Consolidation of Ecosystem Management and Biodiversity Conservation of the Bay Islands

The resulting project would assist the Government of Honduras to conserve and sustainable manage key coastal/marine ecosystems in the archipelago of the Bay Islands (islands of Utila, Roatan, Guanaja, and over 60 smaller keys). The archipelago includes a complex marine system exceeding 500 km2 with barrier and firing corals reef formations juxtaposed with extensive sea grass beds and coastal lagoons. The region is of great biological diversity and the project would complement existing GEF investments in the Mesoamerican Barrier reef and the Belize coastal zone management projects.. Key objectives of the resulting project are: (a) define and implement the sub-regional (Bay Islands-wide) institutional arrangements needed to integrate biodiversity conservation into broader environmental management functions of local and central government agencies; (b) establish the operational basis and capacity for co-management of the system of coastal and marine protected areas spanning the entire archipelago; (c) introduce economic incentives for maintenance and recovery of natural resources under threat; and (d) design and implement financing mechanisms for biodiversity conservation.