This study looks at and analyzes the value of monitoring large projects using one or two indicators applied region-wide. These indicators may measure one or more of the project’s goals directly or may be proxies for the goal(s). It further advances the idea that by looking at large parts of the area being conserved, exceptions to any trends found can be singled out and looked at in more detail to discover the cause of their success or failure. Lessons thus learned can be applied to the project, per the Conservation by Design (CbD) framework.
Specifically, this study looks at monitoring work that was done by TNC in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) ecoregion. This region encompasses the reefs and their marine environment as well as the coast, coastal lagoons, mangroves, and other ecotypes and land uses found near the coast which influence the health of the ecoregion. The ecoregion stretches from northern Yucatan, Mexico, south and east and includes coastal and reef areas of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. The ecoregion ends at Cape Camaron on the central Honduran coast.
Two parameters were examined: total fish biomass - a proxy for biodiversity and overall ecosystem health - and percent coral cover, one of the goal parameters. Both parameters were analyzed over time in places that were both in and outside of MAR priority conservation sites.
The total fish biomass data indicated that the areas which are being managed as MAR priority sites are comparatively better off than those unmanaged areas. This finding is important in itself, but also because of the specificity of the sampling sites, areas which are higher and lower than the mean can be identified, and their management studied to gain insight into better management practices. The coral data showed sites which were below the regional average may be explained by natural processes. Both studies can be used in the CbD process to apply successful
strategies more widely, where appropriate, and to change ineffective strategies.