Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region

Parties with reservations, declarations and objections

Party	Reservations / Declarations	Objections
Bahamas	Yes	No
Cuba	Yes	No
United States of America	Yes	No

Bahamas

08-03-2012

[...] The Bahamas signs the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region with reservations to allow the three species listed below to be held in captivity for scientific, educational or management purposes necessary to ensure the survival of the species.
Tursiops truncates - Bottlenose Dolphin
Chelonia mydas - Green Sea Turtle
Eretmochelys imbricate - Hawksbill Turtle
[...]

Cuba

04-08-1998

The Republic of Cuba reserves the right not to apply the provisions of the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region to the following species listed in Annex II of this legal instrument: Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, Caretta caretta, Tursiops truncatus, Pelenacu occidentalis, Crocodylus acutus.

United States of America

24-02-2009

1. The United States of America does not consider itself bound by Article 11 (1) of the Protocol to the extent that United States law permits the limited taking of flora and fauna listed in Annexes I and II-
a) Which is incidental, or
b) For the purpose of public display, scientific research, photography for educational or commercial purposes, or rescue and rehabilitation.
2. The United States has long supported environmental impact assessment procedures, and has actively sought to promote the adoption of such procedures throughout the world. U.S. law and policy require environmental impact assessments for major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, although the Unites States expects that it will, for the most part, be in compliance with article 13 of the Protocol to the extent that the obligations contained therein differ from the obligations of Article 12 of the Convention for the Protection and development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean.
3. The United States does not consider the Protocol to apply to six species of fauna and flora that do not require protection provided by the Protocol in U.S. territory. These species are the Alabama, Florida and Georgia populations of least tern (Sterna antillarum), the Audubon’s shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri), the Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas population of wood stork (Mycteria Americana) and the Florida and Alabama populations of the brown pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis), which are listed on Annex II, as well as the fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor), and the populations of widgeon or ditch grass (Rupia maritime) located in the continental United States, which are listed on Annex III.
The United States understands that the Protocol does not apply to non-native species, defined as species found outside of their natural geographic distribution, as a result of deliberate or incidental human intervention. Therefore, in the United States, certain exotic species, such as the Muscovy duck (Carina moschata) and the common iguana (Iguana iguana), are not covered by the obligations of the protocol.