Initiative 4.1

Actions to implement Initiative 4.1

 4.1: Assess and address all sources of pollution and contamination impacting on the ocean and coasts.

 There is a need to strengthen legal and institutional mechanisms that relate to shipping and fishing-related pollution, and to establish and increase national and regional capacity to address monitoring, enforcement and cleanup of marine-source pollution.

 4.1.1  Establish and increase national and regional capacity to address monitoring, enforcement and cleanup of marine-source pollution.

4.1.2  Support the transfer and/or adoption of appropriate technologies that minimise pollution.

4.1.3  All major ports authorities in the region to develop and implement Environmental Management Plan(s).

4.1.4  Undertake a regional risk assessment /sensitivity mapping for areas adjacent to major shipping routes.

 4.1.5 Assess the options for dealing with ship borne waste, including national capacity to dispose of ship borne waste without adverse impacts on island systems and communities.

4.1.6  Strengthen capability for real time monitoring of ocean and coastal ecosystems to provide input into management decisions.

4.1.7  Establish and increase national and regional capacity to address monitoring, enforcement and cleanup of land-based pollution. 

4.1.8  Strengthen the control of transboundary movement of hazardous waste, especially through the enhancement of activities under relevant agreements.

4.1.9  Develop and transfer methodologies to rehabilitate coastal and ocean ecosystems degraded as a result of pollution or other impacts.

4.1.10  Encourage governments to incorporate “user-pays” principles in permitting and regulatory processes.

Initiative 4.2

Actions to implement Initiative 4.2

Address threats from introduced and invasive species.                   

Invasive alien species pose a significant threat to the marine environment, as well as to livelihoods dependent on ocean and coastal resources; invasive species may be extremely difficult and costly to contain should they become established within the region. There is a need to develop a coordinated approach to invasive marine organisms at both regional and national levels.

 4.2.1  Implement existing regional commitments on control of introduced and invasive species.  

4.2.2  Develop and implement regional and national plans to address introduced and invasive species.

4.2.3  Develop policies and best practices addressing priority issues, including:

·       Freshwater species

·       Marine organisms in ballast water

·       Aquaculture and mariculture species

·       Genetically modified materials

·       Inter-island and intra-country transfer

 4.2.4  Improve understanding and raise awareness of the threats posed by invasive organisms, and management options. 

Initiative 4.3

Actions to implement Initiative 4.3

Protect and conserve biological diversity, including ecosystems, species and genotypes, at local, national and regional scales.

Conservation of biodiversity is crucial to the long-term health of both coastal and oceanic ecosystems. It is important that biodiversity protection be pursued in a way that is compatible with community control of resources, and not unduly restrictive of social and economic development, particularly at the community level.

4.3.1  Establish a representative regional network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Locally Managed Marine Areas that includes oceanic MPAs.

4.3.2  Support existing coordinating mechanisms that address biodiversity management.

4.3.3  Ratify and implement relevant regional and international biodiversity related protocols.

4.3.4  Develop and implement regional plans of action, recovery plans and protection for specific species of concern, including rare, threatened and endangered species.