The Friends of Cocos Island Foundation (FAICO) and the Cocos Marine Conservation Area (ACMC) have worked closely together to identify priority areas and consolidate projects and initiatives through a clear roadmap that has been called the “Coco Marine Conservation Area Strategic Plan 2024-2039”.
This roadmap is designed to detail outputs, timelines, priorities, and potential gaps that allow for the effective implementation of all the responsibilities that this institution has.
FAICO, in line with its objectives and commitments, has hired a specialized consultancy to support the formulation of this instrument. . This strategic plan benefits from the accumulated knowledge and activities carried out to date, positioning itself as an innovative management model in marine conservation; “It’s really having a broad vision, it’s stopping thinking about the day-to-day… It is working to see how we imagine the Cocos Marine Conservation Area in the future, with objectives and plans to reach 2040 and the possibility of carrying out activities that propose a different and innovative strategic vision to achieve goals,” said Esteban Herrera – director of Protected Wild Areas and Administrator of the Cocos Island National Park.
This effort is of critical importance not only locally, but also in the regional context of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR). Alejandra Villalobos – executive director of Amigos Isla del Cocos FAICO adds “this tool considers a long-term vision, including the participation of key actors and allies, and consolidates once again the importance of Cocos Island at the local, regional and international levels. The update of the strategic plan brings us to present value the work and work that ACMC has developed for so many years, including its challenges to be addressed, but also, it allows us to visualize how the ACMC would like to be in 15 years, thus creating a space for innovative actions and activities that maximize the management tools already existing according to Costa Rican regulations. but managing to complement, for example, initiatives such as the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, among others”
The joint work of FAICO and the ACMC is resulting in a renewed and robust vision for decision-makers. This innovative approach is in line with current regulations and proposes strategic scenarios that promise superior results to those obtained so far, ensuring a more sustainable and conserved ocean for the Coco Marine Conservation Area. Vilma Obando Acuña – Daket Consulting Team points out that “the country’s challenge with oceanic marine protected areas (MPAs) is enormous, so the ACMC Strategic Plan allows us to guide where to place priority efforts in different time frames in the next 15 years; that allow it to make the qualitative leaps necessary for the effective management of ASPs”
This strategic plan and consulting is made possible by the support FAICO receives from allies such as Re:wild, Bezos Earth Fund, Wyss Foundation, and Blue Nature Alliance.
