IUCN/TNC Scientific Forum on the BIOPAMA Programme

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Nature Conservancy (TNC) are the two largest global NGOs which have the conservation and protection of biological resources as their core role. Together they have collaborated on the Biodiversity and Protected Area Management Programme (BIOPAMA) for African, Pacific and  Caribbean (ACP) states, the main aim of which is to establish a database on Protected Areas (PAs).  

This Scientific Forum, which was held between February 19 – 21^st, 2014 in St. Lucia, was intended to familiarise the Caribbean sub-region on the objectives of the BIOPAMA programme and to inform on its utility by providing  information on available tools for the management of protected areas. 

Two representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources attended the Scientific Forum. They included Mr. Julius Smith, Environmental Biologist in the Environmental Policy and Planning Division, along with Rhona Jitta, Assistant Conservator of Forests (Ag.), Forestry Division.

The Forum provided an opportunity for the IUCN/TNC to assess the capabilities of the Caribbean States in terms of  Protected Area management, monitoring and enforcement as well as their availability to participate in the BIOPAMA initiative.  The second part of the Forum focused on working group sessions that sought to get the participants to formulate projects that would assist BIOPAMA in carrying out its mandate.   

These sessions sought to solicit information from Caribbean states regarding how data is currently being used, existing data gaps, impediments to the acquisition of data, the accessibility of available data and the administrative bottlenecks to data management as well as decision making based on the use of geospatial data.

 

The Caribbean Regional Workshops on MEAs

At the end of January, 2013 The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat hosted two workshops in St.Lucia during the period January 23 - 30th, 2013.

The workshops addressed the harmonisation of reporting by Caribbean Countries and the usage of Integrated Environment Assessment tools (IEA) tools to mainstream four (4) biodiversity related multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) into national policy:

• The Convention on Biological Diversity 
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
• The Convention Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar)
• The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (the SPAW Protocol) of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the Cartagena Convention)  

These workshops were executed by the Caribbean Hub of the Project for Capacity Building Related to MEAs in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States, in collaboration with the Government of St. Lucia. The Caribbean Hub is a partnership between CARICOM Secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).   

Attendees included representatives of the CARICOM Member States including Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, the African Commission, the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and other regional and international organisations.

Ms Candace Amoroso Biodiversity Specialist in the Multilateral Environment Agreements Unit (MEAU); Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources represented Trinidad and Tobago at the first workshop on the Development and Use of a Proposed Caribbean Harmonised Reporting Template (CHART). This workshop took place during the period January 23-25, 2013. 

The goal of the workshop was to promote awareness and adoption of the CHART which was designed to make obligatory reporting on biodiversity related MEA activities efficient and easier to undertake. Discussions included the challenges facing synchronised reporting and concluded on the "Next Steps"  for the CHART.

Ms. Candace Amoroso (right) receiving a certificate of participation from the CARICOM-Secretariat 

The second workshop on MEA mainstreaming occurred from January 28-30, 2013. Ms. Denise Hakim, Research Analyst of the MEAU; Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources represented Trinidad and Tobago at this session. This workshop addressed the importance of mainstreaming MEAs into national policy to ensure their effective implementation and fulfilment of their objectives. Further application of IEA tools was recommended for action particularly regionally developed, in the creation of national development plans, policies and strategies with regards to MEAs.

Ms. Denise Hakim (left) receiving a certificate of participaton from the CARICOM-Secretariat