Coastal Quest

Get Involved: Stay Connectedand Show Your Support

admin — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:21:55 +0000

Occasionally, Coastal Quest hosts or attends events related to our projects. If you would like to be kept abreast of our current activities and important upcoming events, please click on LEARN MORE.

Recent Project:Ecosystem Services Seminar Series

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Recent Project: 2011 Ecosystem Services Seminar Series: Measuring Nature’s Balance Sheet

A Solutions-Based Approach: How We Are Different

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Coastal Quest’s vision is to help ensure sustainable, healthy coastal communities, resources, and ecosystems, from white water to blue water, for all the world’s people, now and in the future.

Advancing Ideas: Science Integration

admin — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:11:19 +0000

Published in the journal Coastal Management, this article presents the concept of science integration and assesses the use of science to inform policy and management decisions in the Gulf of California.

Blue Guide for Responsible Tourism

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:48:54 +0000

Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, and with that comes an equally large environmental impact. What if there was a way to choose your hotel based on its level of environmental responsibility? Would you rather stay in a hotel that dumps raw sewage into the surrounding lagoon or one that promotes ecofriendly practices and restores the natural environment you are visiting? Coastal Quest’s conception for the Blue Guide for Responsible Tourism (Blue Guide) series, comprises a guidebook series, database, and website that would provide consumers access to such information to enable them to make better-informed decisions. Coastal Quest believes that consumers and producers of responsible coastal tourism are important contributors to coastal economies and integral components of coastal resource and habitat protection. The Blue Guide series will evaluate the environmental impacts and “ecofriendliness” of resorts and hotels, restaurants, and providers of such tourism services as scuba diving, kayaking, fishing, and sailing. As part of the feasibility studies for this project, Coastal Quest built a social return of investment model and financial forecast, assessed the market and competition, and wrote a business plan for sustainable tourism projects in multiple regions for nonprofit organizations. The purpose of Blue Guide is to become the go-to guide for informed eco-tourism consumers. This novel project is in its infancy and is currently looking for supporters to bring it to the next stage. Please contact us today if you would like to discuss partnerships opportunities.

Meta-Analysis of the Banking Sector Approach to Ecosystem Services:

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:48:33 +0000

As a follow-up to the ecosystem services (ES) seminar series produced and coordinated for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) in 2011, Coastal Quest and its implementing partner, Blue Earth Consultants, conducted a meta-analysis of the banking sector’s approach to ES. Specifically, it is looking at three bank types (commercial/state-owned, investment, and multilateral/bilateral) to determine how, if at all, they are identifying, considering, and mitigating their financing activities’ impacts on natural resources and ecosystems and the extent to which they proactively finance projects with positive impacts on natural resources and ecosystems. The project report identifies leading banks and their best practices, as well as existing and emerging trends across the sectors. It also identifies barriers and challenges, lessons learned, opportunities, and incentives and levers to encourage greater consideration of natural resources and ecosystems in banks’ financing activities. To access the full report, The Banking Sector & Ecosystem Services: a Meta-Analysis, click here. To access the executive summary, Executive Summary- The Banking Sector & Ecosystem Services: a Meta-Analysis, click here.

Marine Conservation Program Strategic Planning

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:48:05 +0000

Working in partnership with the Sociedad de Historia Natural de Niparajá, Coastal Quest and its implementing partner, Blue Earth Consultants, assisted in conducting a high-level strategic planning exercise for Niparajá’s Marine Conservation Program. This project included guiding Niparajá in developing planning tools including a theory of change and logic model and conducting a two-day strategic planning session with staff, board members, and key partners in Mexico.

Creating Sustainable Financing and Capacity for St. Lucia Coral Reef Protected Areas:

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:47:40 +0000

With the support of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Coastal Quest will develop a sustainable financing business plan for the Soufriere Marine Management Association (Association) in St. Lucia. The Association is a self-sustained not-for-profit NGO authorized by the government of St. Lucia to manage both the Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA) and the Canaries and Anse La Raye Marine Management Area (CAMMA). The Association is in need of a long-term sustainable funding and financing strategy to finance its operating activities and capitalize on missed opportunities to protect the important ecosystems located within the SMMA and CAMMA. This project will work with Association staff to develop a five year sustainable financing plan to support the Association’s management of the SMMA and the CAMMA, and will also work to increase Association staff capacity in regard to sustainable financing. Whenever possible, this project will reach out to other MPAs in St. Lucia and the wider Caribbean in order to increase sustainable financing capacity throughout the region.

Gulf of California Regional Science Integration Assessment

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:45:36 +0000

With support from the Walton Family Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Coastal Quest and its implementing partner, Blue Earth Consultants developed a comprehensive assessment of science integration for the entire Gulf of California region. This assessment examined needs and opportunities for scientific research and the strengthening of science integration for decision-making, identified capacity gaps and priorities for science and for building a two-way connection between science and decision-making; mapped the current institutional arrangements; and identified future needs and opportunities for ocean and coastal management in the Gulf of California. The article, “Coastal and Ocean Science-Based Decision-Making in the Gulf of California: Lessons and Opportunities for Improvement,” was recently published in the journal Coastal Management; the article describes key findings from this project.

Ecosystem Services Seminar Series Production and Coordination and Multimedia Outreach Package Development

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 06:52:59 +0000

With the support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF), Coastal Quest and its implementing partner, Blue Earth Consultants, developed a seven-session seminar series focused on ecosystem services (ES). The goals of this seminar series were to:

establish a learning platform for practitioners interested in understanding how the ES concept works and how it is used
develop a new series with novel analyses and information to advance the ES field
identify potential tools for planning conservation interventions and implementing workable solutions to conservation problems
explore the economic, social, and ecological components of ES in order to create more durable conservation outcomes

The series, hosted by the GBMF’s Environmental Conservation Program between March and November of 2011, was designed to educate funders and the broader conservation community on many different aspects of ES. As part of this project, Coastal Quest developed a synopsis of the series to inform resource managers, decision-makers, foundation staff, and non-profit organizations; it includes speaker presentations, session notes, and speaker papers. To access the seminar series, Measuring Nature’s Balance Sheet of 2011 Ecosystem Services Seminar Series —click here