Hi Coral Listers,<\/p>\n
We could use your help at CORALINA, Seaflower MPA, on the threat of oil exploration inside the MPA. See the announcement below – if you wish, feel free to send to anyone concerned with issues of ocean conservation, indigenous rights, etc; and sign the petition of a local grassroots NGO (link at the end).<\/p>\n
Any relevant studies, papers, or contacts folks could send would be appreciated.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n
Marion W. Howard
\nSenior Lecturer in Sustainable International Development
\nThe Heller School for Social Policy and Management
\nBrandeis University
\nWaltham, Massachusetts 02454 USA
\nE-mail mwhoward@brandeis.edu
\nTel. 781-736-3794 Fax 781-736-8366<\/p>\n
Environmental Advisor
\nCORALINA
\nSan Luis Road, The Bight
\nSan Andres Island
\nColombia
\n__________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n
CORALINA takes legal action to block proposed oil exploration in the
\nSeaflower Biosphere Reserve and Marine Protected Area, Colombia<\/p>\n
The regional Colombian government agency, CORALINA, that established
\nand manages the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and Marine Protected Area
\n(MPA), has submitted an \u201cAccion Popular\u201d against Colombia\u2019s National
\nAgency of Hydrocarbons (ANH) to halt leases to Reposol-YPF and
\nEcopetrol to begin oil exploration inside the borders of the Seaflower
\nMPA.<\/p>\n
An \u201cAccion Popular\u201d is a legal instrument granted to citizens by
\nColombia\u2019s National Constitution (Art. 88) that allows them to seek
\nprotection of collective rights and interests related to their
\nhomelands, environment, public safety, health, etc. The legal action
\nwas presented to the High Tribunal by CORALINA\u2019s general director,
\nElizabeth Taylor-Jay on Wednesday, February 16.<\/p>\n
Seaflower — located in the Archipelago of San Andres, Old Providence,
\nand Santa Catalina in the Southwestern Caribbean — has been a member
\nof the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2000 and is on
\nthe tentative list of proposed World Heritage Sites.<\/p>\n
The largest MPA in the Caribbean and among the largest in the world,
\nit spreads over 65,000 square kilometers (6.5 million hectares) and
\nencompasses 76 percent of Colombia\u2019s coral reefs and the most
\nextensive open ocean reef systems in the Caribbean; more than 2,000
\nkm2 of productive coral reef ecosystems with atolls, barrier reefs,
\nfringing reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, and lagoons.<\/p>\n
The MPA is known to be exceptionally rich in marine biodiversity for
\nthe region — to date more than 407 species of fish, 48 hard corals,
\n54 soft corals, 130 sponges, 157 birds, and many other significant
\nspecies have been identified, along with 192 IUCN red-listed species
\nincluding sea turtles, marine mammals, hydrocorals, and others. The
\narchipelago was declared a Significant Bird Area by BirdLife
\nInternational in 2004 and is part of the western Caribbean
\nbiodiversity \u201chotspot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides its unique environment, San Andres also has a long social
\nhistory distinct from that of Colombia. The descendants of the
\noriginal inhabitants, now called raizales, are recognized as an
\nindigenous people internationally and protected as an ethnic minority
\nnationally. The Seaflower MPA was established in 2005, with support
\nfrom the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and resulted from a
\nuniquely participatory process between CORALINA and the local
\ncommunity. This innovative MPA protects the livelihoods and tenure of
\nthe indigenous people, integrating conservation with sustainable
\nfishing, harvesting, and locally run tourism.<\/p>\n
CORALINA\u2019s work in establishing Seaflower was recognized in 2008 by
\nIUCN as one of the 60 most significant approaches to conservation that
\nwill influence the environment in the coming century. Last October the
\nSeaflower MPA took top honors as the initiative that best realized the
\ngoals of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the
\nConference of the Parties (COP 10) in Nagoya, Japan, beating out more
\nthan 1,100 other organizations around the world, both governmental and
\nnon-governmental, for its ground-breaking efforts in sustainability.<\/p>\n
In addition to conserving marine biodiversity and ecosystems, “the
\nintention is to open an umbrella of possibilities of livelihoods,
\nincluding low-impact aquaculture, and some alternatives on land such
\nas iguana farming which is done by the fishers in some places, and
\nalso creating interpretation trails [for tourism],” Taylor-Jay, told
\nthe BBC at COP 10 after the award was announced.<\/p>\n
The Popular Action claims that the oil leases violate the Convention
\non Biological Diversity, which the Colombian Congress ratified in the
\nNational Law 165 of 1994, as well as the rights of the indigenous
\npeople of the archipelago, whose rights are protected by the National
\nConstitution (Art. 310) and by international instruments including ILO
\nConvention 169 that protects tribal and indigenous people, ratified by
\nColombia in National Law 21 of 1991, and the recent United Nations
\nDeclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by Colombia
\nin April 2009. The participatory process to establish the Seaflower
\nMPA was presented by invitation last year at the UN Ninth Permanent
\nForum on Indigenous Issues in New York City.<\/p>\n
Most residents of the islands are strongly opposed to the oil
\nexploration, along with local and national non-governmental
\norganizations that have publicly rejected the leases, including the
\narchipelago\u2019s Old Providence Foundation and Colombia\u2019s Fundacion ICRI
\n(International Coral Reef Initiative).<\/p>\n
To sign the Old Providence Foundation\u2019s petition against the oil
\nexploration, go to:
\nhttp:\/\/www.thepetitionsite.com\/1\/stop-oil-exploration-seaflower-biosphere-reserve-colombia-western-caribbean\/
\n________________________<\/p>\n
Additional info posted February 26, 2011 on Coral-list:<\/p>\n
To add to the recent information about the oil exploration leases
\ninside the Seaflower MPA, southwestern Caribbean, awarded to
\nReposol-YPF and Ecopetrol by Colombia\u2019s National Agency of
\nHydrocarbons (ANH), a number of blocks (78) were auctioned in June
\n2010 for exploration in Colombian waters, of which two are located
\ninside the Seaflower MPA.<\/p>\n
The MPA is internally divided into three contiguous management
\nsections, creating a regional MPA system. The MPA’s total area is
\n65,000 km2, with 20,213 km2 included in the two leased blocks (known
\nin the leases as Cayos 1 and Cayos 5).<\/p>\n
Cayos 1 covers 944,012-hectares (9,440 km2) in the MPA Northern
\nSection and includes Quitasue\u00f1o Bank (traditional name Queena), the
\nlargest coral structure in the San Andres Archipelago at 60 km long
\nand 10 to 20 km wide with a 40-km reef wall, 496 km2 of live coral
\ncoverage, and a reef shelf area of 1,276 km2; along with ocean area
\nthat has never been studied. This lease grants exploration rights.<\/p>\n
Cayos 5 is in the MPA Central and Northern Sections and covers
\n1,077,350-hectares (10,773.5 km2). The lease for this block allows
\nexploration, to be followed by a “hydrocarbon development or
\nproduction stage.” Cayos 5 includes the entire Old Providence barrier
\nreef, which is 32 km long with an area of 255 km2; Old Providence
\n(Isla de Providencia) and Santa Catalina coastal waters, with an
\ninsular shelf of 298 km2; and substantial open ocean that has been
\nlittle researched to date but is known to contain grouper spawning
\naggregation sites and sea mounts.<\/p>\n
Two days after CORALINA submitted the Accion Popular, ANH suspended
\nexploration until they have met with representatives of the island
\ncommunities to communicate how the exploration will be done and
\nexplain about the environmental safeguards that will be in place.<\/p>\n
Understanding that the temporary suspension does not suggest revoking
\nthe licenses or banning oil exploration in the MPA, CORALINA has not
\nwithdrawn the Accion Popular against the ANH.<\/p>\n
Marion W. Howard
\nSenior Lecturer in Sustainable International Development
\nThe Heller School for Social Policy and Management
\nBrandeis University
\nWaltham, Massachusetts 02454 USA
\nE-mail mwhoward@brandeis.edu
\nTel. 781-736-3794 Fax 781-736-8366<\/p>\n
Environmental Advisor
\nCORALINA
\nSan Luis Road, The Bight
\nSan Andres Island
\nColombia <\/p>\n
_______________________
\nCoral-List mailing list
\nCoral-List@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
\nhttp:\/\/coral.aoml.noaa.gov\/mailman\/listinfo\/coral-list<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi Coral Listers, We could use your help at CORALINA, Seaflower MPA, on the threat of oil exploration inside the MPA. See the announcement below – if you wish, feel free to send to anyone concerned with issues of ocean conservation, indigenous rights, etc; and sign the petition of a local grassroots NGO (link at … Continue reading Coral-list: CORALINA takes legal action to block proposed oil exploration in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and Marine Protected Area, Colombia<\/span>