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White Water to Blue Water Initiative

A Partnership to Link Fresh Water and Oceans

The White Water to Blue Water (WW2BW) Partnership, first announced on September 2nd 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, is underway in the Wider Caribbean. The White Water to Blue Water initiative is designed to promote the practice of integrated watershed and marine management in support of sustainable development. An international Steering Committee is working to identify existing and develop new partnerships that enhance integrated approaches in areas such as wastewater and sanitation, sustainable agricultural practices, integrated coastal management, sustainable tourism, shipping and maritime transportation in the Caribbean. The WW2BW partnership continues to facilitate and promote partnerships to meet its objectives.

The objectives of White Water to Blue Water include:

• Strengthening national and regional institutional capacity to implement cross-sectoral watershed and marine ecosystem management.



• Facilitating closer cooperation and good governance within and among nations, regional agencies and civil society in coastal and marine resource management, water management, health, environmental protection, agriculture, and urban planning.



• Engaging business partners in the major global growth sectors, such as tourism and shipping, to promote best business and environment practices, and to support regional activities in watershed and marine coastal management.

Helping to Implement International Agreements

The White Water to Blue Water Partnership initiative is intended to help implement the following international commitments: the Barbados Programme of Action, the Montreal Declaration of the Global Program of Action, the Jakarta Mandate of the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNCLOS, the Cartagena Convention and its three protocols, the International Coral Reef Initiative, the FAO Compliance Agreement, the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, and the 2000 Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

Resources

U.S. Government involvement in WW2BW to date is substantial, with strong commitment from U.S. Agency for International Development, the Departments of State, Commerce (NOAA), Agriculture, and the Interior, and the USEPA. The State Department has committed over one million dollars to WW2BW-related projects that directly target the Wider Caribbean Region. Since the announcement of the WW2BW Initiative, USAID has committed over $100 million dollars to related activities, including a $1.5 million matching partnership with the UN Foundation to support a Meso-American Coral Reef Alliance in Mexico and Central America. Other U.S. agencies are developing WW2BW-related projects for future fiscal years to complement their ongoing activities in the Caribbean. The Governments of the Wider Caribbean Region have pledged in-kind and facilitative support for the initiative, while other international partners are developing their own plans to implement WW2BW-related programs discussed at the WSSD.

Partners

• Governments: The governments of the Wider Caribbean Region, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, and the Netherlands.



• International Organizations: United Nations (UNEP) Caribbean Environment Programme and Global Program of Action, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s IO-Caribe program, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, World Bank, Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo, International Maritime Organization, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Development Programme, Caribbean Tourism Organization, and the Organization of American States.



• Civil Society: World Conservation Union, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, the Nature Conservancy, United Nations Foundation, Coastal Conservation Association, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, EcoLogic, and the Sloan Foundation.



• Academia: The Universities of Miami, Delaware, Rhode Island and the West Indies.



• Private Sector: Hotels, cruise lines and the tourism industry.

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