Belize

In an era of market triumphalism, this book probes the social and environmental consequences of market-linked nature conservation schemes.

The 2012 report card highlights three focal sections: existing and emerging threats to reef health an assessment on the current state of the reef and social context; highlights of reef conservation actions across the region, including the prioritized recommendations to foster healthy reefs and healthy people.

The Parks in Peril program begin in 1990 to secure the survival of some of the most endangered and biologically important areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. This publication documents progress of the Parks in Peril program and provides detailed information about this group of protected areas. But the purpose of this book goes beyond enumerating the program's achievements; it also details the extraordinary complexity of the social, economic, and political forces affecting these protected areas.

This publication is a result of Blue Solutions’ second Regional Forum on Solutions for Oceans, Coasts and Human Well-being in Latin America and the Wider Caribbean Region. This four-day workshop was held in Cancún, Mexico in April 2015. During this event more than 40 participants presented their positive examples and engaged with the larger audience in discussions around how these examples can be adapted to address pressing challenges faced in other regions or sectors in Latin America and the Wider Caribbean.

Our oceans and coasts are the origin of life on earth, an important food source, and crucial for the global ecological equilibrium,  yet despite their global significance, marine and coastal ecosystems face a wide array of threats. It was in the spirit of making enhanced concerted efforts at the global, regional, national and local levels that the Blue Solutions Initiative was created.

With only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left, most Caribbean coral reefs may disappear in the next 20 years, primarily due to the loss of grazers in the region, according to this latest report, Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012. This is the most detailed and comprehensive study of its kind published to date – the result of the work of 90 experts over the course of three years.