|
Marine Mammal Symposium in the Caribbean: Building Local, Sustainable «Blue» Tourism March 2010, St. Luce, Martinique The “Marine Mammal Symposium”, co-sponsored by the Comité Martiniquais du Tourisme (CMT), the Conseil Générale de la Martinique (CGM), the Conseil Régional de Martinique (CRM), the Eastern Caribbean Coalition for Environmental Awareness (ECCEA), the Pew Environment Group (PEG) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) took place 18-21 February, 2010 at the Hotel Amyris in St. Luce, Martinique. The experiences shared and lessons learned from whale watching operations and long term benign scientific research carried out in several countries of the Wider Caribbean Region, the Pacific Islands, the Indian Ocean and the Americas, informed the discussions and gave rise to recommendations which were sent to governments and NGOs alike. In this year, declared the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, the deadline by which to ensure a reversal of the decline and loss of biodiversity, all 31 species of marine mammals, creatures of prime importance to marine biodiversity that can be found in the Wider Caribbean Region are listed as threatened or endangered in Annex II of the Specially Protected Areas of Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol of More than 40 participants, from 22 countries, included representatives of the whale watching industry worldwide, scientists, educators, civil society groups, experts, journalists, and national and international NGOs. The government of Martinique was represented by members of the Regional Council, led by Madame Madeleine de Grandmaison, vice president of the Martinique Regional Council and president of the Martinique Committee of Tourism, as well as a representative from the National Office for hunting and wild fauna. UNEP’s Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife programme was represented by the director of its Regional Activity Centre in Guadeloupe. Government representatives came from several countries including Costa Rica, Dominica, Curacao, France and Haiti. Experts were also in attendance from the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom and Barbados. Regional and international non-governmental organizations in addition to the co-sponsors included BREACH (Guadeloupe), Les Heures Saines (Guadeloupe), Megapterax (Venezuela), WWF (Senegal), the Grenada Fund for Conservation, the KIDO Foundation (Grenada), Friends of the Tobago Cays (St. Vincent), Regional Heritage Association (St. Vincent), National Community Tourism Association (St. Vincent), Tonga Whalewatchers Association, Cetamada (Madagascar), Atemar (Dominican Republic), Instituto de Conservacion Balenas (Argentina), Mystic Man Tours (St. Lucia), Center for Coastal Studies (USA), Fundacite Aragua (Venezuela), Centro de Conservacion Cetaceans (Chile), Whales Alive (Australia), Ross University (Dominica), and National Science Research Centre of Paris Sud University. Representatives from Martinique organizations included Beauséjour, Sea Impact, Video Sub St. Pierre and CarenAntilles.The symposium was chaired by a number of accomplished conservationists including: Elizabeth Thompson, a Senator and former Environment Minister from Barbados who formerly served as a Pew Whale Commissioner in Lisbon in February 2009 and chair to the Ocean Life Symposium held in Dominica that same year; Ronald Sanders a former High Commissioner and Ambassador to the UK from Antigua and Barbuda, long time journalist who continues to promote sound economic and environmental policies for OECS countries; Peter Bridgewater, Chairman of the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee and a former Secretary of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, former Chairman of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and former Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance; Mme Madeleine de Grandmaison (see above); and Paul Hoetjes, board representative for the Department of Nature and the Environment (MINA) of the central government of the Dutch Antilles. The symposium benefitted from the warm hospitality of the people and government of Martinique. The Conseil Général and the Conseil Régionale hosted two special events for participants. The Martinique Tourism Committee also gave an excellent guided tour of important sites in Martinique which included a visit to the science and earth discovery centre, which was hosted by Dr. Hélenon who presented a an award winning film by Michel Meterey, the discoverer of the 1902 volcanic wrecks in St. Pierre, Martinique and Alberto Falco, captain of the legendary Cousteau research vessel the “Calypso”. Marine Mammal Symposium Outcomes INTRODUCTION The following recommendations were agreed by an international symposium on the opportunities for building local, sustainable “blue” tourism and combating the threats to marine mammals in the Caribbean, held at Sainte-Luce, Martinique, 18-21 February 2010. The more than 40 participants, from 22 countries, included representatives of the whale watching industry worldwide, scientists, educators, civil society groups, experts, journalists, and national and international NGOs. The experiences shared and lessons learned from whale watching operations and longterm benign scientific research carried out in several countries of the Wider Caribbean Region, the Pacific Islands, the Indian Ocean and the Americas, informed the discussions and gave rise to the recommendations contained herein. In addition to these recommendations, the symposium also agreed two public statements by consensus. The first of these, an appeal to Caribbean Governments to support the development of well-regulated whale watching as a contribution to local livelihoods and marine conservation efforts, was issued at the end of the symposium as a media release. The full text is attached as Annex 1. The second public statement was an Open Letter to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) members and observers attending a meeting of the IWC’s Small Working Group in St Pete Beach, Florida, USA, 2-4 March 2010. This letter was transmitted to delegates at the start of the Florida meeting, and is attached here as Annex 2. PREAMBLE This symposium, dedicated to promoting the conservation of whales and to identifying appropriate strategies for developing “blue tourism” in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) through properly regulated marine mammal observation activities, was the first of its kind to be held in the region in celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity. The symposium ascertained that whale watching, when carefully regulated and backed by a sound education and public awareness programme involving the local communities in which it is based, does and can provide considerable benefits to the tourism industries of Caribbean countries at a time when tourism has become the most important single contributor to their economies. Whale watching in conjunction with non-lethal, long-term research in some countries is furthermore providing valuable information on the Region’s cetaceans, their behaviour, migrations and population structure, contributing to the fulfillment of national commitments regarding international biodiversity goals and to improving knowledge of the Region’s marine biodiversity. National sanctuaries and protected areas can be powerful catalysts for increased awareness, education, funding, international collaboration and tourism, and the Caribbean is no exception. They are in the economic interest of Caribbean countries, and their support for these areas would enhance their image as environmentally friendly and responsible. Threats to marine mammals are, as in other regions, numerous and not always well understood. The effects of a changing climate on migrations, food supplies, breeding patterns, ecosystem relationships and heath are still to be determined but make precautionary approach to any, even non-lethal, use of marine mammals a prerequisite. In addition, human-induced pollution, both land-based and at sea, acoustic disturbances, vessel traffic through migration routes, and other threats compound the risks. The symposium welcomed the Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Mammals (MMAP) approved and adopted by the Thirteenth Intergovernmental Meeting on the UNEP Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Programme and the Tenth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda on the 12 September 2008, and expressed support for its goals and for the framework that it provides to advance marine mammal conservation and observation in the Region. The symposium also recognised the important and long-standing contributions made by NGOs and the private sector to advancing these goals, and to building a harmonious relationship between these majestic creatures and the peoples of the Caribbean to the benefit of all. The Conseil Régional de la Martinique (CR) and their Comité Martiniquais de Tourisme (CMT) were urged to call on France within the context of ACP/EU agreements to take up all of the recommendations. Documents Click here to see the outcomes document. Click here to see the Message from Martinique document which was sent to all participants at the International Whaling Commission’s Small Working Group meeting, St Pete’s Beach, Florida 2-4 March 2010. Click here to see the press release from the meeting which was sent to local and international press outlets. Click here to see the final agenda. Click here to see the powerpoint presentations. |
Contents Sponsors COMITE MARTINIQUAIS DU TOURISME CONSEIL GENERAL DE LA MARTINIQUE CONSEIL REGIONAL MARTINIQUE EASTERN CARIBBEAN COALITION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THE PEW ENVIRONMENT GROUP |
