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; and
• Promote long-term, non-extractive, diverse economic development opportunities for coastal communities.

Mesoamerican Reef Eco-Region Programme Grants (2005)

• EcoLogic Development Fund

  To support bi-national, community-based coastal marine management in southern Belize. (Over two years)

• International Center for Journalists

  To train Belizean journalists to effectively report on marine environmental threats, thereby informing the public and building a constituency for conservation. (Over three years)

• Organization for Tropical Studies Inc.

  To increase the number and expertise of academics in the ecology and management of coastal ecosystems in Mexico and the American tropics.

• Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment

  To protect the natural resources of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve through institutional strengthening, increased community awareness and involvement, and alternative livelihood development.

• Trust for Conservation Innovation

  To provide the remaining funds needed to develop a detailed business plan that will outline the programmatic and operational approach necessary to implement the Meso-American Reef Fund.

• University of Belize

  To support the establishment of a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Management at the University of Belize. (Over three years)

• University of New Hampshire

  To create a national network of Sea-grass Net monitoring sites in Belize and to increase public awareness about the importance of sea-grass ecosystems. (Over two years)

• Wildlife Trust Inc.

  To assist Belizeans with the development and operation of a manatee conservation management programme.

• World Wildlife Fund Canada Foundation

  To ensure the protection of at least 20 per cent of Cuba’s marine areas, and to eliminate the threats to the endangered hawksbill turtle in Cuba. (Over two years)

• World Wildlife Fund, Inc.

  To initiate on-site management of two critical spawning site marine reserves in Belize, thus ensuring the viability of spawning fish stocks and supporting additional refuges for other exploited species and the ecosystem functions they support. (Over two years)

Active grants from previous years:

• Coral Reef Alliance

  To improve marine recreation business practices and increase the tourism sector’s involvement in marine conservation efforts in the Meso-American Reef region by developing a voluntary code of conduct for marine tour operators, and by training and providing technical assistance to local marine reserve managers. (Third year of three-year grant)

• Duke University

  To support the training of environmental management and conservation professionals in Belize. (Second year of four-year grant)

• EARTH University Foundation

  To provide scholarships for deserving students in Belize and Honduras so they can have access to education and technology that is appropriate for the region. (Fourth year of four-year grant)

• Friends of Nature

  To build upon the management foundation already established in Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve and Laughing Bird Caye National Park by improving the level of protection given to the parks and the level of service provided to the surrounding communities. (Second year of two-year grant)

• The Nature Conservancy

  To support integrated monitoring, scientific studies, and knowledge sharing by local stakeholders in order to more effectively protect and manage a resilient network of marine protected areas in the Meso-American Reef region. (Second year of three-year grant)

• Wildlife Conservation Society

  To implement a site-based conservation programme that integrates training and capacity building, delivers high-quality scientific information to the management process, and strengthens the network of marine protected areas and conservation practitioners in Belize. (Second year of three-year grant)

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

  To track larval dispersal and retention of Nassau grouper in Belize in order to more effectively site marine reserves and manage the species. (Second year of three-year grant)

• Ya’axche Conservation Trust

  To continue the protection of southern Belize’s unique terrestrial and coastal resources by consolidating its integrated watershed management approach. (Second year of two-year grant)

< Marine Conservation Programme