Focal Point for Only Regional Legally Binding Environmental Treaty in the
Caribbean Region
Local Conservation Organization the St. Maarten Nature Foundation has been
appointed as the Specially Protected Area of Wildlife (SPAW) Focal Point
for St. Maarten. The SPAW Protocol is the executionary protocol for the
Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in
the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR), which is the only legally binding
regional environmental treaty for the Region. The Convention, referred to
as the Cartagena Convention, presently has 25 (out of 28 possible) States
that are Contracting Parties, including the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Convention and its Protocols constitute a legal commitment by these
countries to protect, and manage their common coastal and marine resources
individually, jointly, and in a sustainable manner. The Cartagena
Convention and its Protocols enhance not only protection but also
development, as specifically noted in its provisions.
Adopted in Kingston, Jamaica by the member governments of the Caribbean
Environment Program (CEP) on 18 January 1990, the SPAW Protocol preceded
other international environmental agreements in utilizing an ecosystem
approach to conservation. The Protocol acts as a vehicle to assist with
regional implementation of the broader and more demanding global
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The SPAW Protocol seeks to “Take
the necessary measures to protect, preserve and manage in sustainable way
areas that require protection to safeguard their special value, and
threatened or endangered species of flora and fauna.
With the Appointment the Nature Foundation acts as the Focal Point for
assistance to Government and NGOs in increasing the number, and improve
the management of, protected and/or managed areas locally and in the Wider
Caribbean Region (WCR), including support to national and regional
conservation management strategies and plans. Support the conservation of
threatened and endangered species and sustainable use of natural resources
to prevent them from becoming threatened or endangered; Develop strong
regional capability for information exchange, training and assistance, in
support of national biodiversity conservation efforts; Coordinate
activities, and develop synergies, with the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as other biodiversity-related
treaties and initiatives, such as the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES), the Convention on
Wetlands/Ramsar Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)/Bonn Convention, the Western
Hemisphere Conventions, the Interamerican Convention for the Conservation
of Sea Turtles (IAC), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and
the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI).
The St. Maarten Nature Foundation is a locally mandated Conservation
Organization tasks with the Management of the Terrestrial and Marine
Ecosystems of St. Maarten. The Foundation manages the Man of War Shoal
Marine Protected Area; the only National Park for Country St. Maarten