MAR News

The Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) participated in two key ocean conservation discussion forums, bringing the voice of the Mesoamerican Reef ecoregion as a critical, culturally and biologically diverse region: the Blue Economy Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco, and the Third United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC3) in Nice, France.

As part of the BEFF, MAR Fund participated in a side event organized by The MedFund, in collaboration with the Fondation Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Consortium of African Environmental Funds (CAFÉ) and the Network of Environmental Funds of Latin America and the Caribbean (RedLAC), environmental funds from Africa, the Caribbean and South America, the Conservation Finance Alliance and the Global Environment Facility.

This space highlighted how environmental funds support ocean conservation and can accelerate compliance with the 30×30 target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which seeks to protect at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine areas by 2030.

 

María José González, Executive Director of MAR Fund, presented the work carried out in the region over the Fund’s 20 years. She presented the different operational programs, which include coastal and marine protected areas and climate change, and highlighted innovative projects such as the parametric insurance for coral reefs to cover emergency response after hurricanes and the cross-cutting blue and regenerative economy initiative, MAR+Invest, supported by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.

UNOC3 brought together governments, international agencies, non-profit organizations, private sector and civil society to accelerate actions and partnerships that contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. The agenda addressed key challenges such as marine pollution, unsustainable fishing, loss of coastal habitats and the effects of climate change.

MAR Fund participated in a series of spaces for dialogue and collaboration for sustainable ocean management, including:

• Innovate to conserve: Connecting knowledge, territories and strategies to preserve coral reefs in Latin America.

• • Women and ocean sustainability, a call for ocean governance with gender equality; where the Women for the MAR project was also presented.
  • The State of the coral reefs in the Wider Caribbean Sea: A colossal monitoring effort, co-organized by our partner Healthy Reefs for Healthy People.

• Enhancing Coastal Resilience for a Thriving Blue Economy, in which MAR Fund presented the initiative to finance small-scale fishers, as part of MAR+Invest.

“Participation in these global events allows us to learn from successful efforts in other regions and share experiences of the Mesoamerican Reef System (MAR). Being a convening agent for the Global Fund for Coral Reefs has allowed us, along with our partners at MAR+Invest, to initiate the development of a mixed finance ecosystem in the region and learn with other fund beneficiaries to promote blue ventures with a positive impact on coral reefs, and MAR Fund’s participation in these events reinforces our commitment to innovative and collaborative financing solutions for a healthy and resilient future for the MAR,” concluded González.

 

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About MAR+Invest

MAR+Invest is a partnership between Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN), Sureste Sostenible, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, New Ventures, Viwala and MAR Fund. Its goal is to mobilize capital for ventures with positive impact on coral reefs and coastal communities. To learn more, visit: www.mar-invest.org

Credits:  RedLAC and María Arteaga

Tags: Oceans, RedLAC, UNOC3