AMEP FACT SHEETS: Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) Solid Waste and Marine Litter LBS Protocol Wastewater Oil Spills

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1 UNITED NATIONS United Nations Environment Programme Distr. LIMITED EP UNEP(DEPI)/CAR WG.37/INF.12 6 October 2016 Original: ENGLISH Third Meeting of the Scientific, Technical and Advisory Committee (STAC) to the Protocol concerning Pollution from Land based Sources and Activities in the Wider Caribbean. Miami, Florida, USA, 31 st October to 2 nd November 2016 AMEP FACT SHEETS: Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) Solid Waste and Marine Litter LBS Protocol Wastewater Oil Spills

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4 VISION Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) FACTSHEET JULY 2016 Sustainable development of coastal and marine resources in the Wider Caribbean Region through effective, integrated management that allows for economic growth & sustainable livelihoods Control, reduce and prevent pollution of the marine environment of the Wider Caribbean from land and marine based sources and activities GOAL Protocol on Land Based Pollution Sources Reduce pollution through establishment of effluent and emission limitations and/or through best management practices Exchange information on land-based pollution through cooperation in monitoring and research Climate Change Water quality Oil spills Wastewater Watershelds Protocol on Combatting Oil Spills Protect the marine and coastal environment from oil spill incidents Establish and maintain means to respond to oil spill incidents and to reduce the risks associated with such incidents

5 Strategic objectives Expected Outcomes Outcome Indicator Pollution Reduction and Prevention States increasingly integrate an ecosystem management approach into national development and planning processes that include pollution reduction and prevention States increasingly use pollution prevention and reduction tools and innovative/appropriate technologies to reduce degradation of priority ecosystems States increasingly implement their obligations under the Cartagena Convention and related MEAs while achieving their national environmental priority goals, targets and objectives. States increasingly implement local and/or national plans of action for pollution prevention, reduction and control. Reduced pollution load and improved environmental quality Mainstreaming of integrated watershed and coastal area management approaches Pollution prevention and reduction policies & plans adopted and incorporated into National Environmental Strategies and/or National Planning Processes National and local legal, institutional and policy reforms adopted and implemented Tools, innovative technologies and management practices for pollution prevention and reduction implemented Ratification/Accession of the Cartagena Convention, its Protocols and related MEAs Legislation and institutional mechanisms to fulfil MEA/ GPA obligations established Information Management and use of Decision-Support Tools States and the Secretariat increasingly partner with NGOs, private sector and civil society to achieve national and regional environmental priorities States and other stakeholders have increased capacities to assess, manage and reduce risks to human health and the environment posed by land and marinebased sources of marine pollution and associated activities including harmful substances and hazardous wastes Increased information disseminated on impacts of climatic variability and change for pollution reduction measures Enhanced partnerships for the development and implementation of activities and projects Use of tools, mechanisms, strategies and technologies for monitoring, analysis, evaluation and dissemination of environmental data and information Improved knowledge of the state of the coastal and marine environment Enhanced public awareness and capacity to use decision-support tools e.g. GIS Enhanced capacity for integrating issues of climate variability and change in pollution prevention and reduction measures

6 SOLID WASTE & MARINE LITTER, did you know That solid waste is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material that is discarded or left abandoned. Such material that is not disposed of properly has the potential to negatively impact the Caribbean Sea. That less than 35% of solid waste goes to regulated sanitary landfills lacking maintenance and nearly two-thirds or 275,000 tonnes daily ends up in open-air dumps or in rivers in the Wider Caribbean Region. 1 That everyday 8,000,000 new solid waste items become marine litter in our oceans and seas. The solid waste collection coverage in major Caribbean cities varies from 60% to over 90% of the population. 3 That 424,000 tonnes of solid waste are generated daily in Latin America and the Caribbean. 1 That marine litter can be classified into land or ocean waterway-based, depending on how the debris enters the water. 4 That about 70% of the litter that enters our seas and oceans ends up on the seafloor, with half of the remaining amount being found on beaches and half floating on the water s surface. 2 That studies have shown that a high proportion (approximately 50% to 80%) of sea turtles found dead are known to have ingested some form of marine litter. 5 Without concerted global action, there could be one tonne of plastic for every 3 tonnes of fish by 2025, leading to massive environmental, economic and health issues. 6 That it takes 1,000,000 years for a glass bottle, 600 years for fishing line, 450 years for a plastic bottle, 450 years for a disposable diaper, years for an aluminium can, 80 years for foamed plastic, years for nylon fabric, 1-5 years for a cigarette filter, 3 months for a waxed milk carton, 2-5 weeks for an orange or banana peel and 2-4 weeks for paper towels to decompose. 7 That pollution from land-based sources is a primary cause of coral reef degradation throughout the world. The estimated value of shoreline protection services provided by Caribbean reefs is between US$700 million and US$2.2 billions per year.within the next 50 years, coral degradation and death could lead to losses totaling US$140 millions to US$420 millions annually. 8 1 Pan-American Centre for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Solid Waste management in Latin America and the Caribbean: Scenarios and Outlook, accessed from from 2 United Nations Environment Programme Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, accessed from from 3 UNEP 2005, Marine Litter: An Analytical Overview, Nairobi, Kenya 4 UNEP 2008, Marine Litter in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Regional Overview and Action plan, United Nations Environment Programme, Kingston, Jamaica. 5 Greenpeace, 2006, Plastic Debris in the Worlds Oceans, accessed from from reports/plastic_ocean_report 6 OceanConservancy,2015, Stemming the Tide: Land Based Strategies for a Plastic Free Ocean. Accessed from Ocean Conservancy 2006, A pocket guide to Marine Debris, accessed From Burtke, Laurette; Maidens, Jonothan, Reefsat Risk in the Caribbean. World Resources Institute. Washington, DC.

7 Protocol concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol) The LBS Protocol, which was adopted in 1999 and entered into force in 2010, is one of three Protocols of the Cartagena Convention. This legal instrument consists of obligations to reduce the negative environmental and human health impacts of land-based pollution in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). AIMS Reduce impacts of priority pollutants by establishing sewage and emissions limits and implementing best management practices. Exchange scientific & technical information on land-based pollution through regional cooperation in monitoring and research.? WHY? The Caribbean Sea is an important natural resource for tourism, fisheries and general recreation. The associated coastal and marine ecosystems are extremely fragile and vulnerable to human activities, especially those that take place on land. Regional and national actions are urgently needed to protect these vital marine resources and overall public health in the countries of the Wider Caribbean Region. The main sources of point or direct sources of pollution to the Caribbean Sea are: Domestic Sewage Solid Waste/Marine Litter Poor Agricultural Practices Oil refineries Sugar factories and distilleries Food processing Beverage manufacturing Pulp and paper manufacturing Chemical industries WHO? Eleven countries have ratified/ acceded to the LBS Protocol: Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, France, Guyana, Panama, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic and the USA. HOW? The LBS Protocol provides the legal framework for addressing pollution based on national and regional needs and priorities. The UNEP CAR/RCU Secretariat supports its Contracting Parties/Countries to: Classify recreational water bodies based on pollution risk to human health and the environment Establish legally binding standards for sewage effluent and discharges Develop National Programmes of Action for Integrated Watershed and Coastal Area Identify and assess sources and activities contributing to pollution Develop management plans and demonstration projects to reduce marine pollution The LBS Protocol promotes the use of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), most appropriate technologies and best management practices. It further encourages the establishment of pollution standards and schedules for implementation.

8 of our region s reefs are threatened by wastewater 15% discharge from cruise ships and other vessels. 8,000,000 metric tonnes of plastic enters into the world s ocean every year and the amounts continue to grow. The total estimated nutrient load from land-based sources in the Caribbean Sea is 13,000 tonnes/yr of nitrogen and 5,800 tonnes/yr of phosphorus. 7 N 15 P Coastal areas near to oil installations show significant heavy metal concentrations in sediments. The Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) is one of the largest oil producing areas in the world, producing approx. 20,000,000 barrels per day in 2012 of which USA produces 41.2%. It is estimated that 90% of the pesticides used in the Wider Caribbean Region do not meet their intended target and a high proportion enters the marine environment via surface and drainage, runoff, erosion, misapplication and atmospheric transport. Domestic wastewater is high in nutrients like nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). These nutrients are harmful to our coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, fishes, marine mammals and other coastal and marine ecosystems which could eventually die. Over 75% of all sewage enters the Caribbean sea untreated or only partially treated. The average global estimate of annual sediment load to the world s oceans varies from 15 to 30 billion tonnes from activities on land such as deforestation, unplanned development and poor agricultural practices and sources such as domestic and industrial wastewater, solid waste, sediment and toxic chemicals. References: All facts are sourced from AMEP Fact Sheets. Visit the website link below for further information:

9 WASTEWATER 70% of wastewater from high income countries is treated, 38% in middle-income. 28% in lower middle-income with only 8% from low-income countries receiving any form of treatment. 1 The reuse of wastewater can ease the demand on limited fresh water supplies and improve the quality of streams and lakes by reducing discharged effluent. Wastewater can be a resource as a source of reclaimed water, biogas and useful biosolids. 2 Approximately 15% of the Caribbean s coral reefs are currently threatened by marine sources of pollution such as wastewater discharge from ships. Sewage runoff causes serious damage to coral reefs because it stimulates the growth of aquatic plants and algae which threatens marine life. Globally 2,000,000 tonnes of sewage agricultural and industrial wastes enters waterways daily % of all Wastewater or sewage enters the Caribbean Sea untreated with implications for human health, environment quality and productive activities. Farmers and labourers exposed to domestic wastewater have reported fevers, diarrhea and sores on their hands and legs as a case in point. 4 The 330 km3 of municipal wastewater produced globally each year is enough to irrigate 40,000,000 hectares (equivalent to 15% of all currently irrigated land) or to power 130,000,000 households through biogas generation. 5 Diarrhoeal diseases kill about 2,000,000 children and cause about 900,000,000 episodes of illness each year. Over half of the world s hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from water-related diseases. Only 17% of households in the Caribbean are connected to an acceptable sewage treatment system. 6 Some countries depend on poorly functioning septic tanks and pit latrines. 7 It is estimated that each individual in a hotel produces US gallons of wastewater each day, significantly more than local persons. 8 Greater levels of wastewater reuse or recycling will create a climate-independent water source that is dependable, locally controlled and generally beneficial to the environment. 1 United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-IWEH), World lacks data on water re-use. Accessed rising-reuse-wastewater/ 2 GEF CReW, Wastewater as a Resource. Accessed UNEP 2008, Marine Litter in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Regional Overview and Action plan, United Nations Environment Programme, Kingston, Jamaica. 4 UNEP, Economic Valuation of Wastewater: The cost of Action and the cost of No-Action. The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA). 5 UNEP/SEI 2015 Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: From Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery. 6 GEF/CReW, Wastewater and Tourism. Accessed World Resources Institute, Accessed UNEP, Sick Water: The Central Role of Wastewater Management in Sustainable Development.

10 OIL SPILLS: Did you know? The Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) is one of the largest oil producing areas in the world, producing approx. 20,000,000 barrels per day in 2012, of which the USA produces: FACTSHEET JULY % 1 Barrel =42 gals =159 liters Approx. 5,000,000 ships frequent Caribbean waters every year. [1] [2] [3] Oil tankers transport an average of 5,000,000 barrels of crude oil per day in the Wider Caribbean Region. Even though the risk for open sea collisions may be elevated in congested waterways, there have been very few open sea collisions in high traffic density passage such as Yucatan Channel, the Bahamas Channel and the Florida Strait due to the advent of ARPA radars and other collision avoidance mechanisms. [4]

11 [5] Deepwater Horizon was the largest marine spill in the Gulf of Mexico and it occurred over a period of 87 days starting on April 20 th Approximately 49,000,000 barrels or million liters of oil was spilt. Oil pollution has been shown to have detrimental effects, both physically and chemically, on a wide range of marine life. [6] Coastal and Marine Environments can take several decades to recover from oil pollution. [7] The total annual release of petroleum (oils) from all known sources to the sea is estimated at 1.3 million tons globally. Of this amount, 46% is from natural seeps. [7] Approx. 14,000 ships and 70 million tons of oil pass through the Panama Canal annually. [8] Oil spills spread rapidly especially in rough sea conditions allowing only a fraction to be recovered. [9] Chemical dispersants are used to reduce potential shoreline impacts. Even thought they are NOT toxic in themselves, they can affect marine species. [10]

12 In the four year period there have been 35 spills of 7 tonnes and over occurring throughout the world. [11] Pipeline sabotage has resulted in a near continuous succession of oil spills in the Catatumbo River Basin (Colombia/Venezuela). [8] More than 75% of the Caribbean s coral reefs are threatened by land-based and marine-based pollution and damage after land and also after marine (e.g. Nutrients and sediment runoff, coastal development, overfishing and water discharges from cruise ships and vessels, leaks and spills from oil infrastructure. [12] The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) developed a Regional Used Oil Strategy and work continues on oil spill contingency planning at the national and regional levels. [13] The Oil Spills Protocol of the Cartagena Convention provides a regional framework for cooperation in combating spills in the Wider Caribbean Region. All Caribbean countries, except Haiti, Honduras, and Suriname have ratified this Protocol. [14] The Regional Activity Centre for the Oil Spills Protocol, RAC/REMPEITC Caribe in Curaçao provides training in oil spill response and contingency planning.

13 References: [1] CIA The World Factbook. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 22 nd June 2013] [2] UNEP Global Environment Outlook London: Earths and Publications Ltd. [3] Botello, Alfonso Vázquez Diagnosis de la Industria Petrolera en Tabasco. Informe Final IV Etapa. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (UNAM) Mexico. [4] International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) Wider Caribbean Regional Profiles - A Summery of the Risk of Oil Spills & State of Preparedness in UNEP Regional Seas Regions. [Online] Available from: other/itopf-oil-info-caribbean.doc/at_download/file [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [5] United States Coast Guards On Scene Coordinator Report on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [6] International Maritime Organisation (IMO) IMO/UNEP Guidance Manual on the Assessment and Restoration of Environmental Damage following Marine Oil Spills. UNEP, Regional Seas Programme. IMO: London, UK (p.104). [7] Global Marine Oil Pollution Information Gateway (GPA) Effects of oil pollution on coastal habitats. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [8] Isaza, C.F.A. et al Global International Water Assessment (GIWA), Caribbean Sea/Colombia & Venezuela, Central America & Mexico GIWA Regional Assessment 3b, 3c. University of Kalmar on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme [Online] Available from: reports/r3bc/giwa_regional_assessment_3bc.pdf [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [9] International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) Technical Information Paper TIP 02: Fate of marine oil spills. [Online] Available from: documents-guides/document/tip-2-fate-of-marine-oil-spills/ [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [10] International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) Technical Information TIP 04: Use of dispersants to treat oil spills. [Online] Available from: [Accessed 27 th July 2014] [11] Information Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). Oil Tanker Spill Statistics [Online] Available from: [Accessed 27 th July 2014] [12] Burke, Lauretta et al Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Revisited. World Resources Institute Washington DC. [Online] Available from: [Accessed 27 th July 2014] [13] VanderPol, Michael. 2006, Regional Strategy for the Environmentally Sound Management of Used oils in the Caribbean Island States Phase II- Strategy Development, Environment Canada, National Office of Pollution Prevention on assignment to UNEP-Secretariat of the Basel Convention [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [14] UNEP CEP About the Cartagena Convention. [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 27 th July 2014]. [15] Villasol, Antonio and Beltrán, Jesus Global International Waters Assessment Caribbean Islands: GIWA Regional assessment 4. University of Kalmar on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 27 th July 2014] [16] Bernal, M.C. et al Caribbean Sea/ Small Islands GIWo Regional assessment 3a. University of Kalmar on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme [Online] Available from: dewa/giwa/publications/r3a.asp [Accessed: 27 th July 2013]