United Nations News How was the Cartagena Convention born?
Christopher Corbin The Cartagena Convention was motivated primarily by a major oil spill that occurred near Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1980s.
This suggests that the region is so dependent on coastal and marine resources in the Caribbean for tourism, fisheries and livelihoods that a framework is needed to protect these precious resources. that price.
At the same time, several major conferences were taking place at the broader UN level, and governments in the region came together to approach the UN Environment Program and say they needed a mechanism to solve the problems you are facing.
The Convention is divided into three main areas: oil spills, land-based pollution sources and marine biodiversity.
United Nations News How bad is the situation now?
Christopher Corbin I can say it’s almost like we’re running on a treadmill.
There have been signs that the area is taking action, especially for oil spills, and we have seen the number of spills drop.
But we are also seeing greater risks. We see an increasing focus on coastal development and tourism, and we recognize the challenges facing coastal and marine resource management. Pollution, from land-based sources and activities, continues to harm our marine and coastal ecosystems.
But I would say that the Convention has allowed governments to deal with transboundary problems that are beyond the control of any single government.
United Nations News Has the convention changed to accommodate the growing perception that there is man-made climate action?
Christopher Corbin A lot like that. If we look at the original Convention document, there is absolutely no mention of climate change.
Climate change impacts all activities that take place in the region. We do not change the focus of the Convention entirely, but rather see how the impacts of climate change relate to our two main areas of focus, marine pollution and marine biodiversity.
So we started looking at adaptation problems and nature-based solutions. When it comes to issues such as sea level rise, we are seeing the importance of integrated planning and integrated coastal management. The whole approach to ecosystem-based management is also an acknowledgment that we cannot approach managing our resources in isolation and by industry.
I can say that Barbados was one of the most powerful supporters of the work of the Cartagena Convention. It is also argued that it is one of the more vulnerable islands in the region because of its geographical location. A lot of the work we did in Barbados was really to help them build resilience.
United Nations News What risks does Barbados face?
Christopher Corbin Barbados has been listed globally as one of the most water-stressed countries in the world: they face a significant challenge regarding the supply of drinking water. They are highly dependent on groundwater and therefore their water is at high risk of contamination, especially domestic wastewater.
Some of the early work on the convention was done more in the context of regional policy, regional standards, and we worked very closely with the Barbados government in reviewing the regulations and helping them develop them. develop new policies.
Over the years, more and more countries like Barbados are starting to say that they need to work more specifically in the field, and our recent projects have mainly focused on supporting Barbados at the local level.
One of our projects is working to ensure that the water being reused is safe. We have developed a very detailed communication strategy with the government, to explain this to farmers and the public.
We hope that this becomes an example of best practice that we can share across the region.
United Nations News The growth of seaweed sargassum has been a problem for several years.
Christopher Corbin Barbados was one of the first countries in the region to be affected.
It has affected sea turtle nesting, fisheries and tourism. We have collaborated with the University of the West Indies and developed several guidelines that look at how to deal with this problem, how to track the spread of sargassum, and how to reuse it.
I think Barbados is leading in terms of some solutions that can be implemented. The government has taken a very methodical approach to these issues. They want to make sure they have national policies in place and as a result they focus on that, the projects they’re working on in the field are having a bigger impact.
