Roger Sant, Chair
Lex Sant, President

We are writing to announce the end of our Resilient Mesoamerican Reef program. We are undertaking a deliberative process to determine a new focus for our ocean program elsewhere in the world while being mindful of the needs of our existing grantees in the region. This decision does not affect Summit’s Equality for Women and Girls program or its Sustainable Cities program or either of those program’s grantees.

For the past 25 years, The Summit Foundation has sought to support a vision of a resilient Mesoamerican Reef, which can sustain the livelihoods and wellbeing of people who depend on it. Our grantee partners have undertaken inspiring work in service of that shared vision. In so doing, they have reinforced our confidence that human beings and natural systems must live in balance, with respect for people and culture as well as for the science and civic engagement that makes the resilience of natural systems possible.

Notwithstanding our pride in the work of our local and international partners, we have determined that The Summit Foundation’s capacity is insufficient to achieve our vision of a resilient Mesoamerican Reef. Continued grantmaking in the MAR precludes Summit’s ability to support potentially more meaningful ocean conservation outcomes elsewhere. As a result, the board has decided to discontinue our Resilient Mesoamerican Reef Program. Our admiration for our many grantees across the region makes this a sorrowful conclusion for us.

We know there are many organizations that depend on Summit’s support to do their work, and we do not underestimate the difficulty this decision may cause them. In planning our exit from the region, we hope to meet our goal of being minimally disruptive and we intend to provide multiyear, flexible transition grants to many of our current grantees, particularly those with whom we have had longstanding relationships. We have been making grants in the region for two and a half decades, however, and we appreciate that it will not be easy to quickly replace our support. Our program staff will continue to reach out to our current grantees to discuss support during this transition.

Restoring and protecting the Mesoamerican Reef ecosystem is essential for the health and well-being of the region’s coastal communities and economies, and for safeguarding a globally important center of biodiversity. Thus, we are earnest in our wish that others may take up the vision of a resilient MAR. We believe that science-based conservation, codified in law, can provide for economic livelihoods while sustaining the natural systems that make them possible in perpetuity. As we always have, we believe those solutions and the civic engagement required to produce them, must originate from and be represented by people in the region who have the greatest stake in such success. Since 1998, we have been grateful to meet and support such people and their organizations and our respect for their dedication will be a lasting hallmark of our experience.

Though we are leaving the Mesoamerican Reef as a geographic focus, we have made no other determinations about the future of this program, beyond a commitment that it will be focused on the ocean, around our current program staff, and the foundation’s vision of a world where people can thrive and nature can flourish.

###

Supporting Ecologically and Economically Sustainable Fisheries in Belize

The Belize Barrier Reef is the longest such reef structure in the Western Hemisphere and in many ways the heart of the entire Mesoamerican Reef ecosystem. It also supports ecologically and economically important commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. Extensive scientific data are available on many of these fisheries, as well as on the biology of the most important animals targeted, including conch, lobster, and key fish species. Much of the available data points to significant concerns with the sustainability of key fisheries, which must be addressed for these fisheries to reach and maintain their economic potential.

In February 2023, The Summit Foundation launched a project to compile and assess the best available scientific information on Belize’s commercial and recreational fisheries and engage in dialogue with fisheries stakeholders in Belize to reach a common understanding of the current state and potential of the resources. The hope is that this will lead to a shared vision of the desired future for this important sector and ideas about how best to achieve that vision. The project aims to support the Government of Belize in its work to develop sustainable fisheries as part of its growing Blue Economy.

The project team brings together global expertise in fisheries science and management, and includes the Sea Around Us, a research initiative at the University of British Columbia, MRAG Americas, the Environmental Law Institute, Comunidad y Biodiversidad, the Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, and Dr. Alexander Tewfik.

Project webpage

Project Facebook page

Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative 2022 Report Card Documents Fifth Year of Declining Ecosystem Health

The Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative (HRI) released its latest Mesoamerican Reef Report Card in December 2022. Working with more than 70 partners across the region, HRI collects data on the condition of the ecosystem, measuring corals, harmful algae, and important fish species, and computes a Reef Health Index.

The 2022 report shows that, after a decade of improvement, overall reef health has declined over the past five years and now is at its lowest level since HRI’s measurement began in 2006. Driving this drop is a gradual increase in harmful fleshy macroalgae, which is linked to nutrient pollution and a decrease in herbivorous fish, and a dramatic decline in herbivorous and commercial fish biomass, particularly in Belize.

Science-based management reforms are needed throughout the region to reform and rebuild currently unsustainable fisheries, address nutrient pollution from inadequately treated sewage and agricultural run-off, and dramatically increase the coverage of fully protected fish refuges.

Healthy Reefs Initiative

Report card media release

Global Fund for Coral Reefs Awards Mesoamerican Reef Fund and Partners $1.7M Grant for Inception Phase of New Effort

Responding to the need to reverse the declining trajectory of reef health as well as bolster investment and business opportunities in the region, the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) and partners launched MAR+Invest in July 2022 as an innovative blended finance mechanism focused on cultivating regional reef-positive business opportunities across the region. Services provided by MAR+Invest include identifying promising business initiatives; providing capacity building, mentoring, and finance solutions; attracting additional funding/investment; and conducting environmental monitoring and analysis for the initiatives in its portfolio. By fostering enabling conditions for businesses that protect and better reef health while generating returns, MAR+Invest looks to close the gap in capital needed for regional marine conservation while creating income-producing opportunities for coastal communities.

MAR+Invest is a region-wide collaboration of Mesoamerican Reef Fund, the Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, Sureste Sostenible’s MAR Leadership Program, Fondo Mexicano para La Conservación de la Naturaleza, and New Ventures/Viwala, bringing together regional experts in reef monitoring and evaluation, capacity building and development, finance, impact investing, and innovation.

MAR Fund MAR+Invest

GFCR announcement