What is the ‘Smart Coasts’ Project?
The ‘Smart Coasts’ project is aiming to increase the capacity of National Governments, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and coastal communities in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) region to be able to adapt to the ever-increasing threat posed by global climate change. By working at local, national, and regional management levels, the project will integrate ‘climate-smart’ principles into national policies and climate adaption frameworks allowing the project to grow and be adopted as a scalable model outside of the geographical scope of the project. Through the ‘multiplier effect’, the replication of the project will therefore have a larger reach and extend the positive impacts to include more regions with ‘at-risk’ coastal communities.
Where is this project taking place?
In Belize, three regions have been identified by the project – the Northern Regional Planning zone, the Ambergris Caye Regional Planning zone, and the Southern Regional Planning zone. The sites identified by the project were chosen due to the importance of biodiversity in the region, the vulnerability of the local populations to climate change, and the lack of capacity in those communities to be able to adopt adaptation strategies.
Who is carrying out the project?
The ‘Smart Coasts’ project is being implemented by the WWF, supported by decisions from the German Government, and allied with political partners from each of the respective project countries (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras). A full list of ‘Smart Coasts’ project implementing and political partners can be found here.
Why is the project important?
The impacts of climate change are becoming a greater, ever-present threat as humanity moves further into the 21st century. A rise in global ocean temperatures resulting in mass coral bleaching events, longer droughts and more floods, increasingly erratic seasonal variation, and an ever-increasing risk of extreme weather events has made it clear that we need to act now! This has been made even more clear in the vulnerable coastal communities that depend on the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR).
The ‘Smart Coasts’ project has identified the most ‘at-risk’ areas within the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) region – those communities that are most dependent on conserving local biodiversity and least well able to adapt to a changing climate. But the project has also clearly identified the need to address adaptation to climate change at all levels across ‘at-risk’ regions – from local communities to National Governments. By building capacity at the community level and addressing the need to adopt ‘climate-smart’ policies at the national level, the project aims to have ‘adaptation to climate change’ strategies implemented throughout the project region with participation of local stakeholders of critical importance.
How is SACD involved?
Throughout the next two and a bit months, until the end of March 2021, we’re going to be sharing with you as much content as we possibly can from the ‘Smart Coasts’ project!
We’ve already published one story about the ‘Smart Coasts’ project in our most recent newsletter that can be read here.
Don’t forget to keep checking our Facebook and Instagram pages for more updates about the project, as well as 10 part radio series, some beautiful animated videos, and so much more!
Important project links:
‘Smart Coasts’ project webpage
“This project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.”
