11.10.2024
Caribbean – Financial security for species conservation
In the Caribbean, biodiversity preservation and economic prospects go hand in hand. Together with partners, GIZ is ensuring long-term financial security for ecosystems.
The term fee scale might sound offputting, but it is working incredibly well for marine conservation in the Caribbean – especially when paired with a digital payment system. Together with the park management authorities, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has implemented a system that allows fishers and tour guides to pay their user fees directly and digitally and thus co-fund the protection of the areas.
For Lesroy Noel, Manager of the Tobago Cays Marine Park in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the combination is paying off in the truest sense of the word: ‘Thanks to digital credit transfers, our costs have fallen. The park rangers need less time to collect the fees and can use them for conservation measures.’
Intact ecosystems are the foundation for global food and nutrition security, health and climate protection. This is why there are more than 300,000 protected areas worldwide. However, the responsible conservation authorities often lack the financial resources to actually ensure protection of these areas. The global funding gap is estimated at EUR 700 billion. This is a key reason why more and more ecosystems are disappearing.
© Dr Horst Michael Vogel A glance at the Caribbean shows how biodiversity conservation can work. The marine environment is a biodiversity hotspot and, at the same time, provides important sources of income for people working in tourism and fishing. However, jobs in both of these areas are under threat, as the region is hit hardest by the impacts of climate change.
Clear rules and fair access for business
The solution: fee scales that allow local businesses fair access to the protected areas based on clear rules. They provide long-term financial security for the park management authorities – and thus for the ecosystems for which they are responsible. For example, when tour guides go diving with tourists in a protected area or when fishermen cast their nets, they now pay fees digitally.
Volker Hamann led the project for GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. ‘The COVID-19 pandemic showed that in order to safeguard marine protected areas, it is crucial to expand revenue streams. Depending solely on tourism is a financial risk,’ he explains. National trust funds are also a key part of the solution. However, it is not so easy for local park management authorities to gain access to these funds. GIZ has therefore trained their employees in writing proposals and created a database of external funding opportunities. Insights from the collaboration were shared in cooperation with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and a regional network of park management authorities from other Caribbean countries.
GIZ has supported a total of six park management authorities in the Caribbean, thus ensuring long-term financial security for 10,822 hectares of marine protected areas. The regional exchange between the park management authorities of the Caribbean countries ensures that the insights are shared across the region and have a long-term impact.
