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Ships Leave Tons of Waste in Caribbean Waters |
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By Dionne Jackson Miller*
Each
of the thousands of cruise ships that sail through the Caribbean
Sea generate up to 1,200 cubic meters of liquid waste daily, including
wastewater from kitchens and showers. The region lacks effective
system for handling organic and toxic waste generated by the shipping
industry.
KINGSTON - The multi-million dollar Caribbean
shipping industry, necessary to the economic prosperity of the region's
small island states, also carries with it a negative side: the generation
of tons of waste, which these countries are often ill-prepared to
cope with.
The Caribbean has the ''most intensive maritime traffic in the world,''
with some 50,000 ships and 14.5 million tourists visiting annually,
according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
A typical cruise ship carries 3,000 passengers and produces between
400 and 1,200 cubic meters of watery waste daily, including waste
from kitchens and showers, according to UNEP.
''They don't have the facilities to accept ship waste, and more
importantly, lack the necessary resources and organizational structure
to monitor ships," whether cargo or passenger vessels, Ian Blair,
senior vice president of the Jamaican Port Authority, told Tierramérica.
There are major concerns related to the disposal of ship-generated
garbage, oily bilge water (water accumulated in part of the ship's
hull) and ballast water, which is taken in by ships to increase
their stability and maneuverability while in transit.
Oily waste and garbage affect water quality and marine life, and
ballast water carries into the region organisms from far-flung places,
which can alter ecosystems and hurt biodiversity, Cowell Lyn, a
consultant working on a rehabilitation project for Jamaica's Kingston
Harbor, explained to Tierramérica.
Invasive species threaten the existence of endemic flora and fauna,
that is, native species that are unique, not found in any other
part of the world, and which are already threatened by deforestation
and urbanization.
The Dominican Republic has recorded the presence of 186 invasive
species, the largest number in the region, followed by Puerto Rico,
with 182, and the Bahamas, with 159.
Passenger cruise ships also dump as much as 70 liters of dangerous
waste a day into the sea. Toxins include photo processing chemicals,
paints, solvents and batteries, which threaten animal and human
life alike, as 70 percent of the Caribbean population lives in coastal
areas.
The region is also affected by heavy oil tanker traffic. Several
of the world's leading crude oil producers are in the Greater Caribbean
area, including Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.
Oil ends up dumped in the Caribbean waters, due to erratic waste
management or to accidental spills.
Cuba's Havana Bay is the most polluted, with 1,200 milligrams of
hydrocarbons per kilogram of dry sediment, while Jamaica's Kingston
Harbor has 578 milligrams per kilo of dry sediment, according to
UNEP.
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships (MARPOL 73/78 - developed in 1973 and amended in 1978) regulates
the disposal of oil, toxic substances, and garbage from ships.
Annex Five which entered into force on December 31, 1988 governs
the disposal of garbage and imposes a complete ban on the dumping
into the sea of all forms of plastic.
A 1993 amendment designated the ''Wider Caribbean'' as a vulnerable
''special area'' with restrictions on how ships can deal with garbage
disposal.
This designation has not yet come into force, however, because states
have not advised the oversight body, the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), as to whether adequate facilities exist to deal
with ship generated waste.
''It may be that the systems are there but they have not been reported,"
IMO regional adviser Curtis Roach told Tierramérica.
IMO Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulos urged Caribbean countries
''to redouble their efforts to ensure that the provisions of the
Special Area status take effect without further delay,'' during
a regional seminar in Barbados last July,
The Wider Caribbean encompasses the region's islands and the coastal
areas of the mainland Latin American countries, from Mexico to French
Guyana, as well as El Salvador, even thought its shoreline is on
the Pacific Ocean.
Its institutional manifestation is the Association of Caribbean
States, created in 1994, with 25 independent states as full members,
plus Aruba, Dutch Antilles and France (on behalf of Guadalupe, French
Guyana and Martinique).
According to Caribbean Environment Outlook, a publication prepared
by the United Nations Development Program for the Jan. 10-14 Mauritius
meeting of small island states, the nine-member Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is reporting "harmonized policies
and legislation for both shore and ship generated waste."
St. Lucia cites improved ship waste reception at major ports and
marinas. And in Jamaica, extensive groundwork is now being done
to establish a facility to dispose of ship generated garbage.
* Dionne Jackson Miller is a Tierramérica
contributor.
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