“May the seas help us see healing and hope; May we sing out the ocean’s survival and revival.”
Amanda Gorman
On the evening of Saturday, March 4, 2023, the High Seas Treaty was agreed on at the United Nations headquarters in New York, after many years of negotiations. There is a good breakdown of the Treaty here. It is also called the “BBNJ” (the UN loves acronyms) – that is, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty. Roughly two-thirds of our oceans are considered “international waters.” However, only a tiny fraction of these seas have been actually protected. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) over 1,550 of the 17,903 marine animals and plants assessed are at risk of extinction, with climate change impacting at least 41% of threatened marine species. This is not only about the awe-inspiring whales and fascinating sharks and rays (the latter group is especially threatened) – but also humbler creatures, including abalones and other shellfish, for example, and corals (which are living creatures). Apart from climate change, pollution from agriculture and industry and illegal fishing practices are major threats to the health of our international waters.
The Treaty is a fantastic “win” for our marine environment, a concerted international effort and a step in the right direction. On June 19, 2023, it was formally adopted by consensus and standing ovation in New York. Yes, it’s a big deal. And it’s legally binding. As Greenpeace notes, the Treaty keeps the goal of “30 by 30” (protecting one third of our oceans by 2030) alive.
Give thanks!
So far, the following Caribbean nations have signed the Treaty: Antigua and Barbuda; Belize; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Saint Lucia; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Our Caribbean neighbours (Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Panama) have also signed on, besides the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
Jamaica has not (yet) signed it.
The stories we tell about who we are as a nation, and the values that define us, are not fixed. They change as facts change. They change as the balance of power in society changes. Which is why regular people, not just governments, need to be active participants in this process of retelling and reimagining our collective stories, symbols, and histories.”
Naomi Klein, “The Case for a Green New Deal”
Speaking of Panama, a meeting just concluded there on the Escazú Agreement – officially named the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. The name speaks for itself. The agreement has its genesis in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Rio+20) in 2012 – specifically, in Principle 10, which is worth reading. The Panama meeting was COP3 – that is, it was a meeting of the 15 parties to the Agreement.
The Escazú Agreement entered into force on 22 April, 2021. Which Caribbean countries have signed and ratified it? Antigua and Barbuda; Belize; Grenada; Guyana; Saint Lucia; St. Kitts and Nevis; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic have signed, but not ratified. I recall that Jamaica signed the Agreement on September 26, 2019 – and then withdrew its ratification, due to a “technical error.” We have heard nothing since.
When will Jamaica ratify and become a party to the Escazú Agreement? Has the technical error been corrected? Opposition Spokesperson on the Environment and Climate Change Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns writes here on this matter.
So, the above are two examples of Jamaica’s non-participation in critical international environmental agreements. Here’s the third, and perhaps most puzzling:
The SPAW Protocol to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention for short) seems to be a no-brainer. There are so many benefits for Jamaica in terms of grant funding, technical support, training and projects that would directly and positively impact not only our marine environment, but our people. The SPAW Sub-Programme supports countries in meeting the objectives of global conventions and initiatives, including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Conventions, as well as the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). God knows, with coral bleaching spreading rapidly to and around Jamaica, we need help in this last area alone.
This is the only legally binding agreement specifically for the protection of our Caribbean Sea. Ironically (and embarrassingly) it was adopted here in Kingston, at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme, which administers the SPAW Protocol here. I have written about it several times (and enquired about it at the Office of the Prime Minister); however, we have had complete silence on the matter, for years.
After all, it’s been thirty-three years since Jamaica signed the SPAW Protocol, on January 18, 1990. Perhaps the time has come to do the right thing, for our oceans.
Footnote: the current political administration announced (via the CEO of the National Environment and Planning Agency) that it has been unable to accede to the SPAW Protocol and be fully compliant with its intent, because of its failure to amend the Wildlife Protection Act. “We anticipate that the process will be completed the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. When done, it will enable Jamaica to meet the obligations of the SPAW Protocol and, therefore, allow the Government of Jamaica to ratify the Protocol,” NEPA’s CEO Peter Knight told the media on March 30, 2023. Meanwhile, the agency has been successful in obtaining special protection for fifteen ecologically sensitive areas on the island, announced by the Prime Minister on March 16, 2023. One assumes that these will be the responsibility of NEPA, in terms of protection (how?)
I look forward to the day when Jamaica stands at the forefront of environmental protection and advocacy internationally. I don’t mean through words – I mean through its actions. I guess it’s a question of priorities.
I have probably quoted this before, from my hero Dr. Sylvia Earle, but it bears repeating:
“No water, no life. No blue, no green.”
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue
