The purpose of the ecosystem profile for Northern Mesoamerica is to define measurable outcomes for conserving species, sites and corridors, to provide a rapid assessment of the threats and underlying causes of biodiversity loss and to identify funding gaps and opportunities for investment. The ecosystem profile recommends strategic funding directions that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in this globally significant region. Organizations representing civil society propose projects that fit into these strategic directions. The profile does not define the specific activities that prospective implementers may propose, but outlines the conservation strategy that will guide those activities. Applicants for CEPF grants will be required to prepare detailed proposals identifying and describing the interventions and performance indicators that will be used to measure the success of their projects.
This ecosystem profile and five-year investment strategy for the Northern Mesoamerica region was developed based on stakeholder consultation and review of background reports coordinated by CI. Seventy-four experts representing 42 scientific, governmental and nongovernmental organizations from Belize, Guatemala and Mexico participated in the preparation of the profile. Data on biodiversity, socioeconomic factors, institutional context and conservation efforts were compiled and synthesized from more than 330 organizations, representing international donors, NGOs, public agencies, universities, community-based groups and the private sector. A three-week tour of the region in January 2003 permitted field observation and discussion with local communities and park staff, followed in February 2003 with a stakeholder workshop in Guatemala that enabled broad input from the conservation community to formulate the niche and investment strategies proposed for CEPF. Experts in the region then validated the niche and investment strategy in August 2003.
As the region has undertaken several priority-setting exercises in the past, the development of this ecosystem profile aimed to ensure consensus without duplicating efforts in the establishment of priorities. In 2000, the principal international conservation organizations in the region, including CI, The Nature Conservancy and WWF joined forces with recognized scientific experts, local NGOs and the Mesoamerica Biological Corridor Project to identify priority actions and conservation gaps at the regional level. This process began as an independent effort before CEPF approved the Northern Mesoamerican region as a target for investment. However, CEPF strategically invested in the subsequent process of establishing priorities and the results of this process form an important element in the approach recommended for CEPF investment.
In Northern Mesoamerica, CEPF will direct its funding to influence development policies and investments through civil society and local government action in order to achieve conservation outcomes in the Selva Maya and Chiapas-Guatemala Highlands conservation corridors. After five years of investment, CEPF is expected to have achieved the following results:
- Fostered civil society participation in regional decisionmaking to promote policies and investments that support the conservation and sustainable development within the two conservation corridors, focusing on agriculture, infrastructure, tourism and forest fires;
- Facilitated and operationalized successful conservation activities, in partnership with other donors, in eight key biodiversity areas;
- Directly supported conservation actions in three priority areas; and
- Contributed to preventing the extinction of Northern Mesoamerica's 106 critically endangered species.
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