A/RES/57/261 8. Calls upon the international community to support the efforts of the Working Group of Experts on the Caribbean Sea Initiative of the Association of Caribbean States to further implement resolution 55/203, and invites the Association to submit a report on its progress to the Secretary-General for consideration during the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly; 9. Calls upon all States to become contracting parties to relevant international agreements to promote the protection of the marine environment of the Caribbean Sea from pollution and degradation from ships; 10. Supports the efforts of Caribbean countries to implement sustainable fisheries management programmes by strengthening the recently established Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism; 11. Calls upon States, taking into consideration the Convention on Biological Diversity, 16 to develop national, regional and international programmes for halting the loss of marine biodiversity in the Caribbean Sea, in particular fragile ecosystems, such as coral reefs; 12. Invites intergovernmental organizations within the United Nations system to continue their efforts to assist Caribbean countries in becoming parties to the relevant conventions and protocols and to implement them effectively; 13. Calls upon the international community, the United Nations system and the multilateral financial institutions, and invites the Global Environment Facility, within its mandate, to support actively the above-mentioned approach; 14. Calls upon Member States to improve as a matter of priority their emergency response capabilities and the containment of environmental damage, particularly in the Caribbean Sea, in the event of natural disasters or of an accident or incident relating to maritime navigation; 15. Requests the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-ninth session, under the sub-item entitled “Further implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States” of the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”, on the implementation of the present resolution, taking into account the views expressed by relevant regional organizations. 78th plenary meeting 20 December 2002 _______________ 16 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1760, No. 30619. 5