Antigua – Filling in the Gaps

Initial talks with stakeholders about the Bf proposal, revealed that most participants were unaware of the cost of marine management. The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, the Marine Ecosystems Protected Area Trust and the Department of Environment, therefore organized a Sustainable Finance Gap Analysis workshop for the primary marine stakeholders (Government and NGO’s) aimed at determining the cost of protecting PAs in A&B. Bf was invited to present to and participate in this workshop.

Bf is working on a proposal with the 3 different agencies – Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Natural Parks Authority,  in charge of the management of PAs. Clear distribution of activities/roles has been identified and the legal contract, drafted which is presently under perusal by Government agencies. Discussions were also held with potential local shareholders of the future operator company. The Co-Management agreement will now be for a specific PA and not for the entire system.

It is expected that the MEPA trust (the trust fund set under the CBF initiative) will play a key role in the design of the PPP agreement and they have also expressed an intent to participate in the governance.

All work carried out so far is in preparation for the second presentation to Cabinet.