Community Co-Managed Park System for Belize
Case Study C0195
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| Date | 2003 |
| Agence | UNDP |
| Agence de distributeur | GEF Government of Belize Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Belize Various community-based organizations |
| Type de projet | Implemented by agency |
| Circonstance | Protected area |
| Couverture géographique | Belize |
| Localité | Five Blues Lake National Park, Manatee Forest Reserve, Freshwater Creek Forest Reserve and Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Foyer de biodiversité | Ecosystem/landscape |
| Foyer de développement | Local communities |
| Buts de conservation | Conserve biodiversity within protected areas |
| Buts de réduction de pauvreté | Diversify the income base of rural communities through the promotion of ecotourism |
Résumé
Belize’s main economic activities are agricultural cultivation, harvesting of forestry products, fishing, and tourism. These activities are often carried out in an unsustainable way and, as a consequence, all protected areas in Belize are facing increasing pressures from a number of sources. On the terrestrial side, significant pressure comes from agricultural development (both commercial and small farming), residential housing, and commercial development, all of which have led to the clearing of land.
The Community Co-Managed Park System for Belize project built, on one hand, on the Government of Belize historical support of co-management agreements for protected areas, and, on the other, on Belize’s National Five-Year Plan, which emphasized improving the living standards of the rural poor while simultaneously limiting adverse environmental impacts. The Community Co-Managed Park System for Belize Project’s was carried out between 1999 and 2002. On a general basis, the project aimed to strengthen and solidify the co-management structure in existing parks, expand the network of co-managed parks, create a model for a new type of protected area for private-public lands, and improve the capacity of the Government to implement sustainable human development initiatives in effective support of the natural resources conservation initiatives of the country.
The project’s original concept focused on four protected areas as pilots, with the intention of expanding the model to additional parks and protected areas before the project’s completion. The four areas selected were: Five Blues Lake National Park, Manatee Forest Reserve, Freshwater Creek Forest Reserve and Aguacaliente Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the project has largerly failed to achieve its goals, mainly due to flaws in the basic concepts upon which the project's design was based. The overall failure of the project to develop effective community management of the protected areas also means that there were inevitably few local benefits.
Impact de conservation
In most sites the condition of the resource base showed some signs of decline. Access to natural capital did not improve: indeed, if anything it was likely to have declined. There was some improved consciousness of the importance of conservation in the communities, but the extent that this was directly attributable to the project was not clear.
Impact de réduction de pauvreté
In one site there was some tourism development, however this has taken place largely independent of the project. There was one tangible result in terms of increased social capital and gender equity, which is the formation of few women’s groups. A small number of selected people from each area were trained in leadership, public speaking, accounting, conflict resolution and advocacy, however this training seemed to be little, if at all, related to protected area management.
Stratégie pour les interactions entre conservation et pauvreté
Enabling local participation in policy-/decision- making processes
Référence numéro 1
http://www.gefweb.org/MonitoringandEvaluation/MEOngoingEvaluations/MEOLocalBenefits/LocalBenefitsCaseStudies.html
Related records above this one:
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Organisation O0146)
- Global Environment Facility (GEF) (Organisation O0026)