Haiti is an active participant in a regional initiative designed to improve the conservation
and protection of the marine environment in the wider Caribbean. The 5-year, US$12.5
million Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Program (CMBP) was announced by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2015 with the overall objective
of reducing threats to marine and coastal biodiversity in seven priority marine managed
areas (MMAs) in four priority seascapes located in Haiti, the Dominican Republic,
Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica. These seascapes are recognized as
the “jewels in the crown of marine resources in the Caribbean” and feature high
biodiversity ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds.
CMBP
supports the effective governance of these marine resources in order to: achieve sustained
biodiversity conservation; maintain critical ecosystem services; strengthen fisheries
management; maintain economic benefits and sustainable livelihoods derived from a
healthy marine environment; and realize tangible improvements in human wellbeing for
communities adjacent to and dependent on these marine managed areas (USAID, 2015).