THE BELIZE-GUATEMALA-HONDURAS ECOLOGICAL PARK

BASIC ELEMENTS OF TRIPARTITE AGREEMENT

I. Objectives of the Ecological Park

1. The Park will be designed to simultaneously pursue the following objectives:
   - Preserve biological and genetic diversity
   - Conserve ecosystems and maintain ecological processes
   - Promote sustainable use by protecting commercially viable species
   - Replenish stocks depleted by extractive use
   - Promote education and research
   - Promote recreational and tourism use
   - Enhance social and economic benefits
   - Consolidate coastal transboundary cooperation between Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.

   II. Geographic Area of Application

2. The coastal, insular and maritime areas which are to be within the area of the Ecological Park are as set out on the attached diagram and will be more precisely defined in terms of implementation under the Agreement for the establishment of the Ecological Park. Honduras' internal waters in that sector should be included in the Ecological Park.

3. The first step in the process of implementation will be the precise definition of the Park. Precise geographic coordinates need to be agreed and a detailed map including depth profiles, coastal topography and indications of human settlements produced. A second map will illustrate in detail the characteristics of the watersheds that drain from all three countries into the Park area.

4. i. A Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) will determine exactly what ecological features and processes will be protected.

   ii. A legal social, economic and cultural assessment will quantify the inter-relationship between the Park and its surroundings.

   iii. New marketable non-extractive uses of the Park will be identified with a view to contributing to the Park's financial sustainability.

   The results of these assessments will help to finalise the various areas of implementation in the zones of the Park in order to accommodate multiple use and develop its management framework.

III. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems Project (MBRS)

5. The MBRS provides a natural platform and an enabling environment for the establishment of the Ecological Park. Other regional projects, such as the Mesoamerican Biological Corridors (MBCP), may also be able to assist both technically and financially.

   IV. Institutions

6. There will be established a Belize-Guatemala-Honduras Ecological Park Commission, comprising one representative from each of the Parties who shall be suitably qualified in the scientific and technical matters that are addressed by the Commission. The function of the Commission will be to exchange information, consult on matters of common interest pertaining to the Ecological Park, and formulate and adopt measures to give effect to the furtherance of the principles and objectives of the Agreement. The Commission will be assisted, as appropriate, by a Secretariat in a location to be agreed by the Commission. The Commission will take decisions by consensus.

   V. Management Framework of the Park

7. The Belize-Guatemala-Honduras Ecological Park Commission will oversee the Park's establishment and will act as the permanent Steering Committee of the Park. The Commission will be empowered to establish National Advisory Bodies in each of the three countries. Each country will decide on the size and composition of its National Advisory Body.

   VI. Financing the Ecological Park

8. The establishment and initial operations of the Park must come from grants, donations, and direct Government investment, but in the long term the survival of the Park will depend on its ability to generate enough income to sustain its management.

   VII Maintaining the Status Quo

9. Nothing contained in the Agreement and no acts or activities taking place while the Agreement is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial or maritime sovereignty in the Area or create any rights of sovereignty in the Area. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial or maritime sovereignty shall be asserted while the Agreement is in force.

   VIII. Dispute settlement

10. Any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Agreement will be resolved by negotiation, conciliation or inquiry within the Commission. In the event that the dispute is not resolved the parties may agree to subject the dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration's Rules of Procedure for Arbitrating Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment (2001), at the Regional Facility for dispute resolution established by the PCA in Costa Rica or to such other arrangements as the Parties may agree.