MAR Fund
The Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) is a four-country alliance (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico) whose primary goal is to protect the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion. Its mission is to inspire innovative, transnational solutions to critical Mesoamerican reef issues through providing meaningful, long-term financial support and trustworthy reef management advice so that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a thriving reef system.
The MAR Fund was created in response to the magnitude of the region’s concerns and the need for a regional perspective to address the challenges it faces. It furthers the efforts of other organizations to preserve the area’s overall ecological integrity. While other actors are engaging in important conservation efforts throughout the region, the MAR Fund is uniquely designed to attract and distribute funding at a level that will address the regional issues, enabling the development and financing of solutions which are beyond the mandate or capacity of local governments and NGOs.
It operates as a participatory, privately managed fund that raises and allocates funds, building on existing structures for the most efficient and effective arrangement. It relies on the preexisting technical, administrative, and financial capabilities of its four founding members to operate on the ground:
• Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT (Belize),
• Fundación para la Conservación de los Recursos Naturales y Ambiente en Guatemala, FCG
• Fundación Biosfera FB (Honduras), and
• Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza FMCN.
The MAR Fund is established in the U.S. as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt charitable organization.
The centerpiece of MAR Fund’s current working program is the establishment and strengthening of a functional network of priority coastal and marine protected areas. In addition, it seeks to target issues directly affecting the integrity and health of the network through better management practices. For this reason, MAR Fund also supports community participation in the co-management of artisanal fisheries.
All projects from this organization
Network of Priority Areas
The long-term objective of this Program is to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources in the MAR region by supporting the development and long-term persistence of a network of coastal and marine priority conservation ...
Co-management of artisanal fisheries
The objective of this program is to support the design, establishment, management and monitoring of co-management mechanisms for fisheries resources by organized groups of fishermen. In addition, it will support alternative community productive projects that can reduce the pressure on ...
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