Restoring coastal marine habitats in fishing communities

The Bay Islands National Marine Park is a crucial wetland ecosystem with mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These natural resources are threatened by land-use changes, particularly for urbanisation. This project safeguards and restores vulnerable marine ecosystems through awareness building, capacity development, and sustainable community development with a gender-sensitive approach. At the beginning, there is a survey phase. The project then promotes and demonstrates mangrove reforestation and seagrass restoration methods at a pilot scale. In livelihood development, the focus is on processing fish skin into leather. The value chain includes downstream processing and marketing. The project gathers valuable insights and actionable recommendations, for further expansion across the Mesoamerican Reef System specifically in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico.