A financial model for the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR), called MARFIN, was developed to: (1) gather and analyze field information to determine the present and future management costs for each category of coastal and marine areas in the MAR; (2) develop a tool that provides present and future financial scenarios for managing the coastal and marine protected areas in the MAR, and that can present different possible scenarios at a national and regional scale; and (3) develop a tool that will support the development of a strategy to secure the funds needed to establish a functional network of coastal and marine areas in the MAR.