23 November 2022 – Roseau, Dominica – Peak Investments in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, (GIZ) the German Development Agency through its Sustainable Marine Financing Programme in the OECS, hosted a 4-day training workshop in Sustainable Financing in MPAs. The aim was to develop practical steps to the operationalizing a sustainable financial mechanism. The workshop main objectives were to (i) introduce participants to practical hands-on approaches, techniques and principles of marine financing, (ii) provide useful knowledge and experiences for improving managers’ financial planning skills, and (iii) provide guidance on potential sources of funding which may supplement current funding mechanisms.
The knowledge gained is expected to enable participating MPAs tap into and capitalize on emerging opportunities and to take practical steps to diversity income streams. This practical training workshop focused on how to set up and operationalize a sustainable financing mechanism for an MPA. The workshop highlighted the importance of sustainable financial mechanisms as the basis for marine resource conservation. The Sustainable Marine Financing Programme supported the development of requisite skills to enable successful implementation of non-traditional financing mechanisms for MPA management.
Facilitators (Ms. Taletha Laudat and Mr. Cletus Joseph) stressed on the need for MPAs to increase their productive assets and reduce liabilities. The need for the inclusion of the environment, social and economic factors in the decision-making process for investments made in MPAs. Additionally, facilitators reminded MPA managers that emphasis needs to be placed on the realization of climatic assessments, to collect data. The need for the identification of risks, selection of the most appropriate risk treatments and greening of their financial planning process are few steps to the development of their sustainable financial mechanism.
The workshop was attended by MPAs in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia. The workshop was funded by GIZ and the capacity building training workshop was implemented by Peak Investments.
