The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW), which is part of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (a.k.a. the Cartagena Convention), has been internationally recognized as the most comprehensive treaty of its kind. SPAW protects rare and fragile ecosystems and habitats in the Wider Caribbean region, thereby protecting native endangered and threatened species.
SPAW preceded other international environmental agreements in using this ecosystem approach to conservation. The Wider Caribbean Region protected by SPAW includes the marine environment of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and areas of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to much of Florida. It also includes internal waters up to the freshwater limit and related terrestrial areas.
SPAW also provides direct protection from the taking, possession, killing, or commercial trade of wild plant and animal species—including marine mammals, sea birds, and sea turtles—listed on Annexes to the protocol. But the protocol specifically provides exemptions for the traditional subsistence and cultural needs of local populations and for scientific, educational, or management purposes.
Adopted in Kingston, Jamaica, on January 18, 1990, SPAW came into force on April 25, 2000, with nine parties. The United States signed SPAW on January 18, 1990, as one of the original signatories, but did not ratify the Protocol until 2002. There are now 12 member countries that have signed and ratified the Protocol. Other countries have signed but have not yet ratified the Protocol.
