The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is welcoming initiatives aimed at providing adequate financing to implement effective marine management strategies.
The St. Lucia-based OECS Commission said regional implementing partners, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the MPA Connect network, are collaborating to promote investment in Caribbean marine conservation through capacity building for the mobilization of resources from conservation trust funds.
It said the Caribbean marine environment faces ever-increasing pressures including a new set of emerging issues and as governments and civil societies across the region work towards sustainable development, the key limiting factor is typically adequate financing to implement effective marine management strategies.
“Marine protected areas (MPAs) in particular are an important tool in marine conservation, supporting fisheries management and tourism in the region. Yet Caribbean MPA managers tell us that raising reliable, long-term financing for their operations is their most pressing management need,” said Emma Doyle, coordinator of the MPAConnect Network.
There are various mechanisms through which marine conservation can be financed. Some mechanisms are well known and relatively easily understood, such as visitor entrance fees for marine parks or immigration fees at airports and ports, and philanthropic donations or concessions for on-site businesses. Other financing mechanisms are newer and more innovative, but also more complex to understand and to access, such as trust funds, debt-for-nature swaps, and impact investment.
“A meaningful MPA sustainable financing plan requires a mix of several financing mechanisms. One of the mechanisms in this mix, and one that is highly anticipated by MPA managers, is the conservation trust fund,” said Doyle.
The Commission said the formation of conservation trust funds has greatly increased in the Caribbean region and these legally independent institutions are expected to play a growing role in marine conservation financing in the coming years, especially in support of nature-based solutions to climate change and as the blue economy grows.
It said in the Eastern Caribbean, a series of National Conservation Trust Funds is being established through the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.
GIZ and the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) are assisting in marrying the National Conservation Trust Funds with capacity building for MPA management and operations through the Sustainable Marine Finance Project.
The Commission said four OECS member countries, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada will be the principal focus of this work.
“The perspective of the wider OECS will also be considered within the ongoing work and at a later stage, the scope will include other CARICOM states.
CMC/
