The White Water to Blue Water Initiative

Additional information: White Water to Blue Water Website

Purpose of Initiative: The “White Water to Blue Water” Partnership (WW2BW) is an international alliance of governments, international organizations, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and corporations. WW2BW aims to stimulate partnerships that will promote integrated watershed and marine ecosystem-based management. The initiative promotes regional cooperation and strengthens developing country capacity to address land-based sources of marine pollution (e.g. sewage and industrial discharges, agricultural run-off, etc.); promote sustainable fisheries, agricultural and forestry practices; meet challenges associated with tourism; and prevent the degradation of coastal areas. WW2BW efforts will begin in the Wider Caribbean Region. The outcomes in the Caribbean will serve as a blueprint for future efforts in Africa and the South Pacific. The initiative was announced on September 2 in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

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 Interior, and the USEPA. The State Department has committed $2 million to WW2BW-related projects worldwide ($1.5 million of which directly targets the Wider Caribbean Region). In addition to major ongoing activities, USAID recently announced 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 such as the United Kingdom, France and Canada are developing their own plans to implement WW2BW-related programs discussed at the WSSD.

Partners: Governments: The governments of the Wider Caribbean Region (including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands), Canada. International Organizations: The Caribbean Environment Program (CEP) and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's IO-Caribe program, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, World Bank, Comision 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, Organization of American States. Civil Society: Caribbean Conservation Association, Conservation International, EcoLogic, Environmental Defense, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, Sloan Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Conservation Union/IUCN, World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund. Academia: the universities of Miami, Delaware, Rhode Island, the West Indies, and the Virgin Islands; Earth University. Private Sector: Various tourism, marine transportation, environmental technology, and other industry partners.

Partnership Efforts to Date: The kick-off activity of the WW2BW initiative will be a U.S.-funded Caribbean partnership conference scheduled for March 21-27, 2004 in Miami, Florida. The conference will focus on developing and implementing partnerships and promoting greater regional cooperation on integrated watershed and marine ecosystem-based management. An international steering committee comprised of U.S. Government agencies, Caribbean and other partnering governments, international organizations, and NGOs active in the Caribbean, has begun preparing for the conference.

USG Point of Contact Information: Department of State, Dick Wilbur, (Phone: 202/647-3879; E-mail: WilburRM2@state.gov), Department of Commerce/NOAA: Tom Laughlin, NOAA (Phone: 202/482-6196; E-mail: Tom.Laughlin@noaa.gov), and U.S. Agency for International Development: Alan Hurdus (202/712-0218; E-mail: Ahurdus@USAID.gov).