Oak Foundation’s Mesoamerican Reef Eco-Region Programme Goals

To develop an ecologically representative network of marine reserves that maintain the health of the barrier reef ecosystem and its wildlife, and that support the food security and sustainable economic development of local coastal communities.

In the Mesoamerican Reef Ecosystem we support capacity building, research, communications, policy, advocacy and market-based activities that:

• Improve marine reserve management effectiveness
• Promote sustainable coastal and marine resource management, including sustainable financing
• Promote long-term, non-extractive, diverse economic development opportunities for coastal communities

Mesoamerican Reef Eco-Region Programme Grants (2009)

• Calm Air Visibility Unlimited (CAV U)

  To raise awareness about the need for coastal development planning and zoning for the overall health of the Mesoamerican reef area. CAVU will launch a campaign that engages legislators, public opinion and NGOs to take legislative action and stop unsustainable coastal development. The campaign will disseminate research results provided by Conservation International’s Marine Managed Area Science and Healthy Reefs for Healthy People. USD 199,885 (Over two years)

• LightHawk

  To support LightHawk’s programme of using flight as a critical resource for biodiversity protection of the Mesoamerican Reef ecosystem (MAR) in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. This programme will continue to assist in protecting associated ecosystems such as seagrass beds, coastal mangrove forests and shallow lagoons. LightHawk’s goal is to ensure the MAR is protected as a regional collection of ecosystems that support local economies and provide healthy resources for future generations. USD 200,000 (Over two years)

• Mesoamerican Reef Fund

  To expand the presence and collaboration of the Healthy Reef for Healthy People Initiative throughout Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. HRI will promote the adoption and application of eco-health and socioeconomic indicators by managers, policy makers and other leaders concerned with the integrity of the Mesoamerican Reef Ecosystem. It will provide standardised analyses of scientific data to improve reef ecosystem management and serve as a clearinghouse for information and networking among science and conservation partners to improve environmental management and stewardship of reef resources. USD 300,000 (Over three years)

• The Nature Conservancy

  To create an initiative - Belize Reefs for Life - for the country’s marine-protected areas based on ecological variables, functionality and a stable base of funding. Objectives include: defining the conservation and financial targets for the initiative through consultation; establishing a framework and building support for the initiative at the pertinent governmental levels, and sustaining its priority conservation work that is currently underway. USD 160,008

• Oceana, Inc.

  To protect and improve the health of the Belizean reef system. Oceana will open an office in Belize where it will apply its campaign approach. The organisation intends to collaborate with but remain independent from the government while working towards the following key objectives over the next three years: banning the use of gillnets in Belizean waters; banning the use of bottom trawlers; and facilitating the transition of net fishermen to sustainable gear, possibly through buy-outs and other schemes. USD 200,000

• University of Belize

  To develop a research and capacity-building mechanism within the university to enable a sustainable programme of scientific research in Belize. The University will develop and promote a national research agenda that responds to data needs and management questions for the management and conservation of Belize’s natural resources; build national scientific research and technical capacity including for its national protected systems; and coordinate and conduct critical monitoring and research in protected areas and other important ecosystems to evaluate the effectiveness of current management practices. USD 1,522,843 (Over five years)

• University of New Hampshire

  To establish at least two new SeagrassNet monitoring sites per year within Belize and in each MAR country, expanding the programme’s knowledge base and educational outreach and help to increase the overall awareness of seagrasses as a key resource for the Mesoamerica Barrier Reef System. The University will maintain the existing SeagrassNet sites in Belize, retraining monitoring personnel, and expanding the number of trained individuals, while upgrading and replacing sampling equipment and insuring continuity of the country-wide network of sea-grass monitoring sites. USD 160,000 (Over three years)

• Wildlife Conservation Society

  To assist in the revision of the National Fisheries Act in an effort to resolve conflicts with Fisheries Regulations and to bring the law – and the country’s overall fisheries management – into alignment with international standards. Since the National Fisheries Act has not been revised for many years, there is a pressing need to modernize it to resolve conflicts with the more rapidly evolving Fisheries Regulations, particularly relating to enforcement issues, such as fines and penalties. USD 179,957 (Over two years)

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