Conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the Mexican Caribbean

Context

The Mexican Caribbean biosphere reserve is home to around 1,900 animal and plant species as well as 50 per cent of the world’s second largest reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

Tourism is the region’s most important source of income. However, this involves intensive use of the maritime coastal ecosystems. Climate change and coastal pollution as well as overfishing and illegal fishing are further damaging the ecosystems and threatening fish stocks.

Interaction with the marine environment therefore needs to be improved and sustainable management of the coastal region promoted – in particular the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve as well as the 15 other marine protected areas in the region.

Objective

The state, private sector and civil society work more closely together to improve the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Approach

The project strengthens the management of the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve and the neighbouring protected areas. It also promotes cooperation for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. In order to do this, the project operates in four components:

1. Building the management skills of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP).
2. Improving the cooperation between participants and interested groups in land-use planning that incorporates coastal and marine areas.
3. Providing knowledge from the implementation of model projects.
4. Integrating ecosystem services more strongly into policies and programmes.

Close cooperation with the ‘Sustainable development of coastal urban areas through the integration of ecosystem services and biodiversity’ (BIOCITIS) project is planned. Possible synergies with organisations and projects that are active in the region have also been identified. These include the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the ‘Integrated Transboundary Ridges-to-Reef Management of the Mesoamerican Reef’ (MAR2R) project.

Last update: June 2021