We had separate but complementary strategies for the northern and southern regions of the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot. In Northern Mesoamerica, our support focused primarily on the highest priority areas for conservation in Belize, Guatemala and Southern Mexico. We played an instrumental role in improving the management of 963,505 hectares located across six Key Biodiversity Areas. A total of 143 communities benefited directly from CEPF projects across a broad array of activities, including forest fire control, park management implementation, carbon credits from conservation coffee, sustainable agriculture, watershed management and ecotourism.

In Southern Mesoamerica, we focused on three priority landscapes in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. CEPF grants directly benefited 10 protected areas covering 924,736 hectares. We awarded grants that promoted the sustainable use of productive land, particularly through conservation coffee, ecotourism, agroforestry and reforestation, to demonstrate that communities could continue farming while increasing forest cover and avoiding expansion into protected zones. Several grants also supported training and equipping local volunteers for fire control and prevention.