[Senate Treaty Document 110-1]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress 
 1st Session                     SENATE                     Treaty Doc.
                                                                  110-1
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
          LAND-BASED SOURCES PROTOCOL TO CARTAGENA CONVENTION

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 PROTOCOL CONCERNING POLLUTION FROM LAND-BASED SOURCES AND ACTIVITIES 
(THE ``PROTOCOL'') TO THE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT 
OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF THE WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION, WITH ANNEXES, 
DONE AT ORANJESTAD, ARUBA, ON OCTOBER 6, 1999, AND SIGNED BY THE UNITED 
                        STATES ON THAT SAME DATE




February 16, 2007.--The Protocol was read the first time, and together 
  with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
      Relations and order to be printed for the use of the Senate
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                The White House, February 15, 2007.
To the Senate of the United States:
    I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification, the Protocol Concerning Pollution from 
Land-Based Sources and Activities (the ``Protocol'') to the 
Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine 
Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, with Annexes, done 
at Oranjestad, Aruba, on October 6, 1999, and signed by the 
United States on that same date. The report of the Secretary of 
State is enclosed for the information of the Senate.
    The Convention for the Protection and Development of the 
Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the 
``Cartagena Convention'') is a regional framework agreement 
negotiated under the auspices of the Regional Seas Program of 
the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It sets out 
general legal obligations to protect the marine environment of 
the Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida, Caribbean Sea, and 
immediately adjacent areas of the Atlantic Ocean--collectively 
known as the Wider Caribbean Region. The United States became a 
Party to the Cartagena Convention in 1984. The Cartagena 
Convention envisions the development of protocols to further 
elaborate certain of its general obligations and to facilitate 
its effective implementation.
    Negotiated with the active participation and leadership of 
the United States, the Protocol addresses one of the most 
serious sources of marine pollution in the Wider Caribbean 
Region. It is estimated that 70 to 90 percent of pollution 
entering the marine environment emanates from land-based 
sources and activities. Among the principal land-based sources 
of marine pollution in the Caribbean are domestic wastewater 
and agricultural nonpoint source runoff. Such pollution 
contributes to the degradation of coral reefs and commercial 
fisheries, negatively affects regional economies, and endangers 
public health, recreation, and tourism throughout the region.
    The Protocol and its Annexes list priority source 
categories, activities, and associated contaminants that affect 
the Wider Caribbean Region, and set forth factors that Parties 
will be required to apply in determining prevention, reduction, 
and control strategies to manage land-based sources of 
pollution. In particular, the Parties are required to ensure 
that domestic wastewater discharges meet specific effluent 
limitations, and to develop plans for the prevention and 
reduction of agricultural nonpoint source pollution. The 
Protocol is expected to raise standards for treating domestic 
wastewater throughout the region to levels close to those 
already in place in the United States.
    The United States would be able to implement its 
obligations under the Protocol under existing statutory and 
regulatory authority.
    The Protocol is the first regional agreement to establish 
effluent standards to protect one of our most valuable 
resources, the marine environment. It differs markedly from 
other, similar regional agreements in its conceptual approach 
and the specificity of its obligations. As such, the Protocol 
is expected to set a new standard for regional agreements on 
this subject. Early ratification will demonstrate our continued 
commitment to global leadership and to the protection of the 
marine environment of the Wider Caribbean Region.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Protocol and its Annexes, with the 
declaration described in the accompanying report of the 
Secretary of State, and give its advice and consent to 
ratification.

                                                    George W. Bush.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                          Washington, May 17, 2005.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you the 
Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and 
Activities (the Protocol) to the Convention for the Protection 
and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider 
Caribbean Region, with Annexes, done at Oranjestad, Aruba on 
October 6, 1999. I recommend that the Protocol be transmitted 
to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification.
    The Convention for the Protection and Development of the 
Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (the Cartagena 
Convention) is a regional framework agreement negotiated under 
the auspices of the Regional Seas Program of the United Nations 
Environment Program (UNEP). It sets out general legal 
obligations to protect the marine environment of the Gulf of 
Mexico, Straits of Florida, Caribbean Sea, and immediately 
adjacent areas of the Atlantic Ocean--collectively known as the 
Wider Caribbean Region. The United States became a Party to the 
Cartagena Convention in 1984. The Convention envisages the 
development of protocols to further elaborate certain of its 
general obligations and to facilitate its effective 
implementation.
    The Protocol was negotiated with the active participation 
of the United States. The United States and other Parties to 
the Cartagena Convention recognized that land-based sources of 
marine pollution presented one of the greatest threats to the 
Wider Caribbean Region and that development of a legally 
binding protocol was a priority.
    From the U.S. perspective, the Protocol's major attribute 
is its framework for the development of source-specific 
controls on land-based sources of marine pollution. Two 
specific, mandatory annexes were negotiated with, and will 
enter into force at the same time as, the Protocol. Of 
particular importance is Annex III, which establishes 
quantitative and measurable effluent standards for domestic 
wastewater discharges in the Region. Implementation of Annex 
III would result in significant progress toward addressing a 
major source of pollution in the Wider Caribbean Region. As 
more countries in the Region take actions to protect the marine 
environment, benefits will accrue to the health of people and 
ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida, and the 
Caribbean. Those waters are interconnected across the region 
through circulation patterns and shared biological resources. 
It will also result in benefits to local economies, commercial 
and recreational fisheries, tourism, and biodiversity 
throughout the region.
    U.S. waters adjacent to the following U.S. states and 
territories fall within the geographic scope of the Protocol: 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Territory of the U.S. 
Virgin Islands. Officials in these states and territories were 
consulted throughout the negotiating process and following 
conclusion of the Protocol in 2000.
    The United States would be able to implement its 
obligations under the Protocol under existing statutory and 
regulatory authority.
    All concerned agencies in the Executive Branch support 
ratification of the Protocol.
    An article-by-article analysis of the treaty is attached. 
The United States would make the declaration provided for in 
Articles XVII and XVIII regarding the approval of new annexes.
    The Protocol will enter into force on the thirtieth day 
after the deposit of the ninth instrument of ratification, 
acceptance or accession.
    I recommend, therefore, that the Protocol Concerning 
Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities to the 
Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine 
Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region be transmitted to the 
Senate as soon as possible for its advice and consent to 
ratification.
    Respectfully submitted.
                                                  Condoleezza Rice.
    Attachment: as mentioned.

    
    
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