Developing a financial sustainability assessment tool for Marine Protected Areas

Presented by: John Bohorquez of Stony Brook University

Description: Lack of financial resources and staff capacity may limit the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in meeting their conservation objectives. We are developing a replicable framework to assess the sustainability of MPA financial strategies and identify potential solutions to identified risks, including improving the efficiency and allocation of available resources, expanding or improving in-place financial mechanisms, and developing alternative financial mechanisms. The framework development and assessment is supported by real-world case studies from Colombia, the Caribbean Netherlands, Belize, and Mexico.

Co-sponsors: NOAA National MPA Center and OCTO (MPA News, OpenChannels, EBM Tools Network)