The SPAW Conference of the Parties (COP) is held every two years. The gathering signatory countries adopt a biannual work program that covers all the subjects addressed by the Protocol. Furthermore, the SPAW-RAC and the UNEP-RAC/RCU elaborate an annual activities program on on the basis of the orientations and priorities fixed during the COP.
Some topics require special attention given their complexity or their level of specialization. The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), gathered every two years, supports the Parties in these cases in order to simplify the conversations during the COP. The STAC operates mainly through ad hoc Working Groups. Composed of observers, member State representatives and scientific experts, the Working Groups establish the Protocol’s guidelines and deliver reports of their works to the STAC.
Thus, the SPAW RAC vocation is to support SPAW contracting parties to implement decided actions. The statutory missions of the SPAW RAC are as follows :
• Identify, collect, inventory and transmit to Caribbean actors relevant scientific and technical information, as well as useful experiences;
• Collect data on top technologies and expertise on wildlife and protected areas’ management in the Caribbean and transfer the information to the same actors ;
• Develop training activities ;
• Provide scientific and technical support to the Parties of the SPAW ;
• Cooperate with UN’s agencies, with intergovernmental, governmental or non-governmental qualified organizations and more broadly with all concerned actors to develop common projects or to deploy SPAW linked activities ;
• Animate discussions between Caribbean actors on a regular basis ;
• Contribute to the development of regional cooperation around the objectives of SPAW ;
• Encourage the harmonization of approaches and methods used on a regional level.
The RAC has an operating budget given by the French ministry for the environment, and a budget for developing and supporting actions granted by the French State, a SPAW trust fund and other sources of funding it identifies. Since 2018, the SPAW-RAC is hosted by Guadeloupe’s DEAL (Environment, Urbanism and Housing Direction), the French ministry for the environment representative in the French oversea territory.
