Bridging Land and Sea, Mangrove forests are magnificent and prolific ecosystems which contribute to the wellbeing, food security, and protection of coastal communities worldwide. In the Mesoamerican Reef Region (MAR) and the Wider Caribbean, Mangroves are the economic foundation of over 134 million people living in the coastal regions.
This manual contributes to strengthening local, national, and regional capacities for the ecological restoration of mangroves and the ecosystem services they provide in the MAR and the Wider Caribbean region.
The Regional Strategy and Action Plan for the Valuation, Protection and/or Restoration of Key Marine Habitats in the Wider Caribbean 2021 – 2030 (RSAP) was developed to address the continued deterioration of marine resources. It provides strategic direction, practical solutions, and specific actions to conserve and restore these vital habitats
The Regional Strategy and Action Plan for the Valuation, Protection and/or Restoration of Key Marine Habitats in the Wider Caribbean 2021 – 2030 (RSAP) was developed to address the continued deterioration of the region’s marine resources. It provides strategic direction, practical solutions, and specific actions to conserve and restore these vital habitats and protect the socio-economic goods and services they supply to the region.
The RSAP provides for private sector involvement in collaborative efforts to develop pilot projects and participate in the collection and analysis of the data it needs for strategic decision-making
Mangroves in the Mesoamerican Reef Region (MAR) and the Wider Caribbean are the economic foundation of over 134 million people living in the coastal regions. Due to their close relationship with other ecosystems, such as coral reefs and seagrasses, mangroves and the ecosystem services they provide are the conservation pillars of coastal ecosystems.
The ecosystem of the Caribbean has evolved over millions of years of geological and biological processes that have shaped the islands and marine environments of the region. These processes have created diverse and complex habitats that have fueled the Caribbean’s spectacular biodiversity. The protected areas established to sustain this biodiversity, and the vibrant economies it supports, can be considered the lifeboats for the region’s ecosystem, and for the societies that depend on it.
As Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols, the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) plays a diverse and critical role in the conservation of biodiversity, the establishment of coastal and marine protected areas, the reduction of marine pollution from land and marine-based sources, environmental education and capacity building. CEP continues to source financial and technical assistance, develop and implement projects, establish new partnerships and offer support to countries in for responding to emerging issues throughout the region.
The United Nations (UN) has declared 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, in a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems around the world. Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Decade is building a strong, broad-based global movement to ramp up restoration and put the world on track for a sustainable future.
Ninth Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW), 13 March 2017
CEP was established in 1981 as part of the Regional Seas Programme in recognition of the importance and value of the Wider Caribbean Region’s fragile and vulnerable coastal and marine ecosystems including endemic plants and animals.
