Impact of protection of blue natural capital and promotion of the blue economy in The Bahamas

implementation

The first objective of this TC aims to support the Monitoring and Evaluation of outcome indicators tied to the specific development goal of "Promoting sustainable economic activities related to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) through the implementation of management plans" of BH-L1058. This objective aligns with the overarching goal of fostering sustainable growth, both of which are integral to Component 3 of the loan. This support will involve producing follow-up estimates for the following indicators listed in the operation's Results Matrix.- Annual contribution of nursery habitat in MPA network of Abaco and Andros to lobster revenue- Annual expenditures of tourists attributable to MPA network in Abaco and Andros- Annual contribution of nursery habitat in 5 MPA in Abaco and Andros to lobster revenue- Annual expenditures of tourists attributable to the implementation of management plans in 5 MPA in Abaco and AndrosThe Monitoring and Evaluation Plan of BH-L1058 will employ the Stanford NatCap Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to assess these outcomes. The InVEST model is designed to help decision-makers visualize the impacts of potential actions by quantifying ecosystem services and trade-offs.The second objective of the TC focuses on building and transferring the capacity to both the counterparts and the Bank to run and update the InVEST model. In particular, this capacity will enable them to comprehend and operate the specific elements of the InVEST model that are pertinent to the evaluation of the aforementioned outcomes in longer term evaluations of BH-L1058, or in similar projects in other Bahamian islands or countries.The third objective of the TC is dedicated to supporting the Monitoring and Evaluation of outcome indicators linked to the specific development goal of "Supporting the continuity and growth of tourism-related businesses within the project's area of influence." This is associated with Subcomponent 1.2 of the loan. The support will be provided by producing estimates of the nightlight indicators (annual median radiance) for the locations where the program will establish infrastructure to enhance tourism activities. This approach will help quantify the impact of the program's interventions on local tourism development.