Mesoamerican Reef Conservation


Supporting marine and coastal protected areas in Central America

The Project

The objective of the Mesoamerican Reef Conservation project is to contribute to the consolidation of marine and coastal protected areas, the protection of biological diversity, and the sustainable use of their resources, in addition to promoting the economic well-being and improving the quality of life of the resident populations of the reef system shared by Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Context

FMCN is the local partner of the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund), which aims to strengthen marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region through long-term conservation mechanisms. FMCN supports implementing the Small Grants Program, which focuses on promoting economic well-being and improving the quality of life of local populations through annual calls for projects implemented by organizations) within priority MPAs.

    The lines of work that guide the actions of the Mesoamerican Reef Conservation project are:

    1. Consolidation of marine protected areas (MPAs) to ensure the use of marine resources in the medium term.
    2. Promoting the economic well-being and improving the quality of life of local populations.

    The Mesoamerican Reef Conservation project is focused on the reef shared by Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

    Achievements

    Since 2015, 37 projects have been approved that have strengthened local MPA communities in monitoring, coral restoration, good practices in tourism, solid and liquid waste management, climate change, and participatory MPA management, among others.

    In the first half of 2023, within the MAR Fund Small Grants Program framework, the Akumal Ecological Center and the Cozumel Community Foundation joined together in collaboration with Conanp and other local actors. Together, they carried out coral restoration initiatives both in the Akumal Bay Refuge Area for the Protection of Aquatic Species (ARPEA) and in the Flora and Fauna Protection Area (APFF) of the North of the Island of Cozumel, respectively. Simultaneously, the organization Centinelas del Agua undertook a study aimed at determining the economic value of the hydrological and environmental services of the Holbox fracture and the Yalahau lagoon as an essential tool for integrated water management in the APFF Yum Balam and installed rainwater harvesting systems in two fishing cooperatives.

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    Allies

    Donors:

    • Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial
    • KfW Development Bank
    • The Summit Foundation

    Partners: