“As we celebrate World Water Day on 22 March 2021, the Cartagena Convention Secretariat is pleased with the new mandate that Scientific and Technical Experts from the Wider Caribbean Region have recommended for inclusion in the 2021/2022 work programme of the Secretariat.
Contracting Parties to the Protocol on Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution (LBS Protocol) at the 5th LBS STAC Meeting held virtually from 15-17th March 2021:
- Recognized the relevance of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the future work of the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols and the need for Governments of the Wider Caribbean Region to accelerate the adoption and implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management Plans to meet the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework and
- Requested the Secretariat to explore how this integration can take place and what should be the main role of the Secretariat in supporting implementation of IWRM Plans at a national level.
The Cartagena Convention has approached the water related issues through the LBS protocol by focusing on water pollution control from point and non-point sources. LBS Protocol Annexes I-IV establish a pollution control program based on effluent and emission source controls, and specific obligations to regulate domestic wastewater and agricultural non-point sources of pollution. It’s a technically structured program that depends on reliable operations of wastewater treatment plants and support activities such as pre-treatment of industrial wastewater and knowledge of the assimilation capacity of receiving water bodies or ecosystems. In the case of non-point sources, control relies on the development and implementation of best management practices and plans at a national level.
Several principles were identified in a recent technical report prepared by the Secretariat with funding support by the GEF CReW+ Project to support greater focus on Freshwater Resources Management. These include: (1) Ecosystem-based management (2) Source to Sea; (3) Sustainable Consumption and Production; (4) Natural Capital; (5) Resilience Building; (6) Science – Policy; (7) One Health and (8) Social Participation.
Future work will strengthen synergies and linkages between Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
The Cartagena Convention Secretariat looks forward through projects such as the GEF funded Integrating Land, Water and Ecosystems Management (IWEco) and the Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CReW+) to continue to support the development and implementation of national IWRM Plans that enable a more integrated Ecosystems-Based Approach in fulfilment of the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols on Pollution, Oil Spills and Marine Biodiversity.
