With this goal, the countries participating in the Sustainable Pacific project prepared national marine and coastal environmental assessments, to identify challenges and opportunities, and align priorities. These national assessments lay the foundation for the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and the future regional Strategic Action Program (SAP).

In September 2025, Mexico, through its Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), received the assessment for the south-central Pacific region. This report analyzes 24 environmental challenges and prioritizes 11 of them. It highlights that, although there are 26 protected natural areas covering 45% of the marine area, unauthorized fishing still occurs within them, and mangroves (84,296 ha) have lost a significant share of their coverage in some states.

Beyond the diagnostic analysis, the document proposes concrete recommendations: strengthening the management of protected areas with community participation, improving wastewater treatment and advancing towards a circular economy, promoting selective certified fisheries, and diversifying the coastal economy through responsible aquaculture and nature-based tourism.

Guatemala, meanwhile, presented its assessment in July 2025, during the 3rd Mangrove Symposium, through its Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN). The document identifies challenges such as mangrove and reef degradation, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Among its recommendations are modernizing fisheries regulations, improving data collection, expanding closed fishing seasons, regulating coastal tourism, overseeing aquaculture, and strengthening marine protected areas with community involvement and inter-institutional cooperation.

The path forward continues: in the coming months, the remaining five countries’ assessments will be published. Their findings will be integrated into the regional TDA, which will help identify transboundary challenges and coordinate joint actions. This cooperative approach is crucial, as many issues transcend borders.

For the first time, this large marine ecosystem has a clear vision of its challenges and opportunities to address them. The immediate task now is to transform this information into concrete, collaborative solutions, leveraging the active participation of governments, communities, the private sector, and international organizations to build a sustainable and resilient Pacific.

Full documents in Spanish are available here: Proceso ADT/PAE - Pacífico Sostenible

About the project

Sustainable Pacific is a regional initiative implemented by the UNDP through its executing partner, WWF, and funded by the GEF. This project aims to strengthen the management of the Pacific Central American Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem (PACA LME) and unite the efforts and commitments of participating countries — Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia and Panama.

For more information, please contact Karla Pérez at kperez@wwfca.org  

Words by Karla Pérez. Photos by SEMARNAT.