Protocol Concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora in the Eastern African Region

Protocol Concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora in the Eastern African Region

Nairobi, 21 June 1985

The Contracting Parties to the present Protocol,

Being Parties to the Convention for the Protection,

Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal

Environment of the Eastern African Region, done at

Nairobi on 21 June 1985,

Conscious of the danger from increasing human activities

which is threatening the environment of the Eastern

African region,

Recognizing that natural resources constitute a heritage

of scientific, cultural, educational, recreational and

economic value that needs to be effectively protected,

Stressing the importance of protecting and, as

appropriate, improving the state of the wild fauna and

flora and natural habitats of the Eastern African region

among other means by the establishment of specially

protected areas in the marine and coastal environment,

Desirous of establishing close co-operation among

themselves in order to achieve that objective,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Protocol:

(a) "Eastern African region" means the Convention area as

defined in paragraph (a) of article 2 of the Convention.

It shall also include the coastal areas of the

Contracting Parties and their internal waters related to

the marine and coastal environment.

(b) "Convention" means the Convention for the Protection,

Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal

Environment of the Eastern African Region.

paragraph (c) of article 2 of the Convention.

Article 2

GENERAL UNDERTAKING

1. The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to maintain essential ecological processes and

life support systems, to preserve genetic diversity, and

to ensure the sustainable utilization of harvested

natural resources under their jurisdiction. In

particular, the Contracting Parties shall endeavour to

protect and preserve rare or fragile ecosystems as well

as rare, depleted, threatened or endangered species of

wild fauna and flora and their habitats in the Eastern

African region.

2. To this end, the Contracting Parties shall develop

national conservation strategies and co-ordinate, if

appropriate, such strategies within the framework of

regional conservation activities.

Article 3

PROTECTION OF WILD FLORA

The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to ensure the protection of the wild flora

species specified in annex I. To this end, each

Contracting Party shall, as appropriate, prohibit

activities having adverse effects on the habitats of such

species, as well as the uncontrolled picking, collecting,

cutting or uprooting of such species. Each Contracting

Party shall, as appropriate, prohibit the possession or

sale of such species.

Article 4

SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA REQUIRING SPECIAL PROTECTION

The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to ensure the strictest protection of the

endangered wild fauna species listed in annex II. To this

end, each Contracting Party shall strictly regulate and,

where required, prohibit activities having adverse

effects on the habitats of such species. In particular,

the following activities shall, where required, be

prohibited with regard to such species:

(a) all forms of capture, keeping or killing;

(b) damage to, or destruction of, critical habitats;

period of breeding, rearing and hibernation;

(d) destruction or taking of eggs from the wild or

keeping these eggs even if empty;

(e) possession of and internal trade in these animals,

alive or dead, including stuffed animals and any readily

recognizable part or derivative thereof.

Article 5

HARVESTABLE SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA

1. The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to ensure the protection of the depleted or

threatened wild fauna species listed in annex III.

2. Any exploitation of such wild fauna species shall be

regulated in order to restore and maintain the

populations at optimum levels. Each Contracting Party

shall develop, adopt and implement management plans for

the exploitation of such species which may include:

(a) the prohibition of the use of all indiscriminate

means of capture and killing and of the use of all means

capable of causing local disappearance of, or serious

disturbance to, populations of a species;

(b) closed seasons and other procedures regulating

exploitation;

as appropriate, in order to restore viable population

levels;

(d) the regulation, as appropriate, of sale, keeping for

sale, transport for sale or offering for sale of live and

dead wild animals;

(e) the safeguarding of breeding stocks of such species

and their critical habitats in protected areas designated

in accordance with article 8 of this Protocol;

(f) exploitation in captivity.

Article 6

MIGRATORY SPECIES

The Contracting Parties shall, in addition to the

measures specified in articles 3, 4 and 5, co-ordinate

their efforts for the protection of migratory species

listed in annex IV whose range extends into their

territories. To this end, each Contracting Party shall

ensure that, where appropriate, the closed seasons and

other measures referred to in paragraph 2 of article 5

are also applied with regard to such migratory species.

Article 7

INTRODUCTION OF ALIEN OR NEW SPECIES

The Contracting Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to prohibit the intentional or accidental

introduction of alien or new species which may cause

significant or harmful changes to the Eastern African

region.

Article 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS

1. The Contracting Parties shall, where necessary,

establish protected areas in areas under their

jurisdiction with a view to safeguarding the natural

resources of the Eastern African region and shall take

all appropriate measures to protect those areas.

2. Such areas shall be established in order to safeguard:

(a) the ecological and biological processes essential to

the functioning of the Eastern African region;

(b) representative samples of all types of ecosystems of

the Eastern African region;

species of fauna and flora depending on these ecosystems;

(d) areas having a particular importance by reason of

their scientific, aesthetic, cultural or educational

purposes.

3. In establishing protected areas, the Contracting

Parties shall take into account, inter alia, their

importance as:

(a) natural habitats, and in particular as critical

habitats, for species of fauna and flora, especially

those which are rare, threatened or endemic;

(b) migration routes or as wintering, staging, feeding or

moulting sites for migratory species;

economically important marine species;

(d) reserves of genetic resources;

(e) rare or fragile ecosystems;

(f) areas of interest for scientific research and

monitoring.

Article 9

COMMON GUIDELINES, STANDARDS OR CRITERIA

The Contracting Parties shall, at their first meeting,

and in co-operation with the competent regional and

international organizations, formulate and adopt

guidelines, standards or criteria concerning the

identification, selection, establishment and management

of protected areas.

Article 10

PROTECTION MEASURES

The Contracting Parties, taking into account the

characteristics of each protected area, shall take, in

conformity with international law, the measures required

to achieve the objectives of protecting the area, which

may include:

(a) the organization of a planning and management system;

(b) the prohibition of the dumping or discharge of wastes

or other matter which may impair the protected areas;

(d) the regulation of fishing and hunting and of the

capture of animals and harvesting of plants;

(e) the prohibition of the destruction of plant life or

animals;

(f) the regulation of any activity likely to harm or

disturb the fauna or flora, including the introduction of

non-indigenous animal or plant species;

(g) the regulation of any activity involving the

exploration or exploitation of the sea-bed or its subsoil

or a modification of the sea-bed profile;

(h) the regulation of any activity involving a

modification of the profile of the soil or the

exploitation of the subsoil of the coastal area;

(i) the regulation of any archaeological activity and of

the removal of any object which may be considered as an

archaeological object;

(j) the regulation of trade in and import and export of

animals, parts of animals, plants, parts of plants and

archaeological objects which originate in protected areas

and are subject to measures of protection;

(k) any other measure aimed at safeguarding ecological

and biological processes in protected areas.

Article 11

BUFFER AREAS

The Contracting Parties may strengthen the protection of

a protected area by establishing, within areas under

their jurisdiction, one or more buffer areas in which

activities are less severely restricted while remaining

compatible with the purposes of the protected area.

Article 12

TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES

1. The Contracting Parties shall, in promulgating

protective measures, take into account the traditional

activities of their local populations in the areas to be

protected. To the fullest extent possible, no exemption

which is allowed for this reason shall be such as:

(a) to endanger either the maintenance of ecosystems

protected under the terms of the present Protocol or the

biological processes contributing to the maintenance of

those ecosystems;

(b) to cause either the extinction of, or any substantial

reduction in, the number of individuals making up the

species of animal and plant populations within the

protected ecosystems, or any ecologically connected

species or populations, particularly migratory, endemic,

rare, depleted, threatened or endangered species.

2. Contracting Parties which allow exemptions under

paragraph 1 of this article with regard to protective

measures shall inform the Organization accordingly.

Article 13

FRONTIER PROTECTED AREAS

1. If a Contracting Party intends to establish a

protected area contiguous to the frontier or to the

limits of the zone of national jurisdiction of another

Contracting Party, the two Contracting Parties shall, as

necessary, consult each other with a view to reaching

agreement on the measures to be taken and shall, among

other things, examine the possibility of the

establishment by the other Party of a corresponding

protected area or buffer area.

2. If a Contracting Party intends to establish a

protected area contiguous to the frontier or to the

limits of the zone of national jurisdiction of a State

which is not a party to this Protocol, the Party shall

endeavour to work together with that State with a view to

holding consultations as referred to in the preceding

paragraph.

3. If a State which is not a party to this Protocol

intends to establish a protected area contiguous to the

frontier or to the limits of the zone of national

jurisdiction of a Contracting Party to this Protocol, the

latter shall endeavour to work together with that State

with a view to holding consultations.

Article 14

PUBLICITY AND NOTIFICATION

The Contracting Parties shall give appropriate publicity

to the establishment of protected areas, in particular to

their boundaries and the regulations applying thereto.

Such information shall be transmitted to the Organization

which shall compile and maintain a current directory of

protected areas in the Eastern African region. The

Contracting Parties shall provide the Organization with

all information necessary for that purpose.

Article 15

PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION

The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to inform the

public as widely as possible of the significance and

interest of protected areas and the protection of wild

fauna and flora and the scientific knowledge which may be

gained from them. Such information should have an

appropriate place in education programmes concerning the

environment, archaeology and history. The Contracting

Parties should also endeavour to promote the

participation of their public and their nature

conservation organizations in the protection of the areas

and wild fauna and flora concerned.

Article 16

REGIONAL CO-OPERATION

The Contracting Parties shall establish a regional

programme to co-ordinate the selection, establishment,

and management of protected areas and the protection of

wild fauna and flora with a view to creating a

representative network of protected areas in the Eastern

African region. There shall be regular exchanges of

information concerning the characteristics of the

protected areas and wild fauna and flora, the experience

acquired and the problems encountered.

Article 17

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH

1. The Contracting Parties shall encourage and develop

scientific and technical research on their protected

areas and on the ecosystems, wild fauna and flora, and

archaeological heritage of the Eastern African region.

2. The Contracting Parties shall exchange scientific and

technical information concerning current or planned

research and their results. They shall, to the fullest

extent possible, co-ordinate their research, and define

jointly or standardize the scientific methods to be

applied in the selection, management and monitoring of

protected areas.

Article 18

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

1. In applying the principles of co-operation set forth

in articles 16 and 17, the Contracting Parties shall

forward to the Organization:

(a) comparable information for monitoring the biological

development of the Eastern African region,

(b) inventories, publications and information of a

scientific, administrative and legal nature, in

particular:

(i) on the measures taken by the Contracting Parties in

pursuance of this Protocol for the protection of the

protected areas and wild fauna and flora;

(ii) on the wild fauna and flora present in the

protected areas or listed in the annexes to this

Protocol;

(iii) on any threats to protected areas or wild fauna

and flora, especially those threats which may come from

sources outside their control;

(iv) on any changes in the delimitation or legal status

of a protected area or the suppression of all or part of

such an area.

2. The Contracting Parties shall designate persons

responsible for protected areas. Those persons shall meet

at least once every two years to discuss matters of joint

interest and especially to propose to the Contracting

Parties recommendations concerning scientific,

administrative and legal measures to be adopted to

improve the application of the provisions of this

Protocol.

Article 19

TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION

The Contracting Parties shall co-operate, directly or

with the assistance of competent regional or

international organizations, in the provision to other

Contracting Parties of technical and other assistance in

fields related to the selection, establishment and

management of protected areas and the protection of wild

fauna and flora. Such assistance should relate, in

particular, to the training of scientific, technical and

managerial personnel and scientific research.

Article 20

ALTERATION OF THE BOUNDARIES OF, OR WITHDRAWAL OF

PROTECTION FROM, PROTECTED AREAS

Changes in the delimitation or legal status of a

protected area, or the suppression of all or part of such

an area, shall not take place unless for significant

reasons, taking into account the need to protect the

environment and according to the rules and obligations

provided in this Protocol.

Article 21

MEETINGS OF THE PARTIES

1. Ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties to this

Protocol shall be held in conjunction with ordinary

meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Convention

held pursuant to article 17 of the Convention. The

Contracting Parties to this Protocol may also hold

extraordinary meetings as provided for in article 17 of

the Convention.

2. It shall be the function of the meetings of the

Contracting Parties to this Protocol, in particular:

(a) to keep under review the implementation of this

Protocol;

(b) to consider the efficacy of the measures adopted and

to examine the need for other measures, in particular in

the form of annexes in conformity with the provisions of

article 20 of the Convention;

this Protocol;

(d) to monitor the establishment and development of the

network of protected areas referred to in article 16, to

adopt guidelines to facilitate the establishment and

development of that system and to increase co-operation

among the Contracting Parties;

(e) to consider the recommendations made by the meetings

of the persons responsible for the protected areas, as

provided by article 18, paragraph 2;

(f) to consider, as appropriate, information transmitted

by the Contracting Parties to this Protocol to the

Organization under article 23 of the Convention.

Article 22

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS PROTOCOL AND THE CONVENTION

1. The provisions of the Convention relating to its

protocols shall apply with respect to this Protocol.

2. The rules of procedure and the financial rules adopted

pursuant to article 21 of the Convention shall apply to

this Protocol, unless the Contracting Parties to this

Protocol agree otherwise.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly

authorized by their respective Governments, have signed

this Protocol.

Done at Nairobi this twenty-first day of June one

thousand nine hundred and eighty-five in a single copy in

the English and French languages, the two texts being

equally authentic.

Annex I

PROTECTED SPECIES OF WILD FLORA

Uvariodendron gorgonis Verdc. (Kenya)

Grevia madagascariensis Baill. Subsp. keniensis Verdc.

(Kenya)

Saintpaulia rupicola B.L. Burtt (Kenya)

Beccariophoenix madagascariensis Jumelle & Perr.

(Madagascar)

Crinum mauritianum Lodd. (Mauritius)

Tetrataxis salicifolia (Thouars ex Tul.) Baker

(Mauritius) Zanthoxylum paniculatum Balf. f. (Mauritius,

Rodrigues) Hibiscus liliiflorus Cav. (Mauritius.

Rodrigues)

Lodoicea maldivica (J.F. Gmelin) Pers. (Seychelles)

Toxocarpus schimperianus Hemsley (Seychelles)

Peponium sublitorale C. Jeffrey & J.S. Page (Seychelles,

Aldabra)

Annex II

SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA REQUIRING SPECIAL PROTECTION

MAMMALS

Zanzibar red colobus (Colobus badius kirkii)

Zanzibar suni (Neotragus moschatus moschatus)

Mauritius fruit bat (Pteropus niger)

Rodrigues fruit bat (Pteropus rodricensis)

Dugong (Dugong dugon)

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Lemurs (Lumur spp)

Nosy BŽ sportive lemur (Lepilemur dorsalis)

Coquerel's mouse lemur (Microcebus coquereli)

Aye aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)

BIRDS

Sokoke pipit (Anthus sokokensis)

Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae)

Amani sunbird (Anthreptes pallidigaster)

East coast akalat (Sheppardia gunningi gunningi)

Pemba scops owl (Otus rutilus pembaensis)

Wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus)

Clarke's weaver (Ploceus golandi)

Spotted ground thrush (Turdus fisheri fisheri)

Aldabra white-throated rail (Dryolimmas cuvieri

aldabranus)

Aldabra brush warbler (Nesillas aldabranus)

Aldabra sacred ibis (Threskiornis aeethiopica)

Aldabra kestrel (Falco newtoni aldabranus)

Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus)

Seychelles magpie robin (Copsychus sechellarum)

Seychelles fody (Foudia flavicans)

Rodriquez fody (Foudia flavicans)

Seychelles brush warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)

Seychelles turtle dove (Streptopelia picturata rostrata)

Madagascar fish eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides)

Reunion cuckoo-shrike (Coracina newtoni)

Madagascar heron (Ardea humbloti)

Grand Comoro scops owl (Otus pauliani)

Grand Comoro flycatcher (Humblotia flavirostris)

Mount Karthala white-eye (Zosterops mouroniensis)

Grand Comoro drongo (Dicrurus fuscipennis)

Mayotte drongo (Dicrurus waldeni)

Mascarene black petrel (Pterodroma aterrima)

Taita thrush (Turdus helleri)

Hinde's pied babbler (Turdoides hindei)

Papyrus yellow warbler (Chloropeta gracilirostris)

Tana river cisticola (Cisticola restricta)

Turner's eremomela (Eremomela turneri)

Chapin's flycatcher (Muscicapa lendu)

Madagascar little grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii)

Alaotra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)

Madagascar teal (Anas bernieri)

Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata)

Madagascar serpent eagle (Eutriorchis astur)

White-breasted mesite (Mesoenas variegata)

Brown mesite (Mesoenas unicolor)

Subdesert mesite (Monias benschi)

Slender-billed flufftail (Sarothrura watersi)

Sakalava rail (Amaurornis olivieri)

Madagascar plover (Charadrius thoracicus)

Snail-eating coua (Coua delalandei)

Madagascar red owl (Tyto soumagnei)

Short-legged ground-roller (Brachypteracias leptosomus)

Scaly ground-roller (Brachypteracias squamiger)

Roufous-headed ground-roller (Atelornis crossleyi)

Long-tailed ground-roller (Uratelornis chimaera)

Yellow-bellied sunbird-asity (Neodrepanis hypoxantha)

Appert's greenbul (Phyllastrephus apperti)

Dusky greenbul (Phyllastrephus tenebrosus)

Grey-crowned greenbul (Phyllastrephus cinereiceps)

Van Dam's vanga (Xenopirostris damii)

Pollen's vanga (Xenopirostris polleni)

Benson's rockthrush (Monticola bensoi)

Madagascar yellowbrow (Crossleyia xanthophrys)

Red-tailed newtonia (Newtonia fanovanae)

Pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri)

Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula eques)

Mauritius cuckoo-shrike (Coracina typica)

Mauritius black bulbul (Hypsipetes olivaceus)

Rodrigues warbler (Acrocephalus rodericanus)

Mauritius olive white-eye (Zosterops chloronothus)

Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra)

Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres)

Swynnerton's forest robin (Swynnertonia swynnertoni)

Dappled mountain robin (Modulatrix orostruthus)

Thyolo alethe (Alethe choloensis)

Long-billed apalis (Apalis moreaui)

Seychelles kestrel (Falco araea)

Seychelles scops owl (Otus insularis)

Seychelles swiftlet (Collocalia elaphra)

Seychelles black paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone

corvina) Seychelles white-eye (Zosterops modestus)

Somalia pigeon (Columba oliviae)

Ash's lark (Mirafra ashi)

Somali long-clawed lark (Heteromirafra archeri)

Warsangli linnet (Acanthis johannis)

Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)

Nduk eagle owl (Bubo vosseleri)

Uluguru bush-shrike (Malaconotus alius)

Usambara ground robin (Dryocichloides montanus)

Iringa ground robin (Dryocichloides lowei)

Karamoja apalis (Apalis karamojae)

Kungwe apalis (Apalis argentea)

Mrs. Moreau's warbler (Bathmocercus winifredae)

Banded green sunbird (Anthreptes rubritorques)

Rufous-winged sunbird (Nectarinia rufipennis)

Tanzanian mountain weaver (Ploceus nicolli)

REPTILES

Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)

Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Serpent island gecko (Cyrtodactylus serpensin sula)

Round island day gecko (Phelsuma guentheri)

Round island skink (Leiolopisma telfairii)

Skink (Gongylomorphus bojerii)

Round island boa (Bolyeria multocarinata)

Round island keel-scaled boa (Casarea dussumieri)

Aldabra giant tortoise (Dipsochelys elephantina)

Madagascar tortoise (Geochelone yniphora)

MOLLUSCS

Triton's trumpet (Charonia tritonia)

Commercial trochus (Trochus niloticus)

Fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa)

Small giant clam (Tridacna maxima)

Horse's hoof clam (Hippopus hippopus)

Pearl oyster (Pinctada spp.)

CRUSTACEANS

Coconut crab (Birgus latro)

CNIDARIANS

Black coral (Antipathes dichotoma)

Whip coral (Cirrhipathes spp.)

INSECTS

Tenebrionid beetle (Pulposipus herculeanus)

Comoro graphium butterfly (Graphium levassari)

Annex III

HARVESTABLE SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA REQUIRING PROTECTION

Cane rats (Thryonomys spp.)

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis)

Yellow-spotted hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei)

Tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus)

Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli)

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)

Bush pig (Potamochaerus porcus)

Lesser kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis)

Common waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus)

Topi (Damaliscus korrigum)

Lichtenstein's hartebeest (Alcelaphus lichtensteini)

Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)

Impala (Aepyceros melampus)

Grimm's duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia)

Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

Spiny lobsters (Panulirus spp.)

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

Annex IV

PROTECTED MIGRATORY SPECIES

MAMMALS

Dugong (Dugong dugon)

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

REPTILES

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Hawksbill turtle (EretmocHelys imbricata)

Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)

Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

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