A conservation area for the protection of marine mammals is to be created in the waters of the French West Indies:
On 5th October 2010, in Montego Bay (Jamaica), during the meeting of the Parties to the Convention of the Caribbean Sea (the Carthagène agreement and SPAW protocol), the French government officially announced, through Mr. Ferdy Louisy, Vice-President of the Agency of the Protected Marine Areas, the creation of the sanctuary for marine mammals in the French West Indies, i.e. the territorial waters and ZEE of Guadeloupe, of Martinique, of St-Martin and of St-Barthelemy.
The birth of AGOA (name of the goddess of the sea in Amerindian mythology) constitutes a major advancement in matters regarding the protection of marine biodiversity and affirms the position of France as the lead country in the conservation of Cetacea, and in particular the whales.
The creation of the sanctuary concludes several years of efforts on the part of the ONGs which initiated the project, of the services of the State (DIREN Martinique and Guadeloupe) which initiated the project and of all the actors which took part in the creation of the sanctuary within the framework of a steering committee ensuring widespread dialogue.
While at the same time the pressures develop, the sanctuary is in keeping with the stakes. With an area of 138,000 km ², Agoa will make it possible to reinforce the protection of emblematic but threatened species, like the cachalot, the hump-back whale or the fin-back whale, to sustainably manage their habitats and to ensure that they are considered in the development of human activities.
Read more in the complete article at Barnacle Grenada.
A previous related article on Green Antilles: Defending Caribbean wildlife.
[Photo: cnszym]
