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Main challenges and opportunities for a sustainable future Patricia Lamelas Given the scale of most of its countries, the transboundary nature of resources and ecosystems, and the number of common institutions and challenges, Caribbean sustainable development demands regional approaches. In many areas, such as marine resource management, species conservation and energy production, sustainability cannot be achieved without harmonized policies and joint action. On a larger scale, there are benefits to be gained from closer collaboration between the insular Caribbean and the coastal countries of Central and South America, as well as North America. Benefits can also be gained from closer collaboration between the insular Caribbean and other insular regions such as Oceania, the Mediterranean and the European Overseas Countries and Territories. In small islands and coastal regions, ecosystems are small and closely linked, activities in upper watersheds impact on the coastal zone, and most resources are subjected to multiple—and often conflicting—uses. It is therefore essential to approach management from an integrated perspective, and to accept that conservation, in such a context, is necessarily an exercise in conflict management that must involve a wide range of stakeholders, balance their needs and expectations, identify trade-offs, and give priority to the most vulnerable and impacted groups, particularly the poor and women. Global Programme Team Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland Switzerland Tel +41 22 999 0000 Fax +41 22 999 0002 [email protected] The issues currently facing the region, including climate change, the impacts of global market shifts, and increasing consumption of natural resources, require innovation, both in economic investments and in approaches to conservation, in order to build positive linkages between natural resources, businesses and communities, and to strengthen rather than undermine local livelihoods. Innovation is also required in the institutional arrangements for environmental management, so that these match the capacities of small states and societies and reflect the region’s strong commitment to participation and partnership. A Situation Analysis for the Wider Caribbean Region World Headquarters A Summary www.iucn.org IUCN Caribbean Initiative Paul Starkey, University of Reading, UK IUCN in the insular Caribbean IUCN has 20 members in the insular Caribbean, including four government agencies and 16 NGOs, as well as three NGO members from Belize and one in French Guiana. Although IUCN’s recent work in the region has been limited, some Commissions, especially the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the Species Survival Commission (SSC), have a significant membership and WCPA has been carrying out a number of regional activities recently. IUCN has been consulting with its members and other partners in the region to develop a programme that responds to these unique challenges and makes best use of IUCN’s own capacities and interests. Some of the areas in which IUCN’s support could be most effective include: 1. Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, including helping build the capacity of Caribbean states to participate in major international environmental conventions, to develop and implement environmental legislation and to effectively manage protected areas. 2. Preparing for and responding to climate change, including assisting in the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that integrate biodiversity and ecosystem considerations. 3. Encouraging sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy use, including the development of strategies that make optimal use of renewable energy sources and that mitigate the effects of increasing energy use on biodiversity. 4. Reducing poverty and vulnerability, including supporting initiatives to help poor and marginalized stakeholders use ecosystem goods and services sustainably for improved livelihoods. 5. Managing natural hazards and conflicts, including demonstrating how sustainable environmental management can reduce vulnerability. 6. Using economic instruments and approaches, including developing incentives and financial mechanisms for conservation and supporting partnerships with the private sector. IUCN welcomes reactions and further suggestions as it moves forward over the coming months in developing its programme for the region. This brochure is based on a more detailed situation analysis of the Caribbean region, prepared to inform IUCN’s programme development. That document is available at: www.iucn.org/programme/ Cover photo: Paul Starkey Where IUCN can make a difference This situation analysis was prepared to guide the development of a Caribbean programme for IUCN in accordance with a Resolution passed by the membership at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok in 2004. Trends in human well-being: a region not reflected in the tourism brochures A region dependent on natural resources for development The region comprises 35 political units, including 24 sovereign nations (14 island nations and 10 continental), five Overseas Territories, three Overseas Departments of France, two selfgoverning units of the Netherlands, one territory of the United States and the United States Associated Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Danièle Perrot-Maître The region reflects huge ecological, historical, political and cultural diversity, as well as many commonalities. In addition to high levels of biodiversity and species endemism, the main defining characteristics of the region are geological youth; cultural and biological distinctiveness; small size (of countries, ecosystems, domestic markets and economies); scarcity of resources, especially land, but also water in the drier islands; and vulnerability to natural hazards, social and cultural change, and economic shocks. These characteristics are in turn responsible for three critical features common to the region: • The high dependence of economies and livelihoods on natural resourcedependent activities such as agriculture, mining, tourism and fisheries. • The openness of human and biological systems—to invasive species, external cultural and political influences, trade—and a resulting vulnerability to external forces and factors. • The frequency of conflicts over natural resource use, because multiple uses must co-exist on very limited space. Both despite and because of this dependence on natural resources for development, environmental change has been a major feature of Caribbean history. The widespread establishment in the 18th and 19th centuries of the plantation system, based on slave labour and geared exclusively towards export markets, resulted in the radical transformation of the natural environment and destruction of natural ecosystems. A related factor in the region’s environmental history is the “creolization” of its flora and fauna through importations from South and Central America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific. Paul Starkey Although with the exception of Haiti, Caribbean countries fall in the middle to high range on international development indices, high levels of economic inequity mask persistent and in some cases increasing poverty. The economies of most countries are driven by tourism, construction (much of which is tourism-related), mining and agriculture that are highly vulnerable to external changes and shocks, and that have a substantial impact on the environment. Energy use is generally high and largely derived from petroleum, although some countries are beginning to exploit alternative sources including hydro, wind power, geothermal energy and ethanol co-generation. The region engages heavily in external trade, and the recent loss of preferential agreements with traditional trade partners has increased competition in international markets, with adverse social and economic impacts. The agricultural sector has been particularly affected by the loss of preferential markets with the European Union through the Cotonou agreement (especially for bananas, rum and sugar), but remains important and socially significant, particularly for the region’s large rural population. Environmental issues and trends Danièle Perrot-Maître Danièle Perrot-Maître Some of the main drivers of environmental change today include: • global markets and trade relations, which determine patterns of resource use, disrupt local livelihood strategies, and concentrate pressure on particular areas and resources; • changing consumption patterns and increasing demand for environmental goods and services, particularly energy, land and water; • demographic change, towards greater concentration of population in environmentally-sensitive areas such as coastal zones. Climate is expected to be another important driver of environmental change, especially through projected warming sea temperatures, sea level rise, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and shifts in precipitation patterns. Caribbean ecozones of most importance to human well-being include watersheds, forests, coastal zones and coral reefs. All have been subject to severe and in some cases increasing pressure. Given the high dependency of poor people on natural resources, the degradation of these critical ecosystems has impacted particularly on the poor, as well as on the region’s biodiversity (see Table 1). Policy and management responses Environmental policy in the Caribbean is a mosaic of national, regional and international agreements and initiatives. At national level, many countries have made progress in establishing policy, institutional and legal frameworks for environmental management and sustainable development, although resources, capacity and political support for implementation are often weak. Civil society and private sector participation is provided for in many national and international policies, and NGOs and community organizations are important actors in environmental management in most countries. Nonetheless, the public policy framework remains oriented towards control and regulation, and focuses on symptoms and impacts of environmental degradation rather than the underlying drivers. Critical ecosystems and resources Source: http://www.elemental-logic.com/stats/Today/report27.html Pedro Rosabal Another important mechanism for regional cooperation is UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme, which implements At the international level, the countries are active participants in the main environmental treaties and conventions, but these can put a burden on small states with limited staff and technical resources. A number of bilateral and multilateral donors and major international NGOs have programmes in the region, and external support is an important component of national and regional environmental management strategies. Status and trends Some key drivers Social and economic impacts Watersheds Some upper watersheds protected as forest reserves, but management often weak and little link with coastal areas. Expansion of agriculture (especially for export crops), housing and infrastructure into watersheds. Agrichemicals, poor sanitation and waste management affect water quality. Global agricultural market trends; rising middle-class incomes; urbanization and increased demands for water supply. Effects on availability, quality and cost of water. Soil degradation and loss hurting hillside farmers. Downstream flooding, pollution and sedimentation, with impacts on residents, fishing and tourism. Forests On smaller islands most forests wiped out during plantation era; remnant native forest now mostly protected. National parks and reserves protect central forests in larger countries, but exploitation for fuel wood continues in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and for commercial timber in Guyana. Secondary forest important for biodiversity and provision of forest goods and services but generally not protected and often targeted for development. Evidence of re-establishment of forest in abandoned agricultural lands in some countries. Agricultural expansion and decline in response to global markets; residential expansion into forested areas due to limited land availability. Loss of forest livelihood options for rural people and recreational and tourism opportunities. Loss of economically and ecologically important wildlife and plant species. Coastal zones Concentration of development, particularly tourism, in coastal Tourism and other coastal-based areas. Widespread destruction of mangroves through 1980s, but sectors, e.g. ports, oil refineries, recent improved awareness has led to protection or managed sand mining for construction. use in some areas. Destruction of seagrass and inshore reefs for tourism infrastructure and amenities (e.g. swimming beaches). Coastal protected areas and other management measures established in many countries in response. Loss of beach-related activities, including tourism and fishing, and of coastal infrastructure through erosion, affecting coastal residents and businesses, and likely to increase with projected sea level rise and increased storm frequency. Reduced shoreline protection. Coral reefs Recent rapid reduction in hard coral abundance, increase in macroalgae, epidemics and disease affecting corals regionwide, likely to worsen with climate change-induced sea temperature rise and more frequent hurricanes. Associated changes in reef fish communities, particularly a decline in large carnivores. Marine Protected Areas established to protect critical reefs in many countries. Unregulated coastal development and watershed degradation, impacting reefs through sewage, sedimentation and chemical pollution; marine pollution, especially from cruise industry; overfishing, driven by increasing demand. Reduced revenue from nearshore fishing and reef-related tourism and recreation. Reduced shoreline protection; accelerated erosion, affecting coastal property-owners and residents. Biodiversity Exploited marine species declining (especially near shore and desirable species such as lobster, grouper and snapper). Many terrestrial species declining from habitat loss, alien species competition and predation, and uncontrolled exploitation. Some species targeted for conservation are slowly recovering but populations remain small and vulnerable to shocks such as natural disasters. Increased demand for food species stemming from tourism, population growth and changes in household income (both up and down); reduction of other economic options driving increased pressure in some countries. Loss of access to species of economic, livelihood, cultural and medicinal value; of economic opportunities from ecotourism and other biodiversity-dependent sectors; and of traditional knowledge. A biological diversity hotspot To protect this remarkable patrimony, the countries of the region have established more than 1,000 protected areas covering 2.8 million terrestrial hectares and 10.9 million marine hectares. However, only a few countries have comprehensive and effective national protected area systems. Regional mechanisms are important in promoting harmonization and cooperation among countries. The main regional political grouping, CARICOM, includes institutions and programmes addressing aspects of environmental management from climate change to fisheries management. the Cartagena Convention on the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean and its three Protocols (Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region; Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW Protocol); and Protocol on Marine Pollution from Land-based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol). Table 1: Overview of Caribbean environmental Issues and trends Patricia Lamelas The Wider Caribbean has been identified as one of the world’s biodiversity “hotspots”, with an unusually high proportion of endemic species. A 2003 review for IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas estimated that 54% of vertebrates and 59% of plants are endemic to the region. In Jamaica alone, there are 3,003 species of flowering plants, 28% of which are endemic and 61 species of reptiles and amphibians, more than two-thirds of which are endemic. Yet centuries of intense natural resource exploitation and environmental degradation have taken a toll: the IUCN Red List evaluated 2,074 insular Caribbean species and found that 2.2% were extinct and 38% threatened. Of the 1,920 terrestrial species, 206 marine species and 347 freshwater species evaluated, respectively 38%, 22% and 22% are threatened. Private sector support for environmental management and conservation has largely come from smaller, locally-owned tourism businesses and a few major Caribbean companies. Transnational business interests, such as the cruise ship and airline industries, although major users of the region’s natural assets, have to date contributed little to their protection.