15. Today, the delicate balance of these places is threatened by numerous human activities that day-by-day contribute to their progressive degradation. In this context, specific threats of serious damage to the marine environment of the Caribbean Sea are also a serious threat to the way of life and personal integrity of all the inhabitants of the coasts and, especially, the islands in this Region (Section 2). SECTION 1: THE RELEVANCE OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THE COASTS AND ISLANDS OF THE WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION 16. The inhabitants of the coasts and, particularly, of the islands of the Wider Caribbean Region, such as the Colombian islands, depend fundamentally on their marine environment to live and develop as individuals and as a community. Indeed, the conditions of this environment define their possibilities of survival, their living conditions and way of life, and their ability to achieve sustainable development. The immediate surroundings of the inhabitants of the coasts and islands of the Wider Caribbean Region, their habitat, is also their ancestral resource, the legacy for the future generations, and the essential source of their economic, social and cultural development, which is based on fishing and tourism. In the specific case of the Colombian islands, the critical importance of the environment for their inhabitants has been recognized in the different policies and laws that have been adopted in order to provide them with adequate protection. 6 17. The intrinsic link that exists between the inhabitants of the Wider Caribbean Region and the marine environment has been fully explained by experts in this field, who have emphasized not only the economic value of this environment, but also its cultural, spiritual and recreational value for the communities that depend on it: 6 Colombia has adopted diverse policies and laws in order to improve protection of the maritime environment of the Caribbean coast. They include: Declaration of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, declared part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves by the Man and the Biosphere Programme of the United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), November 1 0 , 2000; Constitution of Colombia of July 20, 1991, Official Gazette No.116, Article 101; Law No. 19 of September 21, 1983, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 36,354; Law No. 47 of February 19, 1993, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 40,763.; Law No. 99 of December 22, 1993, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 41,146; Law No. 136 of June 2, 1994, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 41,377; Law No. 165 of November 9, 1994, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 41,589; Law No. 915 of October 27, 2004, National Congress of Colombia, Official Gazette No. 45,714; Decree 1681 of August 4, 1978, President of the Republic; Decree 1875 of August 2, 1979, Ministry of Agriculture; Decision No. 1602 of December 21, 1995, Ministry of the Environment; Decision No. 1021 of December 22, 1995, Ministry of the Environment; Ministerial Decision No. 20 of January 9, 1996; Decision No. 1426 of December 20, 1996; Decision No. 151 of March 9, 1998, Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the Department-Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina (Coralina); Decision No. 1132 of January 3, 2005, Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the Department-Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina (Coralina); Decision No. 107 of January 27, 2005, Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Official Gazette No. 45,809; Decision No. 409 of May 22, 2006, Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the Department-Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina (Coralina); Decision No. 004 of August 8, 2005, Departmental Fisheries and Aquaculture Board (Jundepesca). 21