Coastal and Marine Resources Management

Latin America and the Caribbean span several marine biogeographic regions in the eastern Pacific, western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, with major ecosystems such as tropical and temperate estuaries, coral reefs and mangroves well represented. The region's coastal zone and resources represent strategic assets for the Bank's member countries, in part because they offer promising opportunities for economic diversification through, for example, coastal tourism, aquaculture and maritime transport. There is also an increasing awareness of the need to maintain and restore these resources while also optimizing the allocation of uses within the coastal zone. This regional interest is expected to increase over the next decades, spurred by new trade opportunities, changing markets, heightened awareness of coastal hazards and the entry into effect of international agreements such as the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.

One of the objectives of the Environment Division is to promote the establishment of integrated coastal zone management programs tailored to the social and economic priorities of coastal states. Future efforts will build on the model of Bank-supported program initiatives approved in 1994 for the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Work will be directed at identifying coastal zone management activities and investments that support national economic policy and regional integration; institutional arrangements for sustainable programs, including revenue-generation mechanisms for services such as coastal erosion prevention and marine protected areas; incentives for fisheries conservation; and reinforcing linkages between coastal zone management and other aspects of natural resources management (i.e., watershed management).