The leadership representing civil society, the private sector and government founded the MEPA Trust on May 22, 2015, as a non-profit company, building on existing institutional strengths and ensuring an innovative, multi-sectoral perspective (MEPA Trust 2015b). The World Bank, the German-owned KfW Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund provided technical and financial support for this process. Initially developed to manage the funding flows that will be generated by the CBF, the MEPA Trust was designed to accommodate a wide range of funding flows that will catalyze and support the protection, recovery and effective management of Antigua and Barbuda's Protected Areas (PA). The mandate of the MEPA Trust extends beyond the management of CBF funds, and the MEPA Trust will seek to generate additional sustainable financing to support climate change adaptation, mitigation, conservation, biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods and other important climate and sustainability objectives. It is envisaged that the MEPA Trust will be a central national mechanism for sustained funding to support local community environmental initiatives.