Once SmartFish NGO determines that a fishery is a candidate for our Value Rescue model, we carry out a detailed diagnostic of the fishery’s current triple impact, and potential to attain the four dimensions of the Value Rescue model:

           1) Environmental performance and the possibility to attain a third-party certification or to implement a fisheries improvement plan (FIP) that meet certification criteria;

           2) Social performance - degree of organization of the cooperative or enterprise, including the degree of participation in and effectiveness of decision-making structures and the possibility of including other community members, especially women in the value-rescue process;

           3) Business performance of the group, including both production and sales/marketing;

           4) Potential social, environmental and economic impact of an intervention.

To maximize SmartFish’s impact, we drew on empirical research and years of experience to establish fishery selection criteria. Fishery partners must:

           a) Be formally organized, with effective institutional structure (eg a cooperative) that includes mechanisms for decision-making, for enforcing group decisions and a collective understanding of and commitment and adherence to fishery sustainability principles;

           b) Have previously and formally adopted sustainability measures (eg: fishing reserves, daily catch quotas, or size limits);

           c) Target biologically resilient species.

We established an Impact Division within SmartFish to determine the elgigibility of potential fishery partners as well as to track the social, environmental and business performance of partners before, during and after our interventions. Please see Impact Evaluation building block for more information.

The negotiation process consists of three key aspects:

• Organizing for partnership: this starts with consultation with all stakeholders about the co-management concept. When they understand and see the need to create the co-management partnership among actors, they should be organised to be ready for the negotiation of the agreement. The organisation aspect is essential to turn passive individuals in the community into an organised group with a common vision and to ensure high level of participation.
• Negotiating the co-management agreement and shared governance institution: This is the practice of power sharing among actors. Through negotiation, different actors express their concerns and contribute their ideas on how natural resources should be managed and conserved. Governance issues such as who can make decisions and what responsibilities and accountabilities are for each actors are also negotiated.
• Learning by doing: the negotiation process is not a linear process but spiral loops of implementing the agreement, sustaining the functioning of the shared governance institution, continuing the monitoring and reviewing of their results and impacts through time and providing inputs for renewal of the agreement.

Group learning, peer feedback and peer-to-peer exchanges are embedded in the design of the MAR-Leadership program. This is coupled with ongoing virtual networking opportunities to enable the fellows to develop a support group for their current projects and their ongoing passion for the conservation of the Mesoamerican Reef. MAR Leadership seeks a consolidated, active MAR Leadership network where fellows collaborate among themselves and with experts, communities, governments, and academic institutions, regardless of borders. Forging connections across disciplines, organizations and geographical boundaries has been central to the MAR-Leadership mission.

The capacity of local conservation leaders is strengthened so they become more effective in the design and implementation of their conservation projects in a manner that will serve fellows of this programme throughout their life time.

The MAR Leadership Program offers group and individual training:

During group workshops fellows are trained in project design and their leadership abilities are refined. Targeted competencies include the development of effective communication strategies, public speaking, negotiation and conflict resolution, time management and leadership in team management.

For individual training fellows have access to a small budget that can be used to participate in courses or technical diploma programs, intensive English or Spanish classes, visits to mentors, visits to pilot projects, internships in international organizations that deal with topics associated with the fellow’s project, as well as the production of market studies and data generation to bolster the feasibility of a given fellow’s project. These funds are expended according to a training plan designed with inputs from both the program’s staff and international experts.

The existence of robust policy frameworks facilitates the design and implementation of local and national blue carbon initiatives. These policies promote official government support and the foundation for institutional roles, and offer links with other national and international policies, mechanisms and strategies (such as NDCs, REDD+ and NAMAs). The policy building process starts with informal consultations with national authorities to map actors, gauge their interest and obtain their support. As these are national-scale constructs, strategic advice and facilitation of the process is important.