erosion has been identified as a significant
problem along the north coasts of Puerto Rico and Jamaica, the east coast of Trinidad and the
Gulf coast states of Florida and Mississippi.
2. COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS
Biologically productive coastal and marine habitats are coming under increasing stress
throughout the Caribbean. Coral reefs, mangrove wetlands and seagrass beds, prime nursery
areas for a wide variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife, are being threatened by a combination
of pollution, sedimentation, dredging and coastal land reclamation. The cumulative effects of
these activities can effectively sterilize the productive capacity of near-shore coastal areas.
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Regional Overview ...
Seagrasses are very productive, generating plant materials that are consumed by grazers -
fish, turtles and sea urchins. This plant material is a component of a complex food cycle that
includes small organisms and bacteria living among the grasses. The grass beds also serve as
nurseries for the juveniles of commercially important fish (snappers, grunts) and invertebrates
(lobsters, conchs)5. Chemical wastes (mainly oil and fertilizers), dredge and fill operations,
thermal discharges and sedimentation, are degrading seagrass beds at an alarming rate. This will
have a negative impact on coral reefs since grass beds retain and stabilize sediments preventing
reef abrasion or burial during storm conditions.
In addition to their biological importance, sea grasses promote the physical stability of the
coast, providing protection to inland areas from wave action and storm surge. Seagrass beds,
through their root-like rhizomes, bind sand particles, giving the substrate a stability that inhibits
sand transport during periods of ocean turbulence. By absorbing the energy of wave action, coral
reefs and mangroves also mitigate the impact of coastal storms and hurricanes, affording natural
protection to exposed coastal locations.
Mangrove wetlands and coastal forests
Coastal forests in the Wider Caribbean have been decimated. Thousands of square miles of
biologically rich bayou in southern Louisiana have been devastated by oil and gas exploration
and drilling. About 65 percent of all mangrove swamps in Tabasco State, Mexico, have been
eliminated by petroleum related activities, threatening the continued existence of the shrimp
fishery, in that area28 29.
Mangrove swamps, are often regarded as marginal land and are being systematically
degraded and destroyed despite their critically important role as nursery areas to commercially
important fisheries. Mangrove thickets and tidal channels are also home for a variety of birds,
reptiles and mammals. Additionally, coastal wetlands are important habitats for migratory
waterfowls6.
Often selected as sites for dump or landfills, these areas are, with few exceptions, devoid of
meaningful protection. Trinidad's 15,000 acre Caroni Swamp supports the principal landfill for
Port-of-Spain and is the disposal site for dredged materials from the harbour. The Portmore area
of Metropolitan Kingston, once a productive marine wetland fringed by mangrove forests, has
been filled to house some 80,000 people, but at an elevation that exposes residences to the risk of
flooding both from the sea and from upland runoff. The indiscriminate filling of wetlands for
housing and other urban activities not only causes environmental damage, but often results in
poor urban development because of subsoil and drainage conditions. It is also at risk from
liquifaction induced by earthquakes.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
Coral reefs
Coral reefs are among the most biologically productive marine ecosystems. Their
productivity stems from the nutrients, detritus and zooplankton which are retained almost
entirely within the reef community and which provide a food source for reef dwelling plants and
animals. Because of the importance of photosynthetic processes in coral reefs, their destruction
is often attributed to turbidity from suspended sediments generated by upland runoff and channel
dredging. Suspended sediments interfere with photosynthesis by blocking the sunlight and
sediment deposition can result in the smothering of reef communities. Other causes of coral reef
degradation include chronic oil pollution, a condition which exists off the coasts of Puerto Rico
and Mexico. Reef damage is also caused by recreational boating, particularly from the anchoring
of small boats on coral reefs.
3. HABITAT LOSS AND SPECIES REDUCTION
Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean region is a victim of divergent forces. Both poverty and
development are taking their toll on the region's rare and endangered species (Table 3). Loss of
wildlife often results from inappropriate development and harvesting practices and the
elimination or modification of habitats.
Ultimately, the protection of endangered and threatened species can only be effective when
the local community is supportive of, and actively involved in the management process. Once
this participation is achieved, voluntary compliance with management activities increases and
the need for law enforcement declines considerably. This approach is particularly important in
the relatively poorer rural areas where there is greater dependence on the harvesting of wildlife
and few government services are available.
Threatened species
The West Indian manatee, although legally protected in the Dominican Republic and
Jamaica, continues to be hunted for food and is now close to extinction. Until a recent hunting
moratorium, the scarlet ibis was illegally hunted for food and feathers18. In addition to being
sought as a food source, turtles are killed for their shells, which are used in crafting jewellery
and ornaments for the tourist trade. Flamingos and spoonbills are hunted for eggs and feathers in
the Dominican Republic7. These depredations are a reflection of the region's poverty and, in
some instances, ignorance of the danger of species extinction.
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Regional Overview ...
Table 3: Distribution and Status of Threatened Caribbean Coastal and Marine Animal Species
Species (Common Names)
Status Country
Monachus tropicalis
E Mexico,
Bahamas
(Caribbean Monk Seal, West Indian Seal)
Trichechus inunguis
V Colombia,
Venezuela
(Amazonian Manatee, S. American Manatee)
Trichechus manatus
V Mexico, Bahamas, Cuba, Dom.
(Caribbean Manatee, N. American Manatee)
Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto
Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Belize
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras,
Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
Pterdroma hasitata
V Haiti
(Black-caped Petrel, Diablotin)
Caretta caretta
V
Mexico, Antigua/Barbuda, Bahamas,
(Loggerhead Turtle, Tortuga de mar, Cares,
Cuba, Dom. Republic, Trinidad &
Tartaruga domar, Uruana, Suruana)
Tobago, Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama,
Colombia, Venezuela
Chelonia mydas
E
Mexico, Antigua/Barbuda, Bahamas,
(Green Sea Turtle, Tortuga Verde del Atlantico
Cayman Islands, Dom. Republic,
and Pacifico,Tortuga Blanca)
Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti,
Jamaica, Martinique, Netherlands
Antilles, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, USVI,
Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama,
Colombia, Venezuela
Eretmochelys imbricata
E
Mexico, Antigua/Barbuda, Bahamas,
(Hawksbill Turtle, Carey, Tortuga Carey,
Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dom.
Tartaruga verdaderia and de Pente)
Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe,
Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique,
Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico,
St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad &
Tobago, USVI, Belize, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
Status Key: E = Endangered; V = Vulnerable; CT = Commercially Threatened
SOURCE: Ref.20.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
Species (Common Names)
Status Country
Lepidochelys kempii
E Mexico
(Kemp's Ridley, Atl. Ridley Sea Turtle,
Tortuga Lora)
Lepidochelys olivacea
E
Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Costa
(Olive Ridley Turtle, Pacific Ridley Turtle,
Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama,
Tortuga verde, Parlama)
Colombia, Venezuela
Dermatemys mawii
V
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala,
(Central American River Turtle)
Honduras, Panama, Colombia,
Venezuela
Dermochelys coriacea
E Haiti
(Leatherback, leathery Turtle, Luth, Tortuga
Tora, Barriguda, Tartaruga)
Caiman crocodilus crocodilus
V Trinidad & Tobago, Colombia,
(Spectacled Caiman)
Venezuela
Caiman crocodilus fuscus
V
Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama,
(Brown caiman)
Colombia, Venezuela
Crocodylus acutus
E
Mexico, Bahamas, Cayman Islands,
(Amer. Crocodile, cocodrilo, Lagarto Negro)
Cuba, Dom. Republic, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
Ameiva polops
E USVI
St. Croix Ground Lizard
Family Anthipathidae
CT Caribbean
Region
(Black Corals)
Strombus gigas
CT Caribbean
Region
(Queen Conch)
Panilurus argus, P. guttatus
CT Caribbean
Region
(Spotted Spiny Lobster)
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Regional Overview ...
Poverty is both a cause and an effect of environmental degradation. For those whose
livelihoods are linked to an aquatic resource base, unproductive and degraded coastal and marine
habitats impede the possibility of rising beyond a meagre subsistence existence. Conversely,
poverty itself poses one of the greatest threats to the natural environment, for day-to-day survival
is the highest priority of the poor and destitute. Programmes for marine and terrestrial resource
conservation could be viewed as a threat to material existence of the poor.
At the other extreme, the region is also witnessing wildlife destruction that results from
large-scale development due to the elimination or modification of habitat. As secluded, sandy
beaches give way to tourism or other forms of development, the turtle nesting habitat is
reduced11. As mud flats, salt ponds and coastal lagoons are filled to provide sites for urban
development, wintering areas for migratory waterfowl are eliminated7.
In Trinidad's Caroni Swamp, for example, the scarlet ibis nesting behaviour was disturbed
by the noise of low-flying jet aircraft whose flight path was directly above their nesting areas
(altitude requirements on aircraft take-off and approach have subsequently been modified).
Floating oil residues such as pelagic tar have been reported to impact on marine turtles,
particularly in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Despite the fact that all turtles are presently classified
as either threatened or endangered, turtle meat continues to be a popular delicacy sold in many
parts of the region.
Caught between the pressures of poverty on the one hand and development on the other,
governments have generally been ineffective in implementing programmes for resource
enhancement and wildlife protection. Though some park and protected areas have been declared,
active management that includes monitoring and enforcement is insufficient. Public awareness of
the issues remains limited to rather narrow circles of professionals and academics. There is a
pressing need for skillfully designed and executed public education campaigns throughout the
Wider Caribbean. Without public support, penalties against violators will go unenforced, and
there is every likelihood that the export of turtle shell and feather products will continue when no
alternative means of livelihood are available to generate incomes for local populations.
4. FISHERIES
Because of significant regional differences in physical oceanographic conditions, the
distribution of fishery resources varies from relative abundance along the continental shelves of
Central America and northern South America, to relative scarcity offshore the islands in the
Antillean chain. Commercial fisheries utilizing trawlers and purse seiners tend to be
concentrated along, the coasts of Venezuela, Mexico and the U.S. Gulf coast states. Puerto Rico
has major fish processing facilities, but the catch is largely from the Pacific. Among the islands
of the Antilles, only Cuba possesses a mechanized fishery industry.
It is noteworthy that there is growing conflict in the region between artisanal and industrial
fishing, activities. There appears to be a rising number of incidents in which industrial trawlers
have completely wiped out artisanal fisheries in a very short time. Access to marine resources
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
and the vulnerability of traditional rights in the face of industrial technology is a difficult policy
issue that needs to be addressed.
The resource base
Jamaica's fishery resource is characteristic of those found elsewhere in the insular
Caribbean. As in most island States and territories, the marine capture fishery is primarily
artisanal in nature, conducted mainly by fishermen operating, in canoes8. In Jamaica,
approximately 95 percent of these fishermen confine their activities to the island's coastal shelf
and associated banks, rather than venturing further offshore.
Commercially harvested species comprise bottom-dwelling (demersal) coral reef species,
including finfish and shellfish, and free-swimming (pelagic) species of finfish. The demersal
fishery includes more than 200 species of coral reef fish that include grouper, snapper, grunt,
goatfish and parrot fish. The pelagic fishery comprises far-ranging oceanic species such as
yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, dolphin and various sharks, as well as coastal dwelling or in-shore
species such as herring, anchovy, mullet and jack. Oceanic species are taken by line fishing,
while coastal species are taken mainly by gill and seine nets. Fish traps or pots account for well
over half of all fish catches in the insular Caribbean2. The average catch per landing in Jamaica,
using traps is 59 pounds, a figure that has remained fairly stable since 1971. This yield conforms
to figures on average catch for artisanal landings in Haiti, which, as reported by FAO for a 3-
month period, September-November 1984, varied between 30-73 pounds.
Other commercially valuable fishery resources of the insular Caribbean include marine
shrimp, conch and lobster (Table 4). These resources, particularly conch and lobster, are often
caught without regard for regulations regarding size and restrictions on harvesting egg-bearing
females. In the case of Haiti, the tonnage yield of lobsters, molluscs and other shellfish is about
half of the total pelagic catch. Despite Haiti's 1500 km of coastline, it is a net importer of dried
and salted fish to meet domestic demand.
Reliable, region-wide information on fishery yields are non-existent. FAO estimated that in
1984, 484,000 tons were landed. But some years earlier the agency estimated that actual tonnage
figures might be anywhere from 2-10 times higher than reported figures. Few inspectors,
inconsistent reporting procedures, the lack of formal record keeping and the large number of
geographically dispersed artisanal operators defy efforts to apply statistically valid procedures in
estimating catches. Because of these factors, regional generalizations are usually derived from
country experience, which are also subject to some of the same problems that impede regional
estimating efforts.
It is estimated that between 1983 and 1986 fish production in Venezuela increased by 55
based on an increase in the number of trawlers by 32% and the float of artisanal fishing boats by
20% in the same period (Table 5).
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Regional Overview ...
Table 4. Declines in Lobster and Conch
Average for 1977-79 Average for 1980-82 % Decline 77-78-79
(metric tons)
(metric tons)
to 80-81-82
Caribbean spiny Lobster1
6,347 3,746 -41%
Queen Conch2
568 415 -27%
1 Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
2 Belize, Honduras
SOURCE: Ref.22.
Table 5: The artisanal and industrial fish production in Venezuela (in metric tons)
A R T I S A N A L
I N DU S T R I A L
Year
Sardines
Others % Tuna
Others %
1981
27,974 91,108 68.0 34,807 21,150 32.0
1982
52,521 99,072 77.5 22,700 21,400 22.5
1983
41,078
106,651 68.1 44,400 24,872 31.9
1984
48,455 121,470 66.8 58,600 25,18 33.2
1985
53,797
114,797 60.1 82,800 29,819 39.9
1986
79,433
110,836 62.6 83,551 30,263 37.4
SOURCE: Ref.38.
Even where fish stocks are now only capable of supporting artisanal activities, intensive
programmes for the conservation of depleted stocks, as well as new initiatives in mariculture
may hold out opportunities that have yet to be grasped.
5. NATURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS
The combination of natural and technological hazards poses a serious and ever-resent threat
to the economy and the ecology of many of the States and territories of the Wider Caribbean
region.
Natural Hazards
The region is subject to a range of natural disasters that include earthquakes, riverine
flooding, volcanic eruptions, landslides and subsidence, hurricane induced storm surge and high
velocity winds and drought. Volcanic eruptions of Mont Pelee in Martinique (twice in 1902)
claimed more than 30,000 lives. The Soufrière of St. Vincent erupted in 1902 and again in 1979.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
A volcanic eruption in Colombia melted mountain snows, generating floods and mudflows that
killed 20,000 persons in 1985. Disastrous earthquakes have occurred in Jamaica, Colombia,
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico and Guatemala. Hurricanes regularly devastate the islands of the
Caribbean, the Gulf coasts of Mexico and the United States.
Technological Hazards
Vulnerability to technological hazards is also on the increase in the Wider Caribbean region.
The combination of high volume tanker traffic, major oil and gas extraction and exploratory
drilling makes the region particularly vulnerable to oil spills and related hydrocarbon releases
that pollute the waters and threaten fragile marine and coastal ecosystems. Chemical,
petrochemical and pharmaceutical plants, many of which are located at the land-sea interface, all
pose potential risks12.
The destructive impact of any major event, whether natural or industry-related, could have
region-wide consequences. Thus, it is essential that the States and territories of the region
develop the institutional capabilities for joint response in cases of environmental disasters. In
December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating the 1990's as the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, "... in which the international community,
under the auspices of the United Nations, will pay special attention to fostering international co-
operation in the field of natural disaster reduction...". Although intergovernmental co-operation
has been strengthened through organizations such as the Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness
and Prevention Project, some governments maintain closer ties with North America and Europe
than they do with their Caribbean neighbours. The need for strengthening regional ties also
exists in the scientific/academic world. Divisions among national and/or language groupings
need to be bridged, particularly in the fields of seismology, meteorology and vulcanology.
6. CLIMATIC CHANGES AND SEA LEVEL RISE
The phenomenon of sea level and temperature rise, and changes in wind and precipitation
patterns, as a result of the "greenhouse effect", has found broad acceptance in the scientific
community. In addition, it has been determined that the "EI Niño" phenomenon, occurring in the
Pacific Ocean influences global weather patterns as well as affecting hurricane activity in the
Caribbean. These regional and planetary phenomena could have serious consequences for many
of the States and territories of the Wider Caribbean.
While it may be premature to recommend specific actions, serious study and evaluation
from a regional perspective is warranted. Based upon available evidence, some of the
consequences of the "greenhouse effect" can be summarized as follows: (1) a rise in global
temperatures, which will be greater in the temperate and polar regions than in the tropics; (2)
an increase in average worldwide precipitation; (3) higher globally-averaged evaporation;
and (4) a widespread reduction in the annual temperature range with longer warm seasons
and shorter cold seasons.
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Regional Overview ...
Sea level rise, due to melting of the polar ice caps and thermal expansion of the oceans,
could also account for the loss of productive agricultural lowlands. In addition, there could be
far reaching impacts upon vital wetland resources, prime beach front property, and one-third
of the world's population that live within 60 km of a coastline. It is estimated that the impacts
on parts of the Wider Caribbean region could exceed those for other areas because of the
simultaneous occurrence of land subsidence. Some Caribbean nations (Costa Rica,
Guatemala and Grenada) are already instituting building and development controls in
anticipation of rising sea level elevations.
As a response to the concern expressed about the possible implications of climatic changes
for the marine and coastal environment, UNEP in co-operation with the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC), has initiated the preparation of regional studies which will
review the situation in several regions of the world. Such a study for the Caribbean will assume a
20 cm sea level rise and a 1.5oC temperature rise by the year 2025 as was hypothesized in the
1985 WMO/ICSU/UNEP global scenario.
Table 6: Implications of Climatic Changes in the Wider Caribbean Region
Terms of reference
Sea level rise of 20 cm
Temperature rise of 1.5oC
Ecosystems
Level of Vulnerability
Deltas High
Low
Estuaries Moderate
Moderate
Wetlands Moderate
Moderate
Coastal Plains
Moderate
Low
Coral Reefs
Moderate
Moderate
Mangroves Moderate
Low
Seagrass Beds
Moderate
Low
Fisheries Low Moderate
Agriculture Low Low
Forests Low
Moderate
Socio-Economic
Level of Vulnerability
Coastal Zones
Low
Moderate
Tourism Moderate
Low
Settlements & Structures
Moderate
Low
Public Health
Low
Moderate
Tropical Storms
Low
High
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
An important conclusion of the Wider Caribbean Task Team on the Implications of Climatic
Changes is that expected sea level and temperature rise will increase the vulnerability of society
to other types of environmental change. The results are summarized in Table 6.
The Team found that the sea level in the region has been rising on an average of
approximately 0.36 cms per year, over the past 30 years. However, this varies extensively
throughout the Caribbean, such that not all areas of the region are experiencing sea-level rise.
The Team concluded that "case studies" were the most effective method of quantifying the
effects of climatic change, and that several sites that are deemed to be at high risk from sea level
change and/or temperature rise should be selected for extensive and intensive study. Further
research will be undertaken in five key areas: coastal erosion; groundwater/petroleum extraction;
tropical storm frequency/intensity; wind stress and ocean transport; and riverine discharge. The
case studies will be designed to address physical processes, ecological aspects and socio-
economic issues.
7. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Increasing urbanization and industrialization, more widespread use of pesticides (Table 7),
growing dependence on agrochemicals, higher concentrations of pollutants in air and water - all
of these factors increase public exposure to disease. A recent study of one country in the region
found that potable water is bacterially contaminated periodically or continuously across the
nation. Drinking water reservoirs near several major cities of the region show unacceptably high
levels of fecal coliform contamination.
Table7: Pesticide Poisonings in Five Central American Countries, 1971-1976
Country 1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
Total
Costa Rica
196
235
259
326
216
NR
1,232
El
Salvador
586 2,860
1,301
1,331
1,454 1,385 8,917
Guatemala
1,134 2,313
1,621
1,010
1,044 1,144 8,266
Honduras NR
30
48
37
NR
NR
115
Nicaragua
NR 557
243
NR
NR NR 800
Total 1,916
5,995
3,472
2,704
2,714
2,529
19,330
NR Not Reported.
SOURCE: Ref.3.
Water borne disease
Commercial oystering in the Mississippi Sound was periodically suspended when state
inspectors discovered high levels of water contamination in shellfish areas. Heavy metal
concentrations in mangrove oysters off the coast of Campeche, Mexico, are higher now than ten
years ago. There is a considerable bacterial pollution in the internal channels of Cartagena Bay,
Colombia. Urban areas, close to the Cienaga de la Virgen, are inundated with waters containing,
Page 16
Regional Overview ...
high levels of coliform bacteria during floods. Havana Bay, Veracruz Harbour, San Juan,
Guadeloupe and Curacao are reported to be under great stress from urban sewage and there are
no prohibitions against the taking of fish and shellfish from these contaminated waters for
individual consumption or for sale to the public.
Illness and death are linked to poor environmental conditions. Diarrhoeal diseases and
typhoid fever continue to be major health problems in the region, transmitted by contaminated
food and water. Other parasitic and communicable diseases that are environmentally related
include malaria, schistosomiasis, infectious hepatitis, dengue and yellow fever.
There is an urgent need to identify the environmental conditions giving rise to these diseases
in order to establish public investment priorities in the areas of water supply, liquid waste
disposal and solid waste management. Closely related is the issue of training and recruitment of
environmental health officers. Based on recent studies a critical need exists for improved training
and recruiting of public health personnel throughout the region.
Mounting infrastructure needs
As rural populations migrate to urban centres, investments in basic services -water supply,
sewage facilities, solid waste disposal- have lagged far behind minimum requirements for decent
and productive urban living. Soaring vehicular traffic gives rise to high levels of air pollution
that are pandemic in their reach, and heavy metal concentrations in urban runoff drain into bays
and estuaries once rich in marine life.
Social infrastructure costs are high. Inability to meet these costs is resulting in a
continuously deteriorating urban environment and an unrelenting build-up of unmet needs whose
cumulative costs are staggering when measured against modern standards of environmental
health, public safety and urban amenities. Severe shortages of affordable housing have resulted
in overcrowding, uncontrolled growth of squatter settlements and inner city deterioration.
Industrial port development
On a more positive note, many of the States and territories of the region have been
modernizing and developing their ports in response to market requirements and changes in the
technology of marine transport such as containerization and roll-on-roll-off. Unfortunately, much
of the port development has destroyed valuable marine habitat, polluted the marine environment
and physically (as well as visually) cut off the city from the sea. The disposal of dredged
materials from the cutting of new channels and from channel maintenance has become an almost
universal problem.
Urban waterfront potentials
Without minimizing the enormity of the problems, many of the capital cities within the
Wider Caribbean have an exceptional attribute - their seaside location. Urban waterfronts, often
neglected, deteriorating and decaying, represent a great potential asset. By taking advantage of
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
the land-sea interface, the urban waterfront, when creatively redeveloped and refurbished,
becomes a magnet, attracting tourists and residents alike and revitalizing the city centre.
This interface is a locational asset which could be enhanced to bring excitement, vitality and
variety to the urban landscape generating economic, aesthetic and recreational values.
Bridgetown, Barbados, is a good example of how the interpenetration of the sea into the city
centres can enhance the physical setting and generate new sources of economic activity.
Preserving, and restoring historic sites further enhances the waterfront setting. Experience
with such development in the metropolitan centres of North America and Europe has
demonstrated that urban waterfronts have a potential for attracting local and international
tourism, which. in turn, can stimulate the growth of small retail businesses and increase the
market for indigenous products and crafts iii.
8. TOURISM IMPACTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The past several years have witnessed explosive growth in the region's tourism, an industry
that is acutely dependent on a high quality natural environment. This is one industry in which the
linkage between economics and environmental quality is beyond dispute. Most visitors come to
the Caribbean for sun, sea, surf and sand and the argument for habitat protection from an
economic perspective is overwhelming, since habitat destruction can threaten the resource base
upon which tourism depends.
In 1988, the tourism industry was the largest source of Jamaica's foreign exchange earnings,
accounting for 23 percent of the country's hard currency receipts42. Seventy percent of the
Cayman Islands' economy is dependent on tourism. Antigua and Barbuda's economy is almost
totally dependent on tourism and tourism agencies, once buried in government bureaucracies, are
now being elevated to ministerial status.
Barbados, whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism, is projecting a more than 10 per
cent increase in visitor arrivals by 1990 compared with 1988. The island welcomed 450,000
tourists in 1988. The industry had netted Barbados some US$459.1 million dollars in 1988,
US$84 million dollars more than in the previous year.
Accelerating hotel construction
Many countries have embarked on massive hotel construction programmes. Tobago is
undertaking an ambitious programme of tourism development that includes new hotel
construction, a new international airport and major harbour improvements to accommodate
cruise vessels. The newest and largest Club Med has been constructed in Providenciales in the
Turks and Caicos Islands, an area with extensive coastal habitat in almost pristine condition.
However, with thousands of rooms currently under construction in the region, the pitfalls, as
well as the opportunities offered by tourism must be seriously evaluated, particularly since loans
and grants are now being provided by international donors to stimulate such development.
Page 18
Regional Overview ...
Tourism impacts on the coastal and marine environment
The overwhelming bulk of tourism development is taking place without environmental
assessments having been prepared. As a result:
- Hotels are being constructed in areas of valued natural habitat; coral reefs are being
blasted to provide channels for the passage of small craft into marinas and boat basins;
- Canals cut into residential subdivisions and poorly designed marinas become septic sinks
due to poor water circulation, often induced by shoaling which impedes tidal flushing;
- Tourist facilities are constructed without adequate sewage treatment facilities or with
package plants that are frequently inoperative - as a result of inadequate maintenance.
There are numerous examples of modern hotels being constructed without provisions for
sewage treatment, based on assumptions that municipal systems, now or in the near
future, will accomodate the waste loads. As a result, raw sewage is often disposed of in
ocean waters adjacent to swimming beaches that quickly become polluted with fecal
coliforms and other pathogenic bacteria. For years, signs at beaches along San Juan's
Condado area were posted to alert swimmers to pollution levels which exceeded safe
standards.
- The use of beach buggies and off-the-road vehicles by hotel guests often destroys dunes
and dune vegetation contributing to beach erosion; organized recreational outings to
offshore islands and cays disturb wildlife and can destroy fragile habitat; the taking of
corals and spear fishing can also deplete the marine resource when unregulated
Additionally, development of tourism facilities often contributes to sand mining and coastal
deforestation with the resultant adverse effects mentioned previously.
Symbiosis of tourism with marine resource protection
Tourism is now the largest single source of foreign exchange earnings in much of the Wider
Caribbean, and is inextricably associated with attributes of natural -beauty, diversity of flora and
fauna, and opportunities to experience the sights and sounds of a tropical and sub-tropical
environment. The majority of tourists are particularly intrigued by coral reef communities and
marine , wildlife sanctuaries.
If thoughtfully advised, tourists will respect environmental controls and regulations. The
primary danger to the environment comes not from tourists, but from a flawed development
process that must be accepted as the responsibility of the region's governments and private sector
to correct. Institutional weaknesses with respect to comprehensive planning, project review,
impact assessment and capital programming for supporting infrastructure need to be addressed as
a priority concern of both Governments, donor agencies and lending institutions.
Given the new recognition by the World Bank and other funding agencies of the symbiosis
between environment and development, a sounder and more responsible approach to tourism
development may be forthcoming. An indication of this increased environmental awareness is
the extensive environmental planning programme now underway in St. Kitts as part of a $12.5
Page 19
CEP Technical Report No. 2
million U.S. AID development programme providing road access to the Southeast Peninsula, a
4,000 acre area of hill, salt ponds. sandy beaches and forests previously accessible only by boat
or jeep trail.
Linking tourism with the designation of parks and protected areas
The importance of protecting the physical resource base and promoting biodiversity has won
increasing acceptance in the Wider Caribbean as the economic importance of preserving
environmental quality has assumed sharper focus. Sustained, long-term development has struck a
responsive chord throughout the region. This concept is now part of mainstream thinking with
respect to strategic planning for regional growth and development (see the Langkawi Declaration
on Environment, October 1989; and note the newly established Commission of Latin America
and the Caribbean on Development and the Environment, October 1989).
In response to these conditions, the Caribbean nations have begun to seek ways of
protecting their limited and rapidly shrinking marine resource base. The emergence of a region-
wide programme for parks and protected areas is the logical extension of an evolutionary process
that has been unfolding throughout the region.
The designation of parks and protected areas is an important first step. Without monitoring
and enforcement, however, old patterns of exploitation are likely to continue. While some
marine and terrestrial protected areas have been established (Table 8), many others remain
unprotected from the depredations of poachers, and mineral extraction. Even when officially
designated, numerous resource conflicts occur in the day-to-day management of marine reserves.
The marine reserve in Barbados, for example, is being polluted by sewage and the disposal of
swimming pool effluents from nearby hotels; fishermen are pressuring the authorities to allow
fishing in the reserve; the coral (especially black coral) continues to be harvested for souvenirs
and water sports operators (e.g. jet ski) continue to ply the area
Page 20
Regional Overview ...
Table 8: Existing Marine Parks and Coastal Protected Areas in the Caribbean Region
Country
Protected Area Name
Year of
Hectares (Marine
Estab.
%)
Antigua and
Diamond Reef Marine Park
1973
2,000
(100)
Barbuda
Nelson's Dockyard National Park
1984
3,108
--
Palater Reef Marine Park
1973
500
(100)
Bahamas
Black Sand Cay Reserve
1988
0.5
--
Conception Island Land and Sea Park
1971
850
(20)
Exurna Cays Land and Sea Park
1958
45,564
(80)
Inagua National Park
1963
74,333
(10)
Lucayan National Park
1982
16
--
Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park
1981
850
(80)
Peterson Cays and and and Sea Park
1968
0.6
--
Union Creek
1963
1,813
--
Barbados
Barbados Marine Reserve
1980
250
(100)
Belize
Crown Reserves (7 sites)
1977
5.6
--
Half Moon Cay Natural Monument
1982
4,144
(95)
Hol. Chan Marine Reserve
1987
1,300
(90)
British
Flamingo Pond Bird Sanctuary
1977
449
--
Virgin
The Baths National Park
1987
3,250
--
Islands
West Dog Island Forestry Park
1974
12
--
Wreck of the Phone Marine Park
1980
323
(96)
Cayman
Colliers Bay Pond
1976
32
--
Islands
Meagre Bay Pond
1976
38
--
National Marine Park System
1986 10,000 --
(with 24 non-contiguous units)
Westerly Ponds/Salt Water Ponds
1980
24
--
Colombia
Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta Wildlife
1977 23,000 --
Sanctuary
Corales del Rosario National Park
1977
18,700
(90)
Haina Cay to Cotton Cay Nature Reserve
1971
3,600
--
Isla de Salamanca National Park
1964
21,000
(61)
Los Flamencos Wildlife Sanctuary
1977
7,000
--
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National
1964 383,000 --
Nature Park and Biosphere Reserve
Tayrona National Nature Park
1969
15,000
(25)
Page 21
CEP Technical Report No. 2
Country
Protected Area Name
Year of
Hectares (Marine
Estab.
%)
Costa Rica
Barra de Colorado Nat. Wildlife Reserve
1985
92,000
--
Cahuita National Park
1970
1,700
(35)
Gondoca Manzanillo Nat. Wild. Reserve
1987
9,449
--
Tortuguero National Park
1975
18,947
(16)
Cuba
Bocanao Park
1986
19,700
--
Cayao Caguanes
1986
12,500
--
Cayao Cantiles
1986
6,800
--
Cayao Coco Cayo Guillermo
1986
27,188
--
Cayao Guajaba
1986
10,445
--
Cayao Largo
1986
37,500
--
Cayao Romano
1986
82,554
--
Cayao Rosario
1986
5,000
--
Cayao Sabinal National Marine Park
1986
34,651
--
Cuchillas del Toa
1986
--
--
Desembarco del Granma National Park
1986
25,764
--
Ensenada de Mora
1986
792
--
Encambray Park
1986
187,400
--
Habonica 1986
3,383
--
Jibacoa-Bacunayagua 1986
30,000
--
Peninsula de Hicacos
1986
107,704
--
Peninsula de Saetia
1986
4,154
--
Portillo 1986
448
--
Punta Perdenales Cabo Frances
1986
12,000
--
Sierra Maestre National Park
1986
528,000
--
Dominica
Cabrits National Park
1987
360
(66)
Dominican
Cabo Frances Viejo National Park
1974
--
--
Republic
Ciudad de Puerto Plata National Park
1971
--
--
East National Park
1975
43,400
--
Jaragua National Park
1983
13,380
--
La Caleta Sub-Marine National Park
1983
1,210
--
Laguna Redonda y Laguna Limon
1983 1,210 --
Scientific Reserve
Litoral Sur de Sto. Domingo Nat. Park
1986
--
--
Los Haitises National Park
1976
20,000
--
Monte Cristi National Park
186
55,000
--
Samana Bay Silver Banks Mar. Sanct.
1986
--
--
Page 22
Regional Overview ...
Country
Protected Area Name
Year of
Hectares (Marine
Estab.
%)
Guadeloupe
Grand Cul de Sac Marin
--
4,700
(100)
Guatemala
Biotopo Manambique
1986
35,000
--
Rio Dulce National Park
1955
73,000
--
Honduras
Cuero y Salado Wildlife Sanctuary
1986
8,700
--
Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve
1980
350,000
--
Jamaica
Montego Bay Marine Park
1974
59
(100)
Morant Cays Managed Area
1907
12,000
--
Ocho Rios Marine Park
1966
278
(100)
Pedro Bank and Cays Managed Area
1907
1,000,000
(100)
Martinique
Reserve Naturelle de la Caravelle
1976
517
--
Mexico
El Garrafon Marine Park and Isla Mujeres
1980
--
--
La Blanquilla Marine Park
1975
6,687
--
Gancun-Nizuc-Isla
Mujeres
-- -- --
Arrecifes de Cozumel including
1980 76,800 --
Chankanaab Park
Isla Contoy Ecological Reserve
1970
700
--
Ria Celestum
1979
59,130
--
Rio Lagartos
1918
47,840
--
Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
1986
528,147
--
Tulum National Park
1981
664
--
Montserrat
Fox's Bay Bird Sanctuary
1979
6
--
Netherlands
Bonaire Underwater Park
1979
2,600
(100)
Antilles
Curaçao Underwater Park
1983
1,036
(100)
Flamingo Sanctuary
1969
55
--
Saba Underwater Park
1987
--
(100)
Simpson Bay Lagoon
--
1,250
--
Spanish Lagoon
1980
70
--
Washington-Slagbaai National Park
1969
5,900
--
Panama
Comarca Kuna Yala Biosphere Res.
1983
320,600
(12)
Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park
1988
15,000
--
Portobello National Park
1976
17,364
--
Page 23
CEP Technical Report No. 2
Country
Protected Area Name
Year of
Hectares (Marine
Estab.
%)
Puerto Rico
Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge
1974
237
--
Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
1909
284
--
Desecho National Wildlife Refuge
1968
145
--
Estuarine Sanctuaries
1982
1,600
--
Saint Lucia
Maria Islands Reserve
1982
45
(0)
Pigeon Island National Historic Park
1979
20
(0)
Suriname
Copie Nature Reserve
1986
28,000
--
Coppename Mouth Nature Reserve
1966
10,000
--
Galibi Nature Reserve
1969
4,000
--
Peruvia Nature Reserve
1986
35,000
--
Upper Coesewijne Nature Reserve
1986
37,000
--
Wanekreek Nature Reserve
1986
43,860
--
Wia-wia Nature Reserve
1961
36,000
--
Reserve Naturelle de la Caravelle
1976
517
--
Trinidad &
Buccoo Reef & Bon Accord Lagoon
1970
650
(90)
Tobago
Caroni Swamp Wildlife Reserve
1982
7,900
--
Kronstadt Island wildlife Sanctuary
1940
5
--
Little Tobago Wildlife Sanctuary
1928
101
--
Saut d'Eau Wildlife Sanctuary
1935
10
--
Soldado Rock Wildlife Sanctuary
1934
6
--
Southern Watershed Wildlife Sanctuary
1934
1,852
--
St. Giles Islands Wildlife Sanctuary
1968
29
--
U.S.A.
Biscayne National Park
1968
41,120
--
Southern
Everglades National Park
1947
566,796
--
Florida
Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge
--
60,066
--
Fort Jefferson National Museum
1935
64,000
--
J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife
1945 20,000 --
Refuge
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
1960
22,684
--
Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary
1975
67,000
--
Looe Key National Marine Park
1981
1,810
--
Pine Islands, Matlacha Pass and Island
1908 186 --
Bay National Wildlife Refuges
Rookery Bay Nat. Estuarine Reserve
1978
38,000
--
Page 24
Regional Overview ...
Country
Protected Area Name
Year of
Hectares (Marine
Estab.
%)
U.S. Virgin
Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge
1969
20
--
Islands
Buck Island Reef, St. Croix
1961
356
(80)
Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge
1977
6
--
Sandy Point National Wildlife Reguge
1974
149
--
Virgin Islands National Park, St. John
1976
6,073
(33)
Venezuela
Archipielago Los Roques National Park
1972
225,153
--
Cienaga de los Olivitos Wildlife Refuge
1987
24,200
--
Cuare Wildlife Refuge
1972
11,825
--
Henri Pittier National Park
1937
107,800
--
Isla de Aves Wildlife Refuge
1974
4
--
Juan Manuel de Aguas Blancas y Aguas
-- 27,795 --
Negras Wildlife Reserve
Laguna de las Marites Nat. Monument
1974
3,674
(50)
Laguna de Restinga National Park
1974
10,000
(15)
Laguna de Tacarigua National Park
1974
18,400
(50)
Las Tetas de María Guevara Nature
1974 1,670 (20)
Monument
Médanos de Coro National Park
1974
91,280
(54)
Mochima National Park
1973
94,935
(52)
Morrocoy National Park
1974
32,090
(60)
Peninsula de Paria National Park
1978
37,500
--
Ill. MARINE POLLUTION: A THREAT TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Building on the resource base
The marine and coastal ecosystems of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico provide a
major source of wealth that, directly or indirectly, supports millions of people. The region's near-
shore coastal resources - beaches and coral reefs - are the basis for a thriving tourism industry,
and the region's harvestable shell and finfish resources serve to support a spectrum of operators
ranging from artisanal to highly mechanized, commercial enterprises catering to world market.
New initiatives, such as the spider crab projects in the Dominican Republic and Turks and
Caicos and while still in their pilot phases, could offer potentially rich rewards. Other innovative
projects have been launched, including sea moss farming in St. Lucia, sea turtle aquaculwre in
Suriname, a queen conch project in the Turks and Caicos Islands and a project at the Institute of
Marine Affairs in Trinidad testing the feasibility of adapting the Malaysian prawn to the
Caribbean environment. These projects share a common requirement for success: a physical
environment that is relatively pollution-free and an institutional framework that is supportive of
innovation and experimentation.
Page 25
CEP Technical Report No. 2
Pollution sources
Pollution from land-based and maritime activities, as well as from oil and gas extraction is
impairing productive fisheries, as well as viable tourism areas and represent serious threats to
sustainable economic development. Marine pollution stems from multiple sources within the
territorial limits of the region. The different types of contaminants include petroleum and its
derivates, mineral contaminants including those from plants for mineral processing, urban and
industrial contaminants and agricultural contaminants.
Marine pollution prevails in many major ports - Havana, Kingston, San Juan, Veracruz,
Cartagena, Puerto Cabello and Port-of-Spain1. Marine sediments in harbours retain substantial
concentrations of heavy metals -copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc and mercury-
accumulated as a result of past waste disposal activities and discharge practices43. Dredging
disturbs these contaminated sediments causing them to enter the water column where they are
often ingested by marine organisms such as shellfish, thereby entering the food chain.
Some marine pollution stems from transboundary and extra-regional activities. The
transboundary nature of marine pollution necessitates a common, regional approach for its
assessment and control. The complexity of developing and implementing a regional assessment
and control proce.ss requires an integrated approach at both the national and regional levels.
The assessment and control of marine pollution in the region calls for strong and substantial
action. So far, the monitoring and research elements have received strong support. The
CARIPOL programme for the research and monitoring of petroleum pollution in the Wider
Caribbean region has been successfully operating for more than 10 years However, there is no
similar data base for other pollutants, such as sewage, agrochemicals and industrial effluents.
1. LAND-BASED SOURCES OF POLLUTION
Throughout the region, land derived pollutants are degrading and destroying near-shore
marine habitats, fouling recreational swimming areas and creating public health hazards. There is
growing evidence that this type of pollution is accelerating as urbanization overtakes the
capacity of existing municipal infrastructures. In general, the treatment of domestic sewage and
industrial effluents is grossly inadequate. Only 36 percent of households within the Kingston
Metropolitan Area are connected to municipal sewage systems. Similarly, sewage collection and
treatment is available to only about 15 percent of the urban population in the Dominican
Republic. Even where sewage infrastructures have been constructed, plant operation and
maintenance are often inadequate, as are the monitoring of effluents and the enforcement of
effluent standards.
Adding to pollution of the surface and ground water is leachate from the mounting volume
of solid waste that is accumulating in poorly designed landfills that are frequently located in or
near coastal swamps and lagoons. The Wider Caribbean receives waters and sediments from
continental drainage systems including the Mississippi, Rio Grande, Magdalena and the Orinoco.
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Regional Overview ...
Adding to any impacts from these continental drainage systems are those stemming from the
numerous watersheds of the insular Caribbean and of Central America, 70 percent of whose
surface area drains into the Caribbean (Table 2). Conceivably, pollutants and sediments from as
far distant as the Andes and the northern Great Plains of North America could reach the estuaries
and embayments of the Wider Caribbean.
The potential for ecosystem contamination has been heightened by the increased use of
agrochernicals in the region. As traditional agriculture gives way to farming practices that utilize
large quantities of artificial fertilizers and a wide variety of pesticides, the dangers of ground and
surface water contamination, as well as contamination of nearshore coastal waters from runoff
increases accordingly.
Industrial effluents
A common source of pollution is effluent generated by the refining of sugar and the
distillation of alcohol. These effluents contain a high amount of solid residues which cause an
extreme oxygen demand and result in rapid environmental deterioration.
There are numerous examples of waste discharges resulting in massive fish kills. One such
kill occurred during 1988 in the Gulf of Paria. A band of dead fish half a mile long and 1,000
feet wide was reported by Trinidad and Tobago's Institute of Marine Affairs. The fish kill was
attributed to oxygen depletion associated with an outbreak of algal blooms in the Gulf.
In an effort to emulate industrialized economies and to diversify from dependence on
commodity exports, some countries in the region have established heavy industries that are
major point source generators of toxic pollutants. Whereas many of these same industries are
subject to stringent emission controls in Europe or North America, such controls are not always
applied in the region. Even when laws and regulations are enacted, there is often little capability
to actively monitor and enforce air and water emission standards.
Overwhelmed by the need to treat domestic sewage, there is an almost total disregard of the
dangers posed by industrial effluents. Chemical plants, automobile battery salvage operations,
metal plating plants, petroleum refineries, printing plants, dry cleaning establishments,
automobile filling stations and hospitals all, to some extent, produce highly toxic, non-
biodegradable waste products that infiltrate into ground and surface waters or are directly
discharged into the sea. Toxic chemicals (including chromates, zinc and cyanides) from the
galvanizing operation near Belize City have caused extensive fish kills during the past several
years. This example could be replicated throughout the region since programmes for the
handling, storage and disposal of chemical, radioactive and toxic wastes are similarly
inadequate.
With few exceptions, there is no effective enforcement of measures for the pretreatment of
domestic sewage and industrial wastes before they are discharged into municipal sewers or
directly into open water bodies. Among some of the worst polluters are industries which are
owned or operated by the public sector, a circumstance which raises special problems for those
governmental ministries or agencies charged with enforcing environmental standards. This is a
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
pressing problem for both the larger continental urban areas as well as for the governments of the
insular Caribbean States and territories.
2. MARITIME ACTIVITIES
While land-based sources of pollution pose serious threats to the marine environment,
shipping and maritime activities have also caused marine pollution problems. Oil spills,
ballasting, tank washings and docking operations have contaminated marine and coastal
ecosystems in many places throughout the region. In addition, the exploration and exploitation of
sea-bed resources, raise particularly serious problems in hydrocarbon rich areas.
The Wider Caribbean region is potentially one of the largest oil producing areas in the
world. The petroleum industry alone generates 70% of Venezuela's national income, and is
critical to the economies of Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and the Gulf Coast States of the
U.S.A. In addition to oil production, a steady stream of tanker traffic moves about 5 million
barrels of petroleum through the area every day12. Ship traffic through the Panama Canal is
among the world's heaviest. Tanker movements through narrow channels and in the vicinity of
some ports increase the possibility of shipping accidents. About half of the oil pollution in the
region is caused by local tanker traffic and ballast washings.
Impacts of marine pollution
Marine mammals, finfish, birds and shellfish are all severely impacted by hydrocarbon
pollutants46. Floating tar from tanker ballast washings is ingested by the green, loggerhead,
hawksbill and Kemps-Ridley turtles and remains in their digestive tracts for days. Mangroves
exposed to chronic oil pollution show signs of defoliation and death. Aromatic and paraffin
hydrocarbons are consumed and degraded by fish and crustaceans. Oysters, mussels and other
benthic molluscs remove hydrocarbons from the water column by filtration but seem to lack the
capacity to metabolize these compounds. Petroleum hydrocarbons have been detected in oysters
from coastal Mexican lagoons and in birds from Galveston Bay, Texas. These are areas which
are periodically affected by oil spills, as well as by oil discharges from terminal operations and
tanker discharge.
Windward exposed coasts of islands and other land masses in the region have highly
polluted beaches4. Many beaches in the Caribbean have average concentrations of tar in excess
of 100 grams per metre of shore front making them virtually unusable for recreational purposes.
Examples of heavy tar pollution occur in Curaçao, Bonaire and Grand Cayman. The situation in
Grand Cayman is particularly poignant since this island's economy relies heavily on tourism and
there is no local petroleum industry.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 show the geographic distribution of the most prominent forms of
petroleum hydrocarbons found in the Wider Caribbean Region: dissolved/dispersed
hydrocarbons (DDPH); beach tar; and floating tar balls that eventually could reach the coast.
Sea-bed drilling activities, whether exploratory or exploitative, often introduce foreign
materials into the marine environment. Exploration for oil and gas and for mineral resources
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Regional Overview ...
inevitably requires the disposal of the sea-bed materials removed during drilling operations. The
exploitation of petroleum and its by-products is often accompanied by leaks and spillage which
occur during extraction, loading onto ships or feeding into pipelines.
Figure 2. Average Beach Tar Concentration/Location (glm)
Average concentrations of beach tar in grams per metre of beach front for each site sampled in
the CARIPOL petroleum pollution monitoring programme. 77ze average concentration of each
sample site is shown as shaded circle. SOURCE: Ref 19
Non-biodegradable materials, such as plastics and fishing nets made of synthetic materials
also contribute to marine pollution in the region10. This marine debris, which stems primarily
from waste disposal practices on ships, but also from land disposal, poses a threat to valuable
marine species and to tourism. Marine mammals and fish may become entangled in marine
debris or swallow it and can suffer injury or death as a result. With respect to tourism, visitors
are often confronted by debris washed ashore on beaches or floating over coral reefs and in
swimming areas.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
Figure 3. Average Floating Tar Concentration/Location (mg/m)
Average concentration of floating tar in milligrams per square metre for each 1-degree square
for which CARIPOL data exist. The average concentration of each square is shown as a shaded
circle in the middle of that square (thus, some circles appear on land).
SOURCE: Ref. 19
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Regional Overview ...
Figure 4. Average DDPH Concentration/Location (ug/l)
Average concentration of dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons (DDPH) in micrograms
per litre for each 1-degree square for which CARIPOL data exist. The average concentration for
each square is shown as a shaded circle in the centre of that square (thus, some circles appear
printed on land). SOURCE: Ref. 19
3. TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT AND DUMPING OF HAZARDOUS
MATERIALS
Increasingly stringent regulations governing the disposal of hazardous wastes in
industrialized countries could result in an increased movement of such materials to disposal sites
within the Wider Caribbean region44. One recent incident was reported by the Government of
Haiti when a vessel of international registry off-loaded ash near the seaside city of Gonaïves.
Such wastes often contain heavy metals and other toxic substances which not only impair the
quality of the resource base, but also accumulate in organisms consumed by humans, thereby
posing a health hazard.
Evidence of transboundary shipments of toxic wastes for disposal within the Wider
Caribbean region has given renewed urgency to the need for regional legislation dealing with
this new and highly charged issue. In approaching the subject, care must be taken to distinguish
between the movement of waste materials - such as waste paper, salvageable metals, other re-
cyclable materials or waste fuel sources - and known toxic and/or radiological materials.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
A number of Governments in the region have been approached by private disposers seeking
to establish disposal sites within their territorial borders, often for considerable sums of money.
This situation is being monitored by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Pan-
1
American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) and
is receiving the co-operation of the signatory States to the Cartagena Convention. The
seriousness of this issue gives added incentive to early consideration of a draft protocol under the
Cartagena Convention on waste disposal as it affects marine and coastal environments.
In a joint effort, IOC, IMO and UNEP are co-operating on technical aspects in order to
strengthen the original institutional capabilities in response to waste managements requirements.
A seminar convened in Mexico in September 1987 produced specific recommendations in that
regard.
It must be frankly acknowledged that many countries throughout the world dump some of
their wastes at sea, including dredged materials and hazardous substances. With respect to the
Wider Caribbean, very little information is available on intentional ocean disposal of wastes, the
nature of these wastes and the frequency and location of disposal.
IV. CO-ORDINATION, INFORMATION AND INSTITUTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
1. SOCIO-ECONOMIC
SUPPORT
The States and territories of the region face an overwhelming array of environmental
problems resulting from intensive exploitation of coastal and marine resources coupled with
ineffective and often, inappropriate approaches to development planning.
Beset by economic problems and financial pressures, many of the States and territories of
the Wider Caribbean, while frequently paying homage to the spirit of environmental protection,
have done very little to implement effective resource management programmes. Admittedly, the
constraints to putting such programmes into place are formidable. Among those constraints are
the following:
· weak political support from the aeneral populace;
· inadequate budgets for environmental agencies;
· lack of trained personnel and equipment;
· uncertainty as to the appropriateness of standards to be adopted;
· judicial systems that are unsupportive of environmental policies and programmes;
and
· reluctance in many of the States and territories to confront powerful economic
interests.
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Regional Overview ...
The extent of effort that will be required to overcome these constraints should not be
minimized. Those agencies currently responsible for environmental protection are generally
subordinate to other agencies whose mandates focus on development. It is unfortunate, but it
must be acknowledged that environmental protection has often been associated with "no growth"
rather than with sustained economic development. When the efforts of government are directed
to increasing production, raising crop yields or generating more tourism, environmental
considerations are relegated to secondary status. It is not until the occurrence of an "event", such
as a fish kill or the contamination of a ground water source, that urgent calls go out to the
environmental agency to "do something" to correct the situation.
The "panic reaction" by governments to environmental problems is no longer justifiable.
Warnings and admonitions have been sounded for decades. Serious attempts to deal with
environmental problems may require institutional restructuring and a financial commitment to
meaningful action by national and regional organizations, particularly with respect to speeding
scientific applications in agriculture, adapting waste management technologies to local
conditions and by searching out and publicizing successful examples of environmental
mitigation.
In this process, key conceptual issues will have to be resolved, especially the need to clarify,
in programmatic terms, what long-term sustainable economic growth entails. Does economic
transformation without environmental degradation mean slower overall development? Is this
politically viable? What are the trade-offs between rapid, short-term economic gain and
sustained long-term development? Who benefits, and to what extent? Which resource
components should receive priority attention and infusions of research and development funds?
Above all, how can the economic benefits of restoring degraded ecosystems be convincingly
demonstrated to political directorates?
2. LEGISLATION
Increasingly international law is being enacted in matters of environmental protection and
natural resource conservation. This is particularly true when one country's actions (or in actions)
impact on the resources of neighbouring States and territories. Because of the great commonality
of problems, it is imperative that the Governments of the Wider Caribbean harmonize
environmental and resource conservation legislation so as to promote sustainable development
within a regional perspective without ignoring local or country specific needs. Some of the
subject areas which merit attention with respect to regional legislative initiatives are oil,
pollution, marine dumping of hazardous or noxious pollutants, sewage disposal, habitat, wildlife
conservation and the control of marine waste.
Meaningful environmental legislation should be based on sound research and must be
accompanied by practical mechanisms for enforcement. Institutional capacity to administer the
regulations and a public commitment to enforce the laws are essential if those laws are to be
effective.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
Coastal land use planning needs to be strengthened as do the institutional arrangements for
land use management. Natural resource conservation and environmental protection objectives
need to be more effectively integrated into the planning and permitting processes. Existing
practices have to be brought into line with state-of-the-art professional and technical knowledge.
3. TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
Despite an enormous need for environmental trainina and education, there is little sharing of
information and experience on problems and issues of common concern among the institutions
of the region. While many of the region's institutions of higher education offer numerous
science-oriented courses, very few offer the training in resource management which is
desperately needed to cope with the region's environmental problems. For the islands
particularly, much of the professional training takes place in continental countries with very
different institutional, climatic and cultural conditions. There is an untapped potential for
regional institutions to pool their resources in the natural resources area, thereby reducing the
dependence on extra-regional institutions. The work of the Consortium of Universities for
Natural Resources Management represents an important new initiative in this area, bringing
together the various universities of the English, French, Spanish and Dutch speaking Caribbean.
Inadequate sharing of environmental information also occurs among development banks, aid
agencies, environmental ministries and agencies. The result is an all too frequent duplication of
effort and needless expenditure of funds. Exchange of information and data produced by
environmentally-oriented projects can focus regional sensitivities on environmental problems,
helping to reduce costs and creating a larger pool of information that might otherwise be
available in any one country.
General public awareness of regional environmental issues remains limited to rather narrow
circles of professionals and academics. The successful implementation of environmental
programmes requires a strong public constituency. However, despite the efforts of the Caribbean
Conservation Association and other organizations focusing on public awareness, there is still
little sustained support for environmental policies and programmes on the part of the general
electorate in many countries of the region. There is a pressing, need for a multiplicity of
skillfully designed and executed public educational campaigns throughout the region. Without
popular localized support, the ability of Governments to respond to the myriad of problems
highlighted in this overview will be severely hampered.
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Regional Overview ...
V. LIST OF REFERENCES
1.
1976, Collected Contributions, International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the
Caribbean and Adjacent Regions. IOC, Workshop Report No. 11 - Supplement. Port-of-
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, December 1976.
2.
1977, J. M. Martin and M. Meybeck, Review of River Discharges in the Caribbean and
Adjacent Regions. In: UNESCO, Collected Contributions of Invited Lecturers and
Authors to the IOC/FAO/UNEP International Workshop on Marine Pollution in the
Caribbean and Adjacent Regions; IOC Workshop Report No. 11, Supplement, Paris.
Cited in: 1981, Ambio, Volume 10, No. 6, Roya1 Swedish Academy of Sciences,
Stockholm, p. 292.
3.
1977, T. Mendes, Informe sobre Salud Ocupacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas en Centro
América y Panamá, Pan-American Health Organization, Washington, D.C. Cited in
Leonard, Table A-10, p. 203.
4.
1980, Knapp A.H., Iliffe, T.M. & Butler, J.N. Has the amount of tar on the open ocean
changed in the past decade? Marine Pollution Bulletin, ll; 161-164.
5.
1983, Ogden, J.C. & Gladfelter, E.H. (Eds.) Coral Reefs, Seagrass Beds and Mangroves:
Their Interaction in the Coastal Zones of the Caribbean. UNESCO Re-ports in Marine
Science, 23.
6.
1983, Boyd, H. Proceedings of the First Western Hemisphere Waterfowl and Waterbird
Symposium, Edmonton, May 1982; International Waterfowl Research Bureau and
Canadian Wildlife Service.
7.
1983, Coston-Clements, L. & Hoss, D.E. Symposium of Data on the Impact of Habitat
Alteration on Sea Turtles around the Southeastern United States. NOAA Technical
Memorandum, NMFS-SEFC 117, US Department of Commerce.
8.
1983, Nicholson, W. & Hartsuiker, L. The State of the Fishery Resources of the Pedro
Bank and South Jamaica Shelf. FAO Fisheries Report, 278 - Supplement; WECAFC,
Kingston, Jamaica, May 1982.
9.
1983, Munro, J.L. Caribbean Coral Reef Fishery Resources. ICLARM Studies and
Reviews, 7; 276 pages. Manila.
10.
1983, Wehle, D.H.S. & Coleman, F.C. Plastics at Sea. Natural History, 2. 1983.
11.
1984, Bacon P., Berry, F. et al. (Eds.) Proceedings of the Western Atlantic Turtle
Symposium, San Jose, Costa Rica, July 1983.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
12.
1984, Reimburg, L. Waterbourne Trade of Petroleum and Petroleum Products in the
Wider Caribbean Region. US Department of Transport, USCG Final Report, 105 pages.
13.
1985, Centre for Resources Management and Environmental Studies, University of the
West Indies and the Institute for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie
University, Proceedings of the Caribbean Seminar on Environmental Impact Assessment.
14.
1985, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), The State of
the Environment, 1985; Paris, p. 84. Cited in: 1987, International Institute for
Environment and Development & World Resources Institute, World Resources 1987;
Washington, D.C., p. 130.
15.
1985, Cambers, G. Erosion of Coasts and Beaches in the Caribbean Islands. COMAR-
COSALC, UNESCO, Montevideo.
16.
1986, OECS - Natural Resources Management Project, Harmonization of Environmental
Legislation, 1 British Virgin Islands, Description of National Legislation related to
Natural Resources Management (first stage analysis).
17. 1986, OECS - Natura1 Resources Management Project, Management of Coastal
Resources in British Virgin Island, 2 BVI, Report of Workshop on Problem of Depletion
of Coastal Resources in the British Virgin Islands held 25-28 November 1986 in Tortola,
British Virgin Islands.
18.
1986, Marsh, H., O'Shea, T.J. 6t Best, R.C. Research on Sirenians AMBIO, 15 (3); 177-
180.
19.
1987, Donald K. Atwood et al, Petroleum Pollution in the Caribbean. In: Oceanus,
Volume 30, No. 4, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woodshole, MA 02543, pp.
27-30.
20.
1987, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),
Conservation Monitoring Centre. From: Caribbean Marine Resources, USAID/NOAA,
Table 3, p. 28.
21.
1987, Cited by H.G. Leonard, Natural Resources and Economic Development in Central
America, Table 1.3, p. 11, New Brunswick, U.S.A., Oxford, U.K.
22.
1987, From H. Jeffrey Leonard, Table 4.5, p. 138.
23.
1987, Genevieve de Mahieu, draft contribution Review of the Health of the Oceans
(Venezuela), Chapter 2, Marine Contaminants, Levels and Distribution.
24.
1987, Natural Resources Conservation Division (NRCD), Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of Jamaica, Jamaica - Country Environmental Profile.
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Regional Overview ...
25.
1987, Newton E., Tar on Beaches-Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles Carib. J. Sci. 23( 1):
139- 143.
26. 1987, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) - Natural Resources
Management Project, Harmonization of Environmental Legislation, 3 British Virgin
Islands, Plan for Updating Legislation.
27.
1987, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Environmental Data Report.
28.
1987, Van Vleet E.S. and G.G. Pauly, Characterization of oil residues scraped from
stranded sea turtles from the Gulf of Mexico. Carib. J. Sci. 23( 1): 77-83.
29.
1987, Celis, L., Botello, A.V. et al. Actividades del proyecto CARIPOL en la Zona
Costera de Mexico: 1. Hidrocarburos Disueltos. Caribbean Journal of Science, 23 (1); 11-
18.
30.
1987, Merino, M. The Coastal Zone of Mexico. Coastal Management 15; 27-42.
31.
1987, Wager, J., Bisset, R., Bacon, P. & McLouglin, J. Turks and Caicos Islands National
Physical Development Plan: Ecology Input. UNCHS and Cobham Resource Consultants,
UK, Final Draft; 294 pages.
32.
1988, Conseil Régional de la Martinique, La Région et l'environnement.
33. 1988, Délégation Régionale à l'architecture et à l'environnement Guadeloupe
Martinique - Guyane, Ministère chargé de l'Environnement, L'Etat de l'environnement
en Guadeloupe.
34.
1988, Environmental Protection Division, Ministry of Public Works, Government of
Aruba, draft Environmental Protection/Management - Aruba.
35.
1988, Environmental Unit, Ministry of Employment, Labour Relations and Community
Development, Government of Barbados, National Conservation Strategy for Barbados -
project document.
36.
1988, Foundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname (STINASU), Wildlife and
Wildlife Protection in Suriname.
37.
1988, Instituto Nacional de los Recursos Naturales Renovables y del Medio Ambiente
(INDERENA), Ministerio de Agricultura, Gobierno de Colombia, Informe Preliminar
sobre Problemas y Actividades Prioritarias en el Caribe Colombiano.
38.
1988, Ministerio del Ambiente y de los Recursos Naturales Renovables (MARNR),
Government of Venezuela, Informe Nacional Sobre la Gestión Ambiental en Venezuela.
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CEP Technical Report No. 2
39.
1988, Organization of Ameritan States/U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Department of
the Interior, Inventory of Caribbean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas.
40.
1988, Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Ecología (SEDUE), Propuesta del Gobierno
Mexicano para Reorientar el Plan de Acción del Programa Ambiental del Caribe.
41.
1988, World Resources Institute, World Resources 1988-89.
42.
1988, Hoyle, B.S., Pinder, d.a. & Husain, M.S. Revitalising the Waterfront. Belhaven
Press, London; 256 pages.
43.
1988, Bank of Jamaica, Annual Report 1988.
44.
1988, Greenaway, A.M., Lancashire, R.J. & Rankine, A.I. Metalion Concentration in
Sediments from Hellshire, a Jamaican Coastal Environment; pages 77-85 in Seeliger, U.
et al. (Eds) Metals in Coastal Environments in Latin America. Springer-Verlag; 297
pages.
45.
1988, International Movement of Toxic Wastes. CEPNEWS, UNEP, Kingston, Jamaica,
2 (1); 1.
46.
1988, Inventory of Caribbean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas. Department of
Regional Development, OAS, and Office of International Affairs, US Department of the
Interior.
47.
1989, Jackson, J.B.C. & 17 other authors. Ecological Effects of a Major Oil Spill on
Panamanian Coastal Marine Communities. Science, 243; 37-44.
48.
1989, Knausenberger, W.I. & Fleming, C.B. Proceedings of the Workshop on Coastal
Protected Areas in the Lesser Antilles, University of the Virgin Islands, July 1986.
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