The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

13. Protected landscapes and seascapes and their relevance to SIDS in the Caribbean
Box 1. The Maya Mountain Marine Corridor and the Port Honduras
Marine Reserve (Belize)
The people of Monkey River Village, Punta Negra and Punta Gorda with a combined population of
over 5,300 people are working closely with the Toledo Institute for Environment and Development
(TIDE), founded in 1997, to conserve the rich biodiversity of the Toledo District of Belize. The
mission of TIDE is to assist in protected areas planning and management, and to lead the
development of responsible tourism and other environmentally sustainable economic alternatives by
providing training and support to local residents.
The Toledo district is an area rich in tropical ecosystems ranging from mountain forest to lowland
tropical rainforest and marine ecosystems comprising coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangroves.
Among the many species found in the area are the jaguar, the West Indian Manatee, the American
saltwater crocodile and the scarlet macaw. Prior to 1997 the Toledo Region was subjected to various
environmental impacts including manatee poaching, illegal fishing, illegal logging and destructive
farming practices.
To address these problems TIDE, working closely with local communities, has created the Maya
Mountain Marine Corridor, which comprises 1 million acres of land and approximately 1,000 square
miles of sea. The Port Honduras Marine Reserve, which makes up the marine and coastal segment of
the Corridor, comprises just over 50% of its sea area. Declared in 2000, the Port Honduras Marine
Reserve encompasses six watersheds that empty directly into it, delivering freshwater, sediments and
nutrients washed from the uplands into the rivers and carried to the coastal areas. These drive the
production of mangrove forest and sea grass beds, which in turn support the coastal fisheries. The
area is a rich nursery and recruitment ground for many of the commercial finfish and shellfish species
caught in Belize; therefore protecting these functions has become an important part of its manage -
ment.
The primary management goals as stated in the management plan for the Maya Mountain Marine
Corridor are to:
protect the physical and biological resources of the reserve by creating a zoning plan for
preservation;
provide educational and interpretive programmes and develop appropriate protocols for
researching and monitoring the resources;
preserve the value of the area for fisheries and genetic resources by protecting habitat through
patrolling and surveillance;
develop recreational and tourism services that are sustainable; and
strive for sustainable financing through user fees and other strategies.
Recent achievements of this programme demonstrate the value of sustainable resource manage -
ment in the Toledo District. There is a vibrant environmental education programme, which uses
meetings, workshops and even public radio to reach the resource-users. A community ranger
programme has been introduced and is destined to integrate the resource-users into the resource
management programme by building a sense of stewardship among them. Surveillance through
patrolling is also ensuring that illegal activities in the management area are on the decline. To create
options for survival, TIDE is working with The Nature Conservancy to introduce sport fishing, as
well as fly fishing and tour-guiding.
Elements in the success of the programme include:
the involvement of a committed and vibrant NGO;
community participation;
Cont.
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