English - Global Environment Facility

of coastal and marine resources. The project in Coiba National Park has three main objectives:
(1) improve marine conservation and protection by improving the regulatory framework that
govern and control economic and tourism activities within the Park (e.g., sports fishing guides,
cetacean observation guides, regulations for boat operators); (2) strengthen capacity of marine
protected areas` staff, through training and development of best practice guides and manuals to
support their park management capacity; and, (3) education and information dissemination about
the Coiba management regulations and the framework in place for responsible use and
appreciation of marine natural resources. This initiative will complement the proposed GEF
project through its capacity building activities.
5. Another initiative being carried forward by Marviva and funded through a grant from the IDB
Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) (PN-M1018) , will provide significant support to the Coiba
Marine Protected Area and other marine protected areas in the Chiriqui Gulf. This grant will
particularly focus on the development of entrepreneurial capacity of local communities to create
environmentally and economically sustainable alternatives around coastal and marine protected
areas, including the promotion and development of public use plans, standards and regulations to
guide ecotourism activities within the PAs (e.g., water sports, recreational fisheries, diving and
cetacean observation). As such, this Marviva/IDB MIF initiative particularly the surveillance and
monitoring activities will greatly contribute to the objectives of the GEF project, particularly in
Coiba.
6. The IDB-funded project -- “Modernization of Environmental Management for Competitiveness”
(PN-L1013) is a US$ 12 million loan to modernize the capacity of ANAM and of local
governments to promptly address the growing environmental management challenges of
competitiveness. As such, this project complements the goals of this proposed GEF project by:
(i) enhancing the effectiveness of the environmental management instruments needed to foster a
business climate that will promote competitiveness (e.g., tourism), help integrate Panama into
the global market, and make the country's major economic activities and megaprojects
environmentally sustainable; and (ii) strengthening the capacities of ANAM at the regional level,
and those of local governments and communities, to carry out their environmental management
responsibilities and support the government's current policy of decentralizing environmental
management. In addition, the focus of this operation on upgrading ANAM`s environmental
systems and standards significantly supports the objective of the GEF project to strengthen the
regulatory framework and standards for ecotourism management, in the context of global
tourism competitiveness.
7. The proposed GEF project will also be complemented with financing from the IDB-funded
project “Strengthening of the Management Capacity of the Panama Aquatic Resources Authority
(ARAP) for Integrated Coastal Management” (PN-0152), a US$5 million loan aimed at building
the environmental management capacity of the Authority, improving revenue-generating
effectiveness and promoting integrated coastal management at the national, regional and local
levels. Specifically, the development of four regional integrated coastal management plans and
pilot projects in coastal management in areas that encompass the 9 targeted PAs will provide a
coastal and marine spatial planning framework for the public use plans to be financed through
the GEF project.
8. In addition to the above co-financing initiatives, the present project complements a number of
national and international efforts, such as:
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