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The 46th GEF Council meeting in Cancun this past May saw the approval of the Integrated Transboundary Ridges to Reef Management of the Mesoamerican Reef regional project to protect the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s largest transboundary reef system. The WWF-US is to implement the project and bring the efforts of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico together, with a GEF grant of USD 9,018,349.
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In 2001, the four countries developed a project to strengthen sustainable reef management and ecosystem use, together with the GEF and the World Bank. The project was one of the first efforts to establish a framework for the regional management of the reef, thanks to the collaboration between government agencies and civil society.
At the 5th GEF Assembly in Mexico, a side event on the Meso-American Reef included participation from the Ministry of Forests, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of Belize, the Ministry of Environment of Nicaragua, and the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment of Honduras. Participants heard from the different countries on their initiatives to regulate the management of the Mesoamerican reef and protect its biodiversity, including shark sanctuaries, sustainable fisheries, and control of invasive species (lionfish) propagation.
They also highlighted the importance of the interaction between land and sea, and among ecosystems, including the role of multinationals that strive to keep coastal areas sustainable. For example, Coca-Cola, in partnership with WWF, is driving innovative, climate-smart solutions to freshwater challenges through basin-wide engagement and comprehensive policy support, which in the coming years will focus on the catchments of the Mesoamerican Reef, among other focal basins.
The presenters emphasized that water is a connector rather than a divider, and that the project will allow for regional integration, capitalizing on the strengths of each country who worked hard together with CCAD and WWF to design it.