Maps & GIS

The global objective of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Project is to enhance protection of the ecologically unique and vulnerable marine ecosystems comprising the MBRS, by assisting the littoral states to strengthen and coordinate national policies, regulations and institutional arrangements for the conservation and sustainable use of this global public good. The GEF Project will, therefore, assist Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras to: (i) strengthen existing MPAs and establish new protected areas in transboundary locations; (ii) develop and implement a standardized regional monitoring and environmental information system for the MBRS; (iii) promote measures to reduce non-sustainable patterns of resource use in the MBRS, focusing initially on the fisheries and tourism sectors; (iv) increase local and national capacity for environmental management through education, information sharing and training; and (v) strengthen and coordinate national policies, regulations, and institutional arrangements for marine ecosystem conservation and sustainable use.

A full-size project has been developed within the context of the GEF Operational Program 10 with a GEF PDFB grant of US$ 316,000 and co-financing of US$ 517,500. The project Brief , entitled ?Integrating Watershed and Coastal Area Management in Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean?, has been submitted to the GEF May 2002 Council Work Program. Total project financing will be GEF US$ 10,362,000 million and co-financing (from the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention, CEHI, UNDP, Governments of participating countries, and the Organisation of American States (OAS)) US$ 21,831,000 million. The objective of the full-size project is to strengthen the capacity of the participating countries to implement an integrated approach to the management of watersheds and coastal areas. The long-term goal is to enhance the capacity of the countries to plan and manage their aquatic resources and ecosystems on a sustainable basis. The project recognises the integrated and interlinked nature of watersheds and coastal areas in small islands and aims to develop a more sectorally-coordinated management approach, both at the national and the regional level, with a strong emphasis on an expanded role for all stakeholders within a participatory management framework. The Project?s main focus is on demonstrating integrated watershed and coastal area management systems. The demonstrations will stress the need for development of a cross sectoral management approach which, must address the requirements for institutional and infrastructural realignment; adoption of modalities for sectoral participation; capacity building; linkages to social and economic root causes of environmental degradation; and the overall need for sustainability. The Project comprises four components (1. Project Management and Co-ordination; 2. IWCAM Demonstration Projects; 3. Strengthening Capacity For IWCAM; 4. Sustaining Support and Capacity for IWCAM) consistent with the global objectives and need to address the root causes identified during the project preparation process. Component 1 will be divided into three sub-components supporting activities, which will enable project management and coordination, project steering and monitoring at the regional level, and the development of closer regional partnerships. Component 2 will support the demonstration of actual working examples of IWCAM within a defined watershed and/or coastal system boundary, addressing priority issues as identified in the root cause analysis. Component 3 addresses the need to strengthen institutional capacity, while improving and reforming policy and legislation to provide better support for effective implementation of IWCAM in the region. Component 3 will identify deficiencies and barriers to IWCAM, develop solutions to the barriers and identify incentives to move national and regional institutions toward the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework for IWCAM Component 4 will assist in making the reforms addressed under Component Three through effective awareness raising and training at various levels of society and government.