Legal assistance through TCP projects helps to resolve intercountry disputes on cross-sectoral issues and to promote a harmonized approach to the management of such issues. Examples include assistance in the establishment of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Commission, involving Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. Technical assistance provided through TCP has also led to regional agreements on fishing practices in Latin America, and to intercountry collaboration on sustainable forest management in Central America.
TCP PROJECTS AND THEIR CATALYTIC EFFECTS... |
Technical advice provided under several TCP projects has aided the enforcement and implementation of international agreements, for example under the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation. Such assistance has been important as a catalyst for attracting further financial and technical assistance from the EC and various bilateral organizations. It has also enhanced the technical capacity of many regional institutions and indirectly promoted the establishment - planned for 1999 - of a Permanent Secretariat for this Treaty.
A project contributing to the establishment of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Commission was one of several TCP projects that have assisted groups of countries wishing to cooperate in fisheries management. In view of concern about the critical situation of fisheries in Lake Victoria, Kenya, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania - the three countries sharing its waters - requested TCP legal assistance in bringing the Commission into existence as well as maintaining the momentum of cooperation while the agreement was ratified and the initial contributions paid. The Commission is now functioning, the three countries have paid their contributions and financing from the EC and the World Bank has been obtained for the Commission's activities. Discussions between the countries on cooperation in water use and the state of the environment have also intensified with the likelihood of similar institutions being formed to manage these issues.
A regional TCP project aimed at improving the quality of fishery products involved 19 countries in Latin America over a period of 18 months. Through two regional training courses, a regional seminar and eight national workshops, the project attained its objective of establishing a regional cooperative network for fish inspection and quality control, which is now fully operational. The project was the main step towards official bilateral agreements on the inspection of fishery products traded between Brazil and Peru, Brazil and Ecuador, and Argentina and Chile. Most Latin American countries are now included among the countries authorized to export to the EC, since their national fisheries inspection systems are considered to be harmonized with those of EC countries. The TCP project made an important catalytic contribution to this achievement. |
