Mesoamerican Reef Conservation

Supporting marine and coastal protected areas in Central America

Allies

The objective of the Mesoamerican Reef Conservation (SAM, acronym in Spanish) 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

Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (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:

Consolidation of marine protected areas (MPAs) to ensure the use of marine resources in the medium term.
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, a total of 40 projects have been approved, strengthening local communities in areas such as marine monitoring, coral restoration, best practices in tourism, solid and liquid waste management, climate change, and participatory management of PAs.

In the second half of 2024, the implementation of two new subprojects began in Quintana Roo, as part of the SAM Fund’s Small Grants Program. These initiatives aim to support fishing communities by promoting financial resilience among youth and women, as well as integrated water management. The subprojects are being implemented by Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C. (COBI, acronym in Spanish) and Centinelas del Agua, A.C., respectively.