Financing Mesoamerican Reef Resilience

In 2024, a network of global coral reef scientists from the NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) confirmed the fourth global coral bleaching event is underway. As climate change impacts intensify, coral bleaching has become more frequent and severe. This phenomenon has affected coral reefs across every major ocean basin, with some regions experiencing consecutive bleaching events.???

Recognising the growing urgency, the?Coral Reef Breakthrough ?has been established to provide targets and action points for collective action, including:?

• Stopping drivers of loss
• Doubling the area of coral reefs under effective protection
• Accelerating restoration efforts
• Securing $12 billion from public and private sources by 2030 to conserve and restore at least 50% of remaining coral reef ecosystems.

Global Fund for Coral Reefs

Through a Coalition of global, regional, and national partners, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) is spearheading efforts to find viable models to enhance sustainable financing for coral reef conservation, restoration, and resilience.

With capitalisation underway, by 2030, the GFCR aims to support over 400 reef positive businesses and sustainable financial mechanisms; the resilience of over 20 million community members and 3 million hectares of coral reefs (representing an estimated 12.5% of coral reefs remaining on Earth); and the sustainable financing of 7.5 million hectares of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Hosting both a Grant Fund and Investment Fund, the GFCR portfolio of reef-positive solutions encompasses four impact sectors:

• Sustainable Ocean Production (fisheries, aquaculture, mariculture)
• Sustainable Coastal Development (ecotourism, blue and natural coastal infrastructure including reef restoration)
• Circular Economy and Pollution Management (solid waste management, recycling, wastewater treatment)
• Financial Mechanisms (Marine Protected Area finance instruments, payment for ecosystem services including blue carbon and reef insurance, debt swaps, and bonds)

GFCR’s investments will aim to leverage $2-3 billion USD in public and private finance for the benefit of coral ecosystems and coastal communities.

Mesoamerican Reef Resilience Strategy

GFCR focuses on climate-resilient coral reefs, including the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) spanning Mexico (in the state of Quintana Roo), Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. The MAR, the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, is a biodiversity hotspot hosting over 60 coral species and more than 500 fish species. The barrier reef provides essential benefits like storm protection, food sources, and livelihoods. However, the MAR faces pressures from tourism, sargassum, agriculture, aquaculture, and climate change. To help address these local ecosystem threats, GFCR funds the MAR+Invest programme led by the Mesoamerican Reef Fund - MAR Fund , which includes international collaborators, experts, the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), and in-country funds from the region.??

The MAR+Invest programme, a 10-year blended finance vehicle, operates across the Mesoamerican Reef countries. Implemented through a strategic alliance with organisations like the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza /Sureste Sostenible, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People , and New Ventures /VIWALA, the programme addresses local threats to the reef. Currently in its growth stage, MAR+Invest aims to improve the management of 60,000 hectares of coral reefs, leverage $60 million in investment, and enhance the resilience of 3 million community members by 2030.

Regional efforts include support for the conservation of coral reef sites within UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including:

• Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System in Belize
• Sian Ka'an in Mexico (Quintana Roo)
• Tikal National Park in Guatemala
• Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras

Within the growing programme pipeline, a variety of enterprises and projects range from early-stage growth to performance-based expansion, including:

• Carbonwave: Carbonwave helps address the proliferation of sargassum, a seaweed once confined to specific regions of the Atlantic but has now overwhelmed Caribbean beach ecosystems. This seaweed poses multifaceted threats, releasing methane into the atmosphere and heavy metals into the groundwater, disrupting tourism, as well as damaging vital habitats like seagrass beds, mangrove swamps, and coral reefs.?Carbonwave transforms sargassum into valuable materials and products , harnessing its potential to mitigate climate change. In 2023, the GFCR Investment Fund committed up to $6 million USD to Carbonwave, strengthening and growing its reef-positive model for upcycling the overabundance of sargassum.??
• Royal Mayan Shrimp Farm: In Belize, the challenges of wastewater release and runoff from the shrimp aquaculture industry pose significant threats to coral reefs and interconnected ecosystems, including mangroves and seagrasses. The GFCR Mesoamerican reef programme, MAR+Invest, led by MAR Fund, has been supporting the Royal Mayan Shrimp Farms (RMSF) through a transactional services line, by providing financial guidance and helping it secure new funding to sustain its innovative aquaculture system. RMSF has introduced to Belize a new technology called the Recirculating Aquaculture System which efficiently recirculates all water used within the farm, eliminating the release of wastewater into the surrounding vital ecosystems. With this programme support, in June 2024, the RMSF received new investment from Development Finance Corporation Belize, allowing the company to continue implementing the Recirculating Aquaculture System technology and scale operations.
• King Crab Aquaculture: As an early-stage project with immense potential for bankability, growth, and replication, MAR+Invest is supporting the breeding of Caribbean King Crabs for subsequent introduction onto coral reefs affected by the excessive growth of macroalgae in the Coastal and Marine Protected Areas (CMPAs) of the MAR. Scientists found that overgrown algae can decrease coral growth rates by about 37 percent and produce other detrimental effects. In this project, the King Crab feeds on macroalgae, mitigating its growth without causing harm to corals. The project also has the potential to engage fishermen in reef stewardship as well as diversifying their income. MAR+Invest supports research and development of the project, with the aim of defining and improving the production method for the King Crab in the MAR.?

The wider range of MAR+Invest pipeline projects and enterprises span sustainable tourism, water monitoring technology, sargassum management, finance for marine protected areas, as well as research opportunities.

Investing in the future of reefs

Securing the future of coral reefs requires climate action and resilience-focused conservation. The GFCR-supported programme in the MAR region is a key part of the GFCR global portfolio spanning more than 20 countries. By scaling up implementation and public-private partnerships, GFCR aims to create a more resilient future for coral reefs, ensuring their long-term health and potential resilience to increasing climate impacts.?

As the health of ocean life and the well-being of one billion people hang in the balance, the urgency of climate action alongside resilience-focused conservation efforts is more critical than ever. With the third UN Ocean Conference approaching, this is a chance for states, philanthropies, corporations, and investors to fight the potential functional extinction of a vital ecosystem and support the Global Fund for Coral Reefs.