Since 1998 we have had a regional intelligence system (the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System -- OTRCIS) gathering and disseminating information among the Caribbean Overseas Territories to assist in the prevention, detection and investigation of major crime, particularly fraud, money-laundering and drugs-related crime. OTRCIS works closely with other regional jurisdictions and with United States agencies (it is based in Miami).

As part of our contribution towards the counter-narcotics programmes in the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, Royal Navy personnel assist with maritime operations, along with RAF flight and maintenance personnel who operate two UK-donated aircraft for anti-smuggling activities.

We are funding a training vessel for counter-drugs training by Coast Guards in the Caribbean. The vessel will be based in Antigua and should be delivered by the middle of 1999.

In July 1998, Baroness Symons signed a maritime cooperation agreement between the US, UK, the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda. This provides the framework for law enforcement officers to ship-ride on other parties' vessels.

Simplified procedures allow vessels and aircraft engaged in counter-drugs operations to pursue drugs traffickers as they cross territorial and international waters. Implementing legislation is required in the Overseas Territories.

6.6 But we cannot be complacent. There is a need for our Overseas Territories in the Caribbean to take an even more active approach to the promotion of their counter-drugs programmes, to enhance their capability to defend themselves against this pernicious threat and make best use of resources available. We will continue to provide help, but we will also encourage and support the efforts of Overseas Territory governments to benefit from international assistance offered to them. Effective cooperation with their neighbours is the key to effective action by the Overseas Territories in the battle against the drugs menace in the Caribbean.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 7.1 Many of the Overseas Territories are financially independent of the United Kingdom. But six of them still receive UK development assistance: Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean; Pitcairn, and St Helena. Even in these six territories, standards of living - as measured by social indicators and by conventional per capita income measures -are relatively high in comparison with other countries receiving development assistance. Most have already surpassed the international development targets in many areas.

7.2 We recognise responsibility to help them achieve sustainable development, targeting the needs of the poorest and the vulnerable, and the special considerations that apply to the small island territories -- for example their very limited resource base; their dependence on a limited range of economic activity; the fragility of their natural environments; the problems of physical access and isolation which apply in some cases; and the potential exposure to natural disasters, particularly in the Caribbean. We also recognise that we have a particular responsibility to ensure the well-being of sovereign British territories.

7.3 We have three objectives in providing development assistance to the Overseas Territories: to maximise economic growth and self-sufficiency through sensible economic and financial management, leading to graduation from such support where this objective is feasible; to ensure in the meantime that basic needs are met, including the provision of essential infrastructure; to support the good governance of the territories, including the proper management of contingent liabilities and the fulfilment of the UK's international obligations -particularly human rights and the multilateral environment obligations.

7.4 The Government, acting through the Department for International Development (DFID), will continue to help the Overseas Territories to achieve sustainable development in ways which contribute effectively towards the elimination of poverty. The principles of social justice which we are pursuing at home should apply in the Overseas Territories too, including the achievement of better opportunities and security for all. We shall therefore support the development of sound policies for economic growth to benefit the whole population, on the basis of efficient and well regulated markets and access for all people, especially poor and marginalised people, to resources and sustainable livelihoods. We shall also continue to provide support for improving the efficiency, transparency and accountability of government in the territories, and for strengthening their planning and policy-making capacities, on the basis of the principles of partnership set out in the November 1997 White Paper on International Development.

7.5 One indicator of sustainable development is economic self-sufficiency. For some of the aid-recipient Overseas Territories this is an attainable objective in the foreseeable future: for others, continued reliance on the UK for development finance is likely to be required. The Government recognises its responsibility to provide necessary and appropriate development support to these territories, up to the stage when they can be said to have achieved economic self-sufficiency. In pursuit of this objective, we will help the Overseas Territories to mobilise their own resources for economic development and investment in infrastructure, and to attract inward investment. The provision of an appropriate legislative, regulatory and fiscal framework will be an important element in this process.

7.6 The importance of this can be seen in the field of aviation safety.

Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, who have both achieved US Federal Aviation Administration Category I status, have shown how high standards in aviation safety regulation can help in the development of a successful tourist industry. But there is a need to improve standards in other Caribbean Overseas Territories to ensure that foreign airlines can continue to operate services to those territories. The Civil Aviation Authority has agreed individual action plans with the territories that should help them reach and maintain minimum International Civil Aviation Organisation safety standards and, ultimately, UK standards.

7.7 Similarly it is important that Overseas Territories with shipping registers should meet best international standards, both for safety reasons and to maintain an important source of revenue.

7.8 The White Paper on International Development explained that `the reasonable assistance needs of the Dependent Territories are a first call on the development programme'. The main mechanism for establishing a partnership between the UK Government and individual territories to promote sustainable development is the agreed Country Policy Plan. In countries still in receipt of development assistance the Plan is generally linked to a specified UK commitment on development assistance.

7.9 This assistance, provided by DFID, takes a number of different forms: in the poorer Overseas Territories, help towards economic and social infrastructure -- including schools, hospitals, roads, water, and power; skilled personnel to fill key administrative or technical posts for which no suitable local candidates are available, and training of their local successors; specialist skills and knowledge to support the development and implementation of policy and legislation, and help the Overseas Territories develop their own capabilities; for the two most economically dependent Overseas Territories -- Montserrat and St Helena -- budgetary support to meet the financing gap between recurrent government expenditure and locally generated resources.

Funds are also available from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to provide support for improved governance in the Overseas Territories. We have made substantial commitments to support those territories with the greatest needs, particularly Montserrat and St. Helena.

7.10 We have committed 75 million to Montserrat for the three-year period 1998/99-2000/01. This is additional to the 59 million spent in the three years since the volcanic crisis started in 1995.

Our support finances budgetary aid and the rebuilding of the north of the island where the remaining population live (4,500). We are also providing support for evacuees in the Caribbean region and have financed passages for evacuees to the Caribbean, the UK and North America. The costs of supporting evacuees once they arrive in Britain are met by the relevant Home Departments.

We agreed with the Government of Montserrat in November 1998 a Sustainable Development Plan setting out the broad policies needed for economic and social recovery of the island. This formed the basis of the joint Country Policy Plan agreed in January 1999 which includes an indicative investment programme for the period to March 2001.

7.11 For St. Helena, our present three-year commitment amounts to 26 million. This finances infrastructure projects, expert personnel, and budgetary aid. We also finance the operating subsidy of the RMS St Helena , at present the sole regular means of physical access to the island (an examination of the economic feasibility of developing an eventual air link is currently under way, alongside our discussions with the US Government about opening up Wideawake Airfield on Ascension to civilian charter flights). We shall continue to look for other ways of expanding economic activity on St.

Helena, in partnership with the private sector.

7.12 DFID support to the other Overseas Territories is of a lower order of magnitude ( 7-8 million a year in total). This is underpinned by a regional Caribbean Overseas Territories allocation which provides support for issues of regional importance and assistance with the efforts of those territories in regional integration.

7.13 Efforts will be made to diversify sources of assistance to the Overseas Territories. There is a potentially important role for the private sector in stimulating development, and we will work to establish mutually beneficial partnerships between the private and public sectors in the Overseas Territories, with particular emphasis on the tourism and financial services industries.

7.14 The Overseas Territories also benefit from EC development assistance under the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) regulation of the Lome m Convention, financed from the European Development Fund. Our Overseas Territories are due to receive just over 19 million ecu (some 13 million) from this source for the present five year period up to 2000.

European Community (EC) assistance has been used to help finance important infrastructure projects such as roads and water supply schemes in Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Discussions are now under way for EC support for a number of projects including the proposed new wharf development in St.

Helena and for infrastructure support in Montserrat and Pitcairn. Funds are also available under the OCT regulation for Stabex payments (compensation for price fluctuations in basic export crops) and emergency aid.

The European Investment Bank has agreed recently to finance an important airport development scheme in the British Virgin Islands. The Overseas Territories also benefit from other sources of EC funding (for example emergency aid) and from trade opportunities arising from the preferential access granted in the OCT Decision.

7.15 We will continue to support efforts to attract additional non-EU donor support to the Overseas Territories. Montserrat, for example, is currently also receiving assistance from the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Community, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Volunteer, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and from the Canadian, Jamaican, and Japanese bilateral programmes.

7.16 The Overseas Territories need to be able to compete in the global economy. DFID, the FCO and other Government departments will continue to work closely together on a range of policy issues to help the Overseas Territories adapt to, and take advantage of, the global opportunities, and obligations, which now confront them.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THE ENVIRONMENT 8.1 The natural environment of the Overseas Territories is a rich heritage, but a responsibility too. Henderson Island in the Pitcairn group is the Pacific's best large raised coral atoll. Gibraltar is a key migration route for birds of prey. The British Antarctic Territory is a sensitive barometer for the effect of human actions on the world's climate and atmosphere. The Overseas Territories contain a range of habitats and wildlife of global significance: many more species of animals and plants are found in the territories, and nowhere else in the world, than are found in Britain. Indeed, they contain at least 10 times as many endemic species as Britain.

8.2 The natural environment also provides a source of economic livelihood for many people in the Overseas Territories. The Cayman Islands, for example, relies heavily on the tourist industry, which in turn depends on the richness of the marine environment. The Falkland Islands and Tristan da Cunha, in particular, rely on sustainable fisheries.

8.3 But these habitats and environments are under pressure. Some are threatened by uncontrolled development of the economic activities they help to sustain; others by introduced species of animals and plants; still others by changing conditions such as rising sea temperature linked to global warming.

And these pressures rarely exist in isolation -- sea temperature rise, for example, can kill coral reefs, which in turn means the loss of marine animals and plants. This disrupts ecosystems and exacerbates damage to resources on which people rely, such as fish stocks -- often already under pressure.

8.4 The environment of the Overseas Territories is of global significance.

Overseas Territory governments, civil society groups, the private sector and the UK Government already work together to protect it. But there is more to be done. The common objective must be to use the environment of the Overseas Territories to provide benefits to people in them, and to conserve our global heritage by managing sustainably all the Overseas Territories' natural resources.

8.5 We support specific aims as part of this overall objective: to promote sustainable use and management of the Overseas Territories' natural and physical environment, for the benefit of local people; to protect fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs from further degradation and to conserve biodiversity in the Overseas Territories; to promote sustainable alternatives to scarce resources or species which are used for economic purposes; to enhance participation in and implementation of international agreements by Overseas Territories.

Role of the Overseas Territories 8.6 The role of Overseas Territory governments, supported by the UK Government, is to develop appropriate, applicable and affordable environmental policies, legislation and standards. These are the basis for integrated environmental management systems to enable them to monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving their environmental objectives; and lessons learnt can then be fed back into policy development. Industrial and other developments need effective environmental screening and appraisal so that benefits can be maximised and potential damage minimised early in the project design process. Some hotels, for example, pride themselves on developing safe disposal of waste matter; others create pollution. Tourism can benefit the local economy, but can also deplete and damage local natural resources (and development companies often look for pristine natural areas). Sustainable tourism must be the goal. Some Overseas Territories develop independent Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), ensuring that the public are fully consulted, before making decisions on new developments.

8.7 Policy decisions by Overseas Territory governments can affect the local, regional and even global environment, so they need to participate in appropriate international arrangements. Our ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity has already been extended to the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and St Helena (and other Overseas Territories are preparing to join). Most Overseas Territories have joined the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. At present, on the other hand, the UN Climate Change Convention has not been extended to any Overseas Territory. Overseas Territory governments may have to introduce laws and set up bodies to enforce the treaty obligations before extension takes place. For example, each Overseas Territory in which the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) applies, requires a national Management Authority.

Britain's role 8.8 We aim to integrate sustainable environmental management into the Government's decision-making. This policy is reflected in many agreements, from the 1992 Rio Declaration to the communique m of the European Council in Cardiff in June 1998. But in Overseas Territories as elsewhere, short-term economic pressures can be severe and can undermine the goal of sustainable development. That makes it all the more important for the Government to give guidance and support on how to develop policies and practices to ensure that practice in the Overseas Territories is consistent with the objective of sustainable development.

8.9 We provide financial support for environmental work in the Overseas Territories, through the Department for International Development (DFID), the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Since 1996 we have spent some 4.3 million on environment-related development assistance projects in the Overseas Territories; and around 850,000 has been committed under the Darwin Initiative (in support of biodiversity) and contributions to other environmental projects.

Some regional expenditure also benefits Overseas Territories: in October 1998 the UK arranged (in cooperation with Jamaica) and funded a Marine Biodiversity Workshop in Jamaica for all Caribbean countries and Overseas Territories. At the workshop we announced that we will ratify the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW Protocol) of the Cartagena Convention; and will extend its ratification, in the first instance, to include the Cayman Islands.

8.10 We ensure that the interests of Overseas Territories are adequately represented and promoted in international environmental fora. The UK provides advice and encouragement to Overseas Territories to have international environmental agreements extended to them.

8.11 We achieve these aims by: helping to make sure Overseas Territories have the legislation, institutional capacity and mechanisms they need to meet their international obligations; using UK, regional and local expertise to give advice and improve knowledge of technical and scientific issues. This includes close and open consultation with interested Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) groupings such as the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum; providing financial assistance to the Overseas Territories for integrated environmental management; promoting effective communication, exchange and dissemination of information with UK Overseas Territories; promoting sustainable development strategies, including commitments to clear environmental and sustainability targets.

Other partners 8.12 The limited resources available to the governments of most Overseas Territories mean that local communities, the private sector, the scientific community and NGOs have important roles in cooperation with us and the Overseas Territories themselves. These stakeholders have a wealth of experience, specialist knowledge and network of contacts for Overseas Territories and us to draw on. Some businesses and larger NGOs such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) help fund environmental projects in Overseas Territories. The private sector also plays an important role by trading and investing in an environmentally responsible way. We are keen to support projects and partnerships whose objective is sustainable development in the Overseas Territories.

Priorities for action 8.13 To reinforce sustainable environmental management in the Overseas Territories, we intend to: assist them to review and update environmental legislation; help build capacity to support and implement integrated environmental management which is consistent with the Overseas Territories' own development planning goals, for example by consultation with local communities, NGOs and the private sector, and by supporting training and public education and awareness programmes; help the Overseas Territories identify additional funding partners for environmental projects, including through donors/private sector/NGO partnerships; take account of their interests in regional and international environmental negotiations and agreements; promote better cooperation and lesson learning between Overseas Territories and small island states which face similar environmental problems.

8.14 We will encourage the Overseas Territories, for their part, to: integrate environmental concerns into all sectors of government work and develop strategies for sustainable development; consider economic incentives and mechanisms to encourage sustainable environmental management, such as cost recovery mechanisms to offset the cost of regulatory measures; identify environmental priorities and integrate them into their sustainable development strategies: for example Biodiversity Action Plans to monitor changes to species and habitats. These plans should specify individual environmental protection targets, including endangered species and restoration of damaged ecosystems.

8.15 These responsibilities already exist, but the UK and its Overseas Territories have not always addressed these issues sufficiently consistently or systematically. Examples include damage to coral reefs and the effects of introduced species on native species and habitats.

We intend bringing together the responsibilities, common objectives and cooperative approaches of the UK Government, Overseas Territory governments, the private sector, NGOs and local communities by drafting and agreeing an Environment Charter with the Overseas Territories. The Charter will clarify the roles and responsibilities of these stakeholders, set out in a shared vision which also takes account of the wide variety of circumstances and local resources in each territory. The exact form of the Charter and variations between territories will be determined in consultation with them.

8.16 To help address new problems and opportunities identified through the Charter, and to augment support from other donors and partners, we plan to enhance the funding available through the FCO for activities in support of the Charter. At the same time, the Government will provide additional assistance through DFID to support poorer Overseas Territories in addressing global environmental concerns.

This is in part a reflection that such Overseas Territories, unlike independent developing country states, are not eligible for funding from the Global Environment Facility.

8.17 Failure to put the best arrangements in place now could mean that early in the next millennium much remaining human and natural diversity will be lost. A shared concern for discharge of our environmental responsibilities will be a key element in our new partnership. As a maritime nation Britain was central to the process of creating global markets, spreading industrialisation and developing distant territories, many of them ecologically fragile and vulnerable islands. Some elements of environmental degradation and reduced biodiversity have been a result of that history. Today we have the opportunity to set a new agenda for our stewardship of the rich natural heritage of the Overseas Territories.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP 9.1 Britain and the Overseas Territories face a new challenge as we enter the new millennium. We both need a new partnership to take our relationship forward -- building on the best of what has gone before, but charting a new course for progress and prosperity for the future.

9.2 We believe that the proposals in this White Paper setting out that new relationship -- and especially the new moves on rights of citizenship -- will command widespread support. They offer a new direction for the relationship between Britain and the Overseas Territories which is modern, forward-looking, fair and effective. We now need to work together to put this new vision into place -- to the benefit of the UK, and of the Overseas Territories. Together this new, modernised relationship will meet the challenge of the future: a new partnership for progress and prosperity.

UK WHITE PAPER FULL TEXT