CariMar is a main collaborator of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network (RedGolfo). RedGolfo emerged out of the 2014 rapprochement between Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro. After 55 years of political deadlock the leaders of both countries saw environmental cooperation as the first priority for bilateral cooperation. As a result, two environmental agreements were announced in November 2015. One of those, the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Conservation and Management of Marine Protected Areas, created a unique bilateral network that facilitates joint efforts concerning the science, stewardship, and management across five sites: Cuba’s Guanahacabibes National Park-Banco de San Antonio Prominent Natural Element and US’s Florida Keys and Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuaries and Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks. This agreement was orchestrated by the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Park Service (NPS) and Cuba’s National Center for Protected Areas (CNAP).
In addition to the MOU signed by Cuba and US in 2015, there have been various transnational efforts that focus on the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean. For example, the Project “Implementation of the Strategic Action Program of the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem (GOM LME)” aims to pursue a healthy, productive and resilient GOM by improving water quality through reducing pollution and nutrient loading, restoring depleted stocks of living resources including fisheries, and conserving and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems. In 2012, Mexico's Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) and US's NOAA signed a MOU which is currently up for renewal that confirms the commitment of Mexico and US to collaborate in the support of the integrated management of the Gulf of Mexico MPAs. And this year, Mexico's CONANP and Cuba's CNAP signed an agreement to increase collaboration between their MPAs.
In addition to the MOU signed by Cuba and US in 2015, there have been various transnational efforts that focus on the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean. For example, the Project “Implementation of the Strategic Action Program of the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem (GOM LME)” aims to pursue a healthy, productive and resilient GOM by improving water quality through reducing pollution and nutrient loading, restoring depleted stocks of living resources including fisheries, and conserving and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems. In 2012, Mexico's Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) and US's NOAA signed a MOU which is currently up for renewal that confirms the commitment of Mexico and US to collaborate in the support of the integrated management of the Gulf of Mexico MPAs. And this year, Mexico's CONANP and Cuba's CNAP signed an agreement to increase collaboration between their MPAs.
While all of these processes were happening, at CariMar we have been strengthening our work in the Gulf of Mexico, primarily through the Trinational Initiative. We realized our goals of collaboration in the Gulf of Mexico aligned well with the GOM LME Project and the governments' signings of MOUs--the moment was right to consolidate the various marine trinational efforts under one MPA network, which is why RedGolfo was born. The idea of creating RedGolfo was made official at a meeting in Cozumel in December 2017 that featured two dozen MPA managers from Cuba, Mexico and the US. Since the Cozumel meeting, the network has expanded to 12 different sites, creating a broad and far flung network that stretches across the Gulf of Mexico.
Year 1 activities for RedGolfo are:
- Conduct a joint expedition whereby scientists from the three countries conduct research in one or more of the RedGolfo MPAs
- Conduct joint lab work to analyze data and prepare joint publications
- Establish biodiversity monitoring protocols for unique/keynote species
- Identify an evaluation tool such as NOAA Condition Report Cards or Mexico’s INDIMAPA to be used across RedGolfo
- Advance connectivity studies featuring one or more shared species, such as whale sharks, queen conch, flamingoes and sea cucumbers.
- Initiate a marine spatial planning process for the areas surrounding the six MPAs.
- Initiate a land use planning analysis
Cover photo by Shireen Rahimi