Guidelines for Protected Areas and Species

Development of Guidelines for Protected Areas and Species Under the SPAW Protocol

The Parties to the SPAW Protocol agreed to adopt common guidelines and criteria under Article 21.

The main objectives of this activity are to:

• Promote and assist with the development and implementation of the guidelines on protected area establishment, management and listing developed under the framework of SPAW;
• Promote a national system for protected areas as a mechanism for the development of relevant legislation and reporting mechanisms; and
• Promote and assist with the development and implementation of guidelines on species conservation and management developed under the framework of SPAW.

 

Guidelines developed to date:

The Guidelines and Criteria for the Evaluation of Protected Areas to be Listed under the SPAW Protocol were adopted by Contracting Parties in 2010 and encompasses the following:

• Sustain natural resources and encourage their ecologically sound and appropriate use, understanding and enjoyment;

• Protect and preserve areas, habitats and species;

• Form a network of protected areas;

• Develop cooperative agreements on bilateral and multilateral bases to promote the effectiveness of the network of protected areas;

• Include a comprehensive and representative system of protected areas; and

• Ensure that any area to be included in the List of Protected Areas recognized by the SPAW Protocol conforms to the following guidelines and criteria:
  • Ecological, cultural and socio-economic criteria;
  • Protection, planning and management measures; and
  • Procedures for nomination, listing, and delisting of Protected Areas.

An annotated format for the presentation of reports for the areas proposed for Inclusion in the SPAW list was adopted in 2010.

Terms of Reference of the SPAW STAC Ad Hoc Working Groups

• English
• Spanish
• French

Milestones

Following the SPAW COP10 held in Roatán, Honduras, 3 June 2019 -

• 2 new species were added and listed under Annex II and III:
  • Annex II
    • Pristis pristis, Largetooth sawfish

 

• • Annex III
    • Carcharhinus falciformis, Silky shark

The total number of listed species has now increased to 256.  See Updated list of species under the Annexes of the SPAW Protocol

• 3 additional protected areas (The Mount Scenery National Park of Saba Island in the Caribbean Netherlands, the National Natural Reserve of Kaw-Roura and the National Natural Reserve of Amana, both in French Guiana) were listed under the SPAW Protocol.

A total of 35 protected areas are now listed under the Protocol with a view to enhance their effectiveness, share lessons learnt with other protected areas.

Factsheet on Listing of Protected Areas: English | Spanish | French

For the 2019-2020 Biennium there will be:

• A call to Parties to list their protected areas
• A review and assessment of the current listing of PAs linked to the updated Regional MPA database
• Increased cooperation with regional fisheries bodies and existing MEAs (e.g. CRFM, WECAFC and CMS Sharks MoU)
• Continued dissemination of the SPAW-RAC Newsletter for the sections dedicated to highlighting the SPAW listed sites and CaMPAM activities
• Application of the voluntary format for presenting exemptions and reporting on their implementation to the Contracting Parties – Parties are encouraged to review The Guidelines to Assess Exemptions under Article 11(2) of the Protocol (English, Spanish, French) and utilize the voluntary reporting format (English, Spanish, French) to help evaluate their submissions.