By the end of 1988, the Commission had not yet received 

 a response from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 

 tion to its 7 November 1988 letter. 



Litigation 



As noted above, on 3 August 1988, environmental and animal 

 welfare organizations filed a lawsuit against the Secretaries 

 of Commerce and State seeking to enjoin the agreement entered 

 into between the United States and Iceland on 22 June 1988. 

 The plaintiffs alleged that the Secretary of Commerce, in 

 entering into the agreement, acted arbitrarily: by reversing 

 the U.S. position as to what Iceland must do to avoid certifi- 

 cation under the Pelly and Packwood-Magnuson Amendments; by 

 failing to certify Iceland when, under similar circumstances 

 he had certified Japan; and by considering factors not related 

 to Iceland's scientific whaling program in making his decision. 



The plaintiffs also alleged that the Secretaries violated 

 the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to prepare 

 either an Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental 

 Assessment on the decision to enter into the bilateral agreement 

 with Iceland and violated the Endangered Species Act by entering 

 into the agreement without conducting a section 7 consultation. 

 The Federal defendants filed an answer to the complaint on 3 

 October 1988. Except with respect to discovery issues, no 

 briefs had been filed or hearings held at the end of 1988. 



The Convention for the Protection and 

 Development of the Marine Environment of the 

 Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention) 



The Convention for the Protection and Development of the 

 Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, commonly 

 known as the Cartagena Convention, is part of the Caribbean 

 Environment Program, one of eleven Regional Seas Programs 

 developed and sponsored by the United Nations Environment 

 Program. Regional Seas Programs seek to protect marine 

 resources and habitats that are vulnerable to pollution by 

 encouraging regional nations to commit financial and human 

 resources to cooperative research and management programs. 

 Each Regional Seas Program includes an Action Plan outlining 

 needed environmental projects (e.g., watershed management, 

 oil spill contingency planning, public awareness campaigns, 

 environmental impact assessment, and protection and recovery 

 of endangered species) and a Convention to provide a framework 

 for agreement among Contracting Parties to cooperate in 

 protecting and managing the regional marine environment. 



The Action Plan for the Caribbean Environment Program 

 was developed and approved in 1981. The Cartagena Convention, 



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