SUMMARY
Responsible: Dr. Joseph A. Palacio, School of Continuing Studies
Exploring Spirituality, Income generations and the use of coastal resources among the Garifuna in southern Belize.
This project is in continuity with the research initiative undertaken during the first phase of the CBCRM program. It seeks to alleviate the poverty of coastal communities and halt their abandonment in Southern Belize. The project will encourage community members to re-learn several fishing methods and other ways of exploiting coastal resources for income generation. The Garifuna used to be experts on the localisation of fishing sites in coral reef areas with a system of triangulation. Many elements of that system are now forgotten. By relying on social and natural sciences methods, the project will experiment a traditional method of breeding fish (wamaredu) hoping that this effort will be a good opportunity to revitalise the Garifuna ecological knowledge on that fishing technique. In addition to the UWI School of Continuing Studies, institutional partnership involve the Buye Juan Lambey Institute (BJLI), a grassroots organisation in the main Garifuna settlement, Dangriga, which aims at preserving local traditions, the Fisheries Department (Dwight Neal) and a traditional fisher and master craftsperson, M. Mariano, well known in Belize city for the sale of Garifuna handicrafts.
Project duration: 6 months
Amount: 36,000$
SUMMARY
RESPONSIBLE: Edilberto Romero and Herbert Haylock, Programme for Belize.
Capacity Building for the Sarteneja Fishing Community.
Programme for Belize, established in 1988, is a private Belizean, non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its mission is to conserve biodiversity and promote the sustainable development of Belize through the proper management of the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area and other lands entrusted to it. It owns the RBCMA, comprising 260,000 acres of tropical moist forest that represent 4% of Belize's land area. The project aims at building the capacity of the Sarteneja fishing community and reducing the pressures on the Belize Barrier Reef system. More than one third of the licensed fishers in Belize come from the village of Sarteneja. Its remote location provides few economic alternatives. A community assessment study was previously conducted in the community by Dr. Palacio and underlined its lack of organisation. The project seeks to use a strong participatory approach to help the community to come up with a management development plan that should open up contacts and facilitate the obtaining of financial support from COMPACT, the institution in charge of the assessment of the Belize Barrier Reef System, to enable them to manage the resources in the area sustainably.
Project duration: 18 months
Amount: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: M.A. Jorge Angulo, CIM, Universidad de La Havana
Estimation of the effectiveness of a protected marine area in Cuba
This project continues the efforts undertaken during the first phase of the program by Dr. Gaspar Gonzalez Sanson on the National Marine Park of Punta Francés, en Isla de la Juventud. It seeks to extend the results of the first phase by promoting a stronger interdisciplilnary approach in which the small community of Cocodrilo and various other stakeholders concerned by the creation of the park will be paid greater attention. While completing the biological data collection on the core zone of the marine park, the research team will try to measure the economic impacts of the activities linked to fishing and tourism (scuba diving). Located about 15 kms of the park, Cocodrilo is a small community (308 people) formed by migrants from Jamaica and Cayman Islands at the beginning of the 20th century. The project will address issues linked to the impact of the park on this community. Since it will be one of the few investigations of this type about MPA in Cuba, its methodology should bear a good illustrative value for future projects of identical nature. Note that the CIM and consequently Sr. Angulo's project are directly involved in the Dalhousie-St.Mary's Tier II on the establisment of an interdisciplinary MA program on ICZM in Cuba.
Project duration: 24 months
Amount: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: Dr. Clara Elisa Miranda Vera, Universidad de Cienfuegos.
Interdisciplinary research and environmental education in the community of O’Bourke, Cienfuegos Bay.
align="justify"In front of the City of Cienfuegos, exists an important bay (88 sq.k) with 100 km of coastline. The economic life of the city, since its founding in 1819, revolves around it. One of the major problems that affect the bay is the contamination of its workers derived from various industrial activities (sea port, fertilisers, hydroelectric plants, forest activities, petroleum, etc). This situation has very negative effects on the livelihood of fishermen. The project will focus on the community of O'Bourke, at the urban periphery of Cienfuegos. It has 1380 people, with several fishermen, many of them involved in ancillary activities in the terrestrial zone. The project will address issues linked with the living conditions of the people and ways of bettering them. In addition, it will organize an environmental education program, based on an interdisciplinary approach. The research team has succeeded in establishing a significant partnership with several government agencies involved in the management of the Cienfuegos Bay, namely CITMA and the Popular Council. This will facilitate the integration of the researchers in the community and the organisation of various meetings. Note that this project, as the previous one, is directly linked to the MA studies on ICZM promoted by the Dalhousie-St'Mary's Tier II program in Cuba. Students involved in the Masters programme already participate in various research activities dealing with the contamination problem in Cienfuegos.
Project duration: 21 months
Amount: 25,000 $
Summary
Responsible: Dra. Liliana Gomez Luna, Universidad de Oriente
Habitat and Health in a singular coastal community: Granma Key. The role of the family and the community behaviour before recent harmful algae bloom events (FANs).
As is the case with Cienfuegos, the city of Santiago is located near an important Bay, the second in importance in Cuba and the most polluted. Various research teams at the University of Oriente have undertaken numerous studies on the state of the Santiago Bay in collaboration with government institutions. This project, with a strong interdisciplinary orientation, will pay attention to the emergence of new contamination phenomenon in the bay; that of noxious alga, very dangerous for human health. It is the result of both natural and anthropogenic factors. It will address issues linked to seafood consumption, with a strong role for women, by establishing a system of control of “FANs” in the community of Granma. This should serve as a basis for establishing a larger environmental program in which the people will become more active in the formulation of a coastal zone management plan. Since many of the research team members are also involved in the interdisciplinary MA programme on ICZM with Dalhousie and St.Mary"s Tier II, the project will represent a good opportunity for the master's students to be associated with the project. The University of Oriente plans to organize an international conference on ICZM in 2003 and the project's members will be active participants.
Project duration: 24 months
Amount: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: Harold Guiste, Chief Fisheries Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
Planning and Implementing the Management of a Marine Protected Area, through Community Groups' and Stakeholders' Participation.
The Scotts Head/Soufriere Marine Reserve was established in 1998. It consists of demarcated zones namely, the Scuba Dive, Recreational, Nursery and Fishing Priority Areas. The zones were chosen with the involvement of the fisher folks of the villages of Scotts Head and Soufrière. In spite of indications of fish decline in the Fishing Priority Area, the fishermen are not yet convinced that additional conservatory measures are needed to preserve or restore the fishing potential of this area. In addition to commercial fishermen, scuba divers are involved in spear fishing, a situation that creates additional pressure on the coral reef area. The project seeks to involve the fishermen and other members of the community in the gathering of data that will produce tangible evidence of the need for a better fisheries management plan. In addition to various consultations and discussions with stakeholders, fishermen will receive training on improved fishing methods for deep-sea fishing in order to shift attention away from the coastal areas.
Project duration: no precision
Amount: 20,000$
Summary
Responsible: James Finlay, Chief Fisheries Officer
Participatory fisheries research for facilitating biodiversity co-management in Grenada.
This project aims at comparing the existing traditional ecological knowledge used in five different fishing techniques or fisheries in various communities of Grenada. The target fisheries are the "gracilaria" sea weed fishery in Bacardi Bay, the beach seine in Gouyave or Duquesne zone, the white sea egg fisheries of South St. George, the "SEK" fishery of West Coast Grenada and the fish pot (trap) fishery of South East, St.George. The proponent will select an active and a passive type of fishery. Much importance will be given to a participatory approach since each of the identified fishery has a strong user group knowledge base associated with it and for each a distinct gear and /or method is applied. The use of the participatory approach aims at generating a sense of value within fishers as resource users on the one hand, while it should also provide opportunities for fishers, fisheries managers and scientists, among others, to see their inputs as applicable to plans for future comanagement schemes.
Project duration: 18 months
Amount: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: Lic. Hugo Hidalgo, co-ordinator , FUNDAECO-COSTAS
Garifuna Reefs: Gariganu artisinal fishing characterization of the Bahia de Amatique reefs: Ecological evaluation and sustainable management.
This project deals with the valorisation and preservation of traditional fishing techniques among the Garifuna of Guatemala; namely those techniques associated with the use of coral reefs in the Atlantic coast. While at a general level, very little information is available on the Guatemalan fisheries, the situation is even worse for the Caribbean coastline. This projects aims at correcting this situation. It will take place in the community of Izabal, in the municipality of Livingston. The Garifuna of this area know approximatively 60 fishing sites, the majority of which are not even identified on marine maps. Given the continuous fish stock depletion in the area, the project will seek to revalorize these coral reef fishing sites in close collaboration with a group of fishermen. The research team will proceed to a precise characterization of their location, types of species and reproduction mechanisms and will try to stop the use of dragnets by outsiders. The results of the project will be presented to UNIPESCA, the governmental Fisheries Agencies and to CONAP, the National Council for Protected Areas. FUNDAECO-COSTAS, which is the NGO in charge of the project, is already known in the area for its involvement in the management of natural resources through collaboration with the local population.
Project duration: not determined
Budget: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: Winsome Townsend, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).
Mangrove Replanting Pilot Project at the Kingston Harbour
The Kingston Harbour is the seventh largest natural harbour in the world. Inadequate management has led to a state of decline that has considerably affected the fishing and tourism industries. A recent environmental impact assessment shows that significant mangrove destruction is taking place in the area. However the fact that 10 fishing communities are still established around the harbour demonstrates the importance of the marine resources as a livelihood basis, until recently. Fishermen admit that despite the obvious environmental deterioration they saw on a daily basis, they did not take action to save the mangrove forests, due to disinterest and lack of knowledge. The project aims at replanting mangroves over an area of about 2 kilometers on a pilot basis. It will seek to develop, implement and document an approach and methodology for sustainable mangrove replanting in Jamaica. This will be done through an interdisciplinary approach, promoting the community's participation and a significant role for women to play in the replanting and routine monitoring of the mangrove. It will also involve a strong collaboration with the port and state authorities for the organizing of a Strategic Action Planning Workshop and the preparation of a post planting care plan.
Project duration: 18 months
Amount 25,000$
Summary
Responsible, Dra Julia Fraga, Ecologia humana, CINVESTAV
Manejo comunitario en un área natural protegida, Yucatán, México, Phase II
This project is in strong continuity with research efforts undertaken during the phase I of the CBCRM program in the community of San Felipe on the Yucatan coast. A well balanced interdisciplinary research team first engaged in the physical characterization of a marine reserve created by the community members and developed collaborative mechanisms with the fishermen, in order to enhance their political claims before the state authorities. A group of fisherwomen were very active in this process. This follow-up project aims at perpetuating and enriching the previous research efforts undertaken in San Felipe, but at the same time will expand them into a neighbooring community, Dzilam Bravo, that presents similar features. In addition, another project of CINVESTAV, also funded by IDRC, is taking place in Dzilam Bravo, focusing on the cultivation of alga, an activity in which women should play a key role. The interaction between the two teams should therefore lead to increasing interdisciplinary approaches, while confering to the project, a greater sustainability by enlarging its geographical and population base. The project focuses on a strong participatory research orientation and bears a good illustrative value for the use of interdisciplinary research in the management of marine protected areas.
Project duration 12 months
Amount: 36,000$
Summary
Responsable: Dr. Daniel Robledo, biólogo, CINVESTAV
Marine algae commercial cultivation in Yucatán
This project was selected during the third round of awards of the first phase of the CBCRM program in the Caribbean, but was put on the waiting list until phase 11. It focuses on the introduction of alga cultivation in Dzilam Bravo, a fishing village of the Yucatan coast. Attention will be paid to bettering of the planting technique through the use of various susbstrata and depths, the economic dimension of the activity (cost analysis, productivity compared to the traditional use of floating techniques) and to the community's potential interest for the project. In its initial definition, the project intended to make an intensive use of questionaires for the integration of the research team in the community. Now that they will collaborate closely with Dra Fraga's team, which will be also present in the community, the social dimension of the project should be greatly enriched and facilitated, and intra household features will be studied in more detail. Given that at the socio-economic level, the project will have a direct impact through the availability of jobs for women, it should have a strong gender orientation.
Project duration: 2 years
Amount: 30,000$
Summary
Responsible: Camilo Coral and Eligio Alvarado, Fundacion Dobbo-Yala
Representación territorial simbolica en la comunidad indigena de la comarca Kuna Yala (San Blas), Panamá.
This project deals with a central management issue facing several indigenous groups of the Atlantic coast in Central America, that of their political autonomy on a certain portions of the national territory which they occupy. The Kuna of Panama and their various sub-ethnic groups illustrate this situation very well. Significant parts of what they consider their traditional territories have often been included in natural reserves by the state authorities without previous consultation. The demands of groups of conservationists have advanced the argument that these state interventions do not generally correspond to the delimitation criteria used by the Kuna themselves, and these interventions often result in the atomization of their protestations, since they have to fight on many fronts at the same time. The project seeks to reinforce the demands of a Kuna group, the Kuna Yala, one of the best-organised groups in terms of autonomous collective action and to show how their relative success depends on the ways in which they have been able to communicate their own vision of the definition of a territory. That is a dynamic vision in which the space corresponds more to a symbolic and cultural mapping than to a static spatial delimitation. The project, through interdisciplinary research, should be able to propose a comparison between official maps and "those" used by the Kuna.
Project duration: 8 months
Amount: 10,000$
Summary
Responsible: Sra. Yvonne Arias, Directora Grupo Jaragua
Perspectivas de co-manejo e integracion comunitaria de los usuarios del recurso de las pesquerias del lambi (Stombus gigas) en el parque nacional Jaragua ((PNJ).
The lambi fish (conch) has a strong commercial value in the Caribbean and is the object of an increased exploitation. Even though it was included in the CITES Appendices in 1992(protectory measures), no real management effort of the species has been undertaken in the Dominican Republic since statistical data on production levels, internal markets and exportation are very imprecise. The proponents suggest that management efforts could take place in the National Park of Jaragua, one the major protected areas in the Caribbean (905 sq km. of marine area), since the lambi is the second species in importance. It is the object of exploitation in 13 fishing sites with a strong involvement of women in fish transformation and selling. Three communities that do not have a precise legal status are located in the park and there is confusion between the park legislation and the customary rights of these communities. The project aims, through an interdisciplinary framework, to promote a greater involvement of the communities in the management of the lambi fisheries and to expand technical training offered to community volunteers in order to enhance the governance mechanisms at work in the area.
Project duration: 16 months
Amount: 30,000$
Summary
Responsible: R.Kishorfe and M.Clarke Marshall, Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA).
An investigation of fisheries resources, resource users and fisheries management by communities with a view to establishing a framework for co-managment: Manzanilla to Guayaguayare, East Coast. Trinidad.
This project addresses fisheries management issues in a series of villages linked through strong socio-cultural relationships in Eastern Trinidad. They are predominantly rural and characterised by poor infrastructure and high unemployment. Recently, a group of citizens of the area asked the IMA researchers to undertake an investigation that should help them to canalise their demands. In these fisheries, many women play an active role as boat owners and members of fishing organisations. The team will undertake an interdisciplinary study by paying serious attention to the biological and technical attributes of the fisheries system, and its socio-economic features and the fisheries legislations. While maintaining its interest for a sub-regional framework, the research team should be able, at the demand of the SC committee, to concentrale its efforts in a particular community and go into greater details in the study of the household activities in order to better characterise the role of fisheries in the overall reproduction of the community. The main objective is to come up with an equitable management framework in which the results of the research would be fully utilized by all the stakeholders concerned with the preservation and development of the fisheries resources.
Project duration: 2 years
Amount: 25,000$
Summary
Responsible: L. Ciro Marcano, geographer, Fundacion Claudio Perna
ropuesta para el Manejo Colaborativo de los recursos naturales de Boca de Uchire, Edo Anzoategui, Caribe continental.
This project was among the three selected during the last round of awards of phase I but put on the waiting list. It aims at establishing a coordination center for the management of natural resources in the municipality of San Juan de Capistrano, in the State of Anzoategui in Central Venezuela. With methods based on Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRS) and the Geographical Information System (GIS), the proponents seek to combine quantitative and qualitative data in order to better manage the contamination problems of the laguna of Uchire. University students, mostly coming from the Geography Department, have done some previous research in the area and 13 neighbourhood associations have been formed. The central community in which the project seeks to intervene is Boca de Uchire, which include 700 fishermen faced with a deteriorating ecosystem. These people now encounter serious economic problems. The project aims at finding new investment opportunities and is supported by additional funding sources.
Project duration: 18 months
Amount: 30,000$
