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 have begun in the Wider Caribbean Region.  The outcomes in the Caribbean may serve as a blueprint for future efforts in Africa and the South Pacific.  The White Water to Blue Water initiative is intended to help implement the following international commitments:  the Barbados Programme of Action, the Montreal Declaration of the Global Program of Action, the Jakarta Mandate of the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNCLOS, the Cartagena Convention and its three protocols, the International Coral Reef Initiative, the FAO Compliance Agreement, the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, and the 2000 Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
 
Partners
Governments:  Canada, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, United Kingdom, and the governments of the Wider Caribbean Region.
International Organizations:  UN Environment Program’s Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and Global Program of Action (GPA), the International Oceanographic Commission and regional IO-Caribe program, World Bank, Comision Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD), Caribbean Community (CARICOM), International Maritime Organization (IMO), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Organization of American States (OAS), Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), and others. 
Civil Society:  World Conservation Union/IUCN, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, the Nature Conservancy, UN Foundation, the Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, EcoLogic, Environmental Defense, Caribbean Conservation Association, and others. Academia:  the Universities of Miami, Rhode Island, Delaware, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and the West Indies, Florida International University, and Earth University.  Private Sector:  The Gillette Company, Baccardi, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and International Council of Cruise Lines.
 
Partnership Targets
The objectives of White Water to Blue Water include:

• Strengthening national and regional institutional capacity to implement cross-sectoral watershed and marine ecosystem management.
• Facilitating closer cooperation and good governance within and among nations, regional agencies, and civil society in coastal and marine resource management, water management, health, environmental protection, agriculture, and urban planning.
• Engaging business partners in the major global growth sectors, such as tourism and shipping, to promote best business and environment practices, and to support regional activities in watershed and marine coastal management.

Progress Towards Targets
Announced on September 2, 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the White Water to Blue Water Partnership has logged the following accomplishments:
 
An international steering committee was convened, which guided the planning and execution of a Wider Caribbean ‘Partnership Conference’ held March 21-26, 2004 in Miami, FL, USA.  The Partnership Conference, co-sponsored by the Caribbean Community, CCAD, the U.N. Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.N. Environment Programme, and the United States Government, drew more than 700 participants representing more than 30 countries.  More than 100 partnerships focused on integrated approaches to watershed management, marine ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and shipping/maritime transportation in the Wider Caribbean Region were nurtured or formed during the event.  Examples of partnerships include:

• The Gillette Company, The Nature Conservancy, the United Nations Foundation joined forces to protect and restore wetlands around the world.  Together they have committed $750,000 for an inaugural international project to protect the Sian Ka’an wetland in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. 
• The U.N. Environment Programme’s Global Programme of Action and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration signed an agreement to build projects to demonstrate how to reduce marine pollution in the Wider Caribbean.
• The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency announced a commitment of $1 million to fund established channels of environmental cooperation in the region.
• The International Council of Cruise Lines and Conservation International announced a $1.1 million partnership for achieving environmentally sustainable cruise operations in the Wider Caribbean region. 
• The GLOBE Program launched a partnership to provide environmental science activities and education for children onboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. Ships and to extend GLOBE’s network of school-based programs throughout the Caribbean.

In order to strengthen national and regional institutional capacity to implement cross-sectoral watershed and marine ecosystem management, the WW2BW partnership conference featured a capacity-building Training Institute that provide training for more than 300 participants in thirty-two courses on topics such as managing oil spills, fighting coral diseases, promoting environmentally sound marine transportation, and instituting a reef-friendly mooring buoy program.

Next Steps 
White Water to Blue Water is now an integral part of the agenda of meetings being held throughout the Wider Caribbean in the upcoming year, e.g., the Caribbean Environmental Forum, May 31-June 4, in Trinidad.  Through these meetings and continued communication and coordination with our partners in the Wider Caribbean, we are continuing to bring existing partnerships to maturation and bring new partnerships to the process.  In the near future, we expect to embark on expanding the White Water to Blue Water partnership model to other geographical areas, such as the South Pacific by working with other governments to lead the expansion in other regions.  The U.S. Government will remain committed to implementation of WW2BW partnerships in the Wider Caribbean through direct funding of new projects, ongoing USG-supported programs, and ongoing coordination with WW2BW partners via its Steering Committee and the UNEP Partnership Clearinghouse website, www.ww2bw.org. 

Resources
Since the partnership was announced in 2002, the U.S. Government has pledged more than $3.5 million dollars toward its efforts. The State Department committed $2 million to WW2BW-related projects worldwide over the last two years ($1.5 million of which directly targeted the Wider Caribbean Region), and will commit another $300,000 for project support for the coming two-year period.  In addition, USAID recently announced a $1.5 million matching partnership with the UN Foundation to support the Meso-American Reef Alliance in Mexico and Central America.  The Department of Commerce (NOAA) has requested an additional $1.2 million for the initiative in its FY 05 budget.  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 and the Miami WW2BW Partnership Conference.   The Government of Sweden pledged $1 million to WW2BW projects at the Miami conference, while some of the funds provided by the Government of the Netherlands to support the conference will be used to fund partnership projects.
 
U.S. Government  Primary Points of Contact
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Tom Laughlin (Phone: 202/482-6196; Email: Tom.Laughlin@noaa.gov)
Department of State:  Richard Wilbur (Phone: 202/647-3879; Email: WilburRM2@state.gov).