OECS Welcomes New Financing Initiative for Sustainable Marine Conservation
CASTRIES, St. Lucia – The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is welcoming new initiatives aimed at providing adequate financing to implement effective marine management strategies.
Aerial view of the Soufriere Management Area in St. Lucia, showing mixed use of marine space (OECS Photo)The St. Lucia-based OECS Commission said that regional implementing partners, German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the MPAConnect network, are collaborating to promote investment in Caribbean marine conservation through capacity building for the mobilization of resources from conservation trust funds.
It said 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, 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 that 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.
“To make the most of the financing that can be applied by trust funds to meet the needs of marine managers, we’re examining with MPAConnect where the conservation trust funds might fit in the sustainable financing plans of MPAs, and how the investments made by conservation trust funds can best be aligned with the needs of marine managers,” said Dr. Volker Hamann, head of Program for the Sustainable Marine Finance Project at GIZ. .
“Therefore, we are developing regional voluntary guidelines to shed light for MPA managers, government, the private sector and other actors on what they should know about improving their operations, so they can effectively access and manage sustainable marine conservation financing opportunities.
“These improvements will assist in enhancing the capacities of the MPAs, as well as the livelihood opportunities available in the communities within which they operate, and also maximize the effectiveness of marine conservation efforts,” said Hamann.
The Commission said that 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.
