Background The UNOPS Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in financial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management. The Portfolio has supported projects in the areas of marine and freshwater resources management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution, and environmental conservation. UNOPS is the executing agency for the UNDP/GEF Procaribe+ Project.  UNDP/GEF Procaribe+ Project The UNDP Project “Protecting and Restoring the Ocean’s natural Capital, building Resilience and supporting region-wide Investments for sustainable Blue socio-Economic development” (PROCARIBE+) is a 5-year project (co-)funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF-ID 10800, May 2023 - April 2028) that aims to protect, restore and harness the natural coastal and marine capital of the CLME+ region, to catalyze investments in a climate-resilient, sustainable Blue Economy, through strengthened regional coordination and collaboration and wide-ranging partnerships. It will seek to achieve this by enabling and supporting the development of sustainable and resilient ocean-based (blue) economies, through, for example, the upscaling of actions on Marine Spatial Planning, marine conservation (MPA’s, OECM’s), Blue Carbon, sustainable fisheries, community grants, and through enhanced regional ocean governance (including capacity building efforts and enhanced marine data, information and knowledge management, strategic planning and environmental and socio-economic reporting). In doing so, the project will take into account cross-cutting issues such as climate change, gender and post-covid recovery.  The Project will build on the results from the preceding UNDP/GEF CLME (2009-2014) and CLME+ (2015-2021) Projects, and catalyze the next iteration of key regional processes such as the development of updated Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses/State of the Marine Environment & Economies Reports (TDA/SOMEE) and a new 10-year Strategic Action Programme (SAP) on the Marine Environment and the Blue Economy.  In support of the aforementioned, the project will play a global pioneering role as it will  operationalize a region-wide “Coordination Mechanism to Support Integrated Ocean Governance in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems” (the “Ocean Coordination Mechanism”, or “OCM”). This “OCM” will seek to enhance cross-sectoral collaboration and coordination among the region’s many countries, and the numerous Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO’s) with an oceans-relevant mandate.  Background and objectives of the grant/funding Development of a submission to designate Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) in the Meso-American Reef Region A Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is an area that needs special protection through action by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. To date, within the Wider Caribbean Region, 3 areas have been designated as PSSA’s: Cuba’s Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago (1997), the sea around the Florida Keys (USA, 2002), and the Saba Bank in the North-eastern Caribbean (Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2012).  One particular region of the Caribbean that is known to be vulnerable to damage by shipping activities and is recognized as being of globally exceptional value is the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) sub-region. Considering the global importance of the reef, the designation of PSSA is being explored as an option to reduce the risks posed by shipping and consequently enhance the reef’s protection.  The strategic importance of designating PSSAs in the MAR was captured in the Tulum Declaration, signed by the governments of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Article 7 of the Tulum Declaration expressly states: "To jointly request the IMO to declare the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, in order to protect it from increased marine traffic in the area and with the aim of contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable development of the region; conservation should be harmonized with the needs of countries' international maritime traffic”. To date, preliminary work on the development of a PSSA proposal has been conducted, focusing on collecting baseline information and on the construction of a geospatial database. Preliminary analyses have correlated coral reefs with different activities, risks, and key threats in the region.  Initial consultations have also been held with countries of the MAR region, but more work is needed to gather buy-in for the proposal and review the initial analyses conducted.  Under this Grant, the PROCARIBE+ Project seeks to build-on and complement the work initiated for the development of a proposal to the IMO on the designation of PSSAs in the MAR region, aiming at reducing the risks of maritime activities in this unique and globally significant region.  Specifically, through this Grant and for the purpose of designating a strategically selected part of the MAR as PSSA, a comprehensive submission package will be collaboratively developed with the corresponding authorities from the MAR countries, and as per the corresponding IMO guidelines and requirements.  The funding to be allocated under this Grant Package should therefore contribute to the achievement of the PROCARIBE+ Output 3.3.1.a. “BE and MSP planning in at least 8 countries, demonstrating to the extent possible, integration with the blue economy (incl. sustainable fisheries and post-covid19 recovery), climate change mitigation and adaptation and ocean conservation objectives, and source-to-sea considerations.”