Recommendations for Protected Area Management Effectiveness Assessments in Belize’s marine environment 2023

Abstract

OCPP has partnered with the Government of Belize (GOB) to provide demand-led technical assistance on marine biodiversity; supporting partner countries to overcome challenges that threaten their marine environments and the livelihoods that depend on them. The programme is working across three main themes: marine biodiversity, marine pollution and sustainable seafood.

At the request of the GOB, between February and July 2022, the marine biodiversity theme of OCPP has undertaken a review of Belize’s National Protected Area System Management Effectiveness Evaluations (NPAS-MEE) and any site-level Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) assessments conducted within Belize’s Protected Areas (PAs) in the marine environment.

PAME assessments, also known as Management Effectiveness Assessments (MEEs), are a tool used by protected area managers and governments globally to evaluate progress towards attaining a PA’s goals and objectives. Understanding how well a PA is performing is essential for adaptive management; allowing managers and stakeholders to understand what management intervention works, and where improvements are needed. Belize has developed its own national assessment (NPAS-MEE) to report on the management effectiveness of its protected area network and meet its national and international reporting requirements. Site-level PAME assessments are completed on each PA in Belize to help PA managers assess needs within individual PAs.

The review uses literature reviews, methodology assessments, and stakeholder consultations to identify the strengths and challenges of the methodologies in use within Belize and provides recommendations to refine and streamline PAME assessments across Belize’s PA network in the marine environment.

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