Capacity Building is integral part of this project and will occur at the at human, institutional and community level.
In late October of 2007, rumours surfaced that the then-PUP Government of Belize under Prime Minister Said Musa intended to de-reserve some 2700 acres of Bacalar Chico National Park and sell it to a foreign enterprise for development. APAMO, the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, expressed ?extreme concern? about the plan and asked for the Government?s clarification. The UDP also issued a release opposing any such sale. However, the GOB would neither confirm nor deny the rumours.
The GOB?s intentions became clear, however, on October 26. That day, grant recipient Green Reef Environmental Institute hosted a Channel 7 cameraman and a reporter for Channel 7 and the San Pedro Sun on a trip to Bacalar Chico. Green Reef?s goal was to demonstrate the damage the rumoured sale cause to the National Park and to educate its guests on the value of Bacalar Chico. While in Bacalar Chico, the group met the Deputy Prime Minister/Fisheries Minister Vildo Marin, who was there in furtherance of the intended sale. Along with Mito Paz, Minister Marin was interviewed on camera and essentially compelled to confirm the Cabinet?s decision to de-reserve and sell the 2700 acres to ?produce more jobs for the Belizean people.? Airing of the interview on television that night galvanized Belize?s conservation community, international conservation organizations, citizens of Ambergris Caye and the targeted communities and, indeed, people all over Belize. The opposition organized quickly, loudly protested any de-reservation and forced the Government to back down within a week of the broadcast.
An outgrowth of the opposition to the Government?s de-reservation attempt was the activation of the National Protected Areas Commission. The Government agreed that the declaration and de-reservation of any future protected area will go through the National Protected Areas Commission and through a proper consultation and scientific justification process, as is being called under the National Protected Areas Policy and System Plan.
Gender Focus
No particular gender focus. However, if there are women participants who meet the eligibility criteria for the training, they will be strongly encouraged.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
Not applicable
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
Not applicable
Policy Impact
Not applicable
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The area where this project will be implemented provides an ideal location for a living laboratory for environmental education. Specific activities of the project such as the tour guide training, development of a field guide, color brochures and website will ensure that the public is aware of the global significance of this protected area as part of Belize's World Heritage Site.
Replication of project activities
The project was devoted to developing important tools for the future of BCNPMR. Thus, in reality, project activities are just beginning. As noted above, some tours and study programs have already been given, and others are scheduled or in discussion. The goal is, of course, to build on the foundation laid during the project. The guide book, brochures and web site will be tremendous assets toward that end.
An additional grant was obtained from the Friends of World Heritage for infrastructure for BCNPMR and the specialized tour guides. A boardwalk was built in order to render Chac Balam, one of the Maya settlements within Bacalar Chico, accessible to tourists. The BCNPMR camping platform was refurbished, and canoes and camping equipment were obtained for the use of the Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists and their clients.
Green Reef is working along with the Ministry of Tourism to develop the Bacalar Chico Educational & Cultural Centre as a tourism destination with funds from the Inter-American Development Bank?s sustainable tourism programme. The Ministry of Tourism is spearheading this initiative to support the development of infrastructure in the Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve and promoting it as a model for sustainable tourism where conservation management, tourism needs and community benefits are balanced. The Ministry of Tourism has secured financial support for this effort from the Inter-American Development Bank. This project is part of a larger sustainable tourism initiative being facilitated by the Ministry of Tourism with the Bacalar Chico component being implemented by Green Reef Environmental Institute.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
Their is special emphasis on sustainable livelihoods as the project will provide for skills training in the area of specialized guides with a specific focus of Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve.
Notable Community Participation
This project has had notable community participation from the design and planning phase. During the implementation , monitoring and evaluation phase, it is expected that fisherfolk from five northern communities which include Corozal Town, San Pedro Town Copper Bank village, Chunox village and Sarteneja will be involved.
Project Results
This project involved three objectives:
(a) to increase awareness of the value and unique attributes of the Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve (BCNPMR) through the creation and publication of a guide book to BCNPMR, an educational web site regarding BCNPMR and informational brochures about BCNPMR;
(b) to provide specialized training in the geology, flora, fauna, marine resources and cultural history of the BCNPMR to trained tour guides, particularly active fishermen, resident in the targeted communities of Chunox, Copperbank, Corozal, San Pedro and Sarteneja, so as to enable them to deliver superior experiences for eco-tourists, educational groups and other visitors as Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists; and
(c) to develop a programme for marketing BCNPMR to eco-tourists and educational institutions in order to enhance the possibility of future opportunities for the Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists to use their additional alternative livelihood skills, such programme to include
? the development of tours and study programs featuring the BCNPMR,
? utilization of the web site and color brochures to describe such tours and study programs and to feature Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists, and to link with other local associations and marketing partners,
? optimizing the web site?s search engine to enhance its ?presence? on the World Wide Web,
? placing internet advertisements, banners and links to leading international education and experiential travel resource directories, and
? a public relations campaign to feature BCNPMR.
During the course of the project the following were produced:
? A Guide to the History and Natural History of Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve,
? colour brochures describing BCNPMR in general terms,
? colour brochures describing tours and study programs featuring BCNPMR,
? a web site providing a huge amount of information and educational material about BCNPMR, tours and study programs, and
? a course of specialized training on the geology, terrestrial flora and fauna, history, birds and marine life of BCNPMR.
The project has directly served several of COMPACT?s priority areas.
Alternative Livelihoods: The project included the provision of alternative livelihood skills in the form of specialized training for 19 tour guides on the unique features of Bacalar Chico. Of equal significance, the project included the development of various mechanisms (guide book, web site, brochures, marketing and public relations outreach) for generating opportunities for the Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists to generate income while using their specialized training.
Sustainable Fishing: The project contributes to sustainable fishing by providing the Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists with alternative livelihood skills and generating income-producing opportunities for them, thus enhancing their ability to earn income by means other than extractive fishing.
Tourism Services: The core purpose of the project is the preservation of Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, in part through fostering an increase of tourism to the area and a corresponding increase in income for the Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists trained during the project.
Public Awareness and Education: The project has sought to increase public awareness of BCNPMR through the publication of the guide book and brochures; through offering tours and study programs featuring the BCNPMR; and through the development of a web site with extensive educational materials.
Development of Co-Management Capacity:
This project has enhanced the capacity of the grant recipient, the only relevant non-governmental organization in the vicinity of BCNPMR, to assume co-management responsibility for Bacalar Chico, along with the Government of Belize. Specific experience from the project has included resource mobilization, project implementation, project management, training and curriculum development, web site management, design and drafting of published materials, and evaluating printers. In addition, the grant recipient was able to secure additional funding for equipment and infrastructure in Bacalar Chico from Friends of World Heritage (approximately BZ $60,000) and from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in the sum of approximately BZ$1.6 Million dollars.
Finally, the tools created during to the project, especially the guide book and the web site, will be helpful to a co-manager of BCNPMR
The number of individuals who benefited from the project include:
Number of females: 3 cooks, 2 marketing/PR advisors, 15 teachers, estimated 125 students
Number of males: 19 tour guides, 19 male teachers, estimated 87 male students, 6 boat captains, 2 dive masters, 1 dive instructor, 6 boat assistants, 2 camp assistants, 4 Marine Ecology lecturers, 6 Environmental interns/students, 2 researchers
Number of children: 212 students
As a result of the specialized training provided during the project, 19 individuals became Bacalar Chico Nature Guide Specialists. Forty per cent of them have already earned income from participating in tours and study programs. Visitation to BCNPMR has increased, at a minimum, to the extent of tours and student groups taken to BCNPMR under the auspices of the project (under the name of Bacalar Chico Expeditions). To date, 212 students and 34 teachers have visited Bacalar Chico. The schools sending students and teachers have represented the targeted communities (e.g., San Pedro High School, San Pedro Roman Catholic School), other communities in Belize (e.g., Pallotti High School in Belize City) and some from abroad (e.g., University of New England in Maine, USA, and Collingwood Preparatory School in Vancouver, British Columbia). Other groups have attempted tours that ultimately could not be scheduled because the group leaders could not get enough participants to enroll in the programme (e.g., University of Belize Subaqua Club, Outback of Belmopan, Land for Learning of Illinois, USA). Already scheduled for the spring are Land for Learning of Illinois, USA; Enodo Adventure of British Columbia, Canada; Okanaga Kayaking of Canada.
Bacalar Chico Expeditions has been contacted by, and has established relationships with, several parties that periodically book tour and student groups for programs such as those established through the project. They include Sea & Explore Inc. of Louisiana, USA; Okanagan Kayaking of British Columbia, Canada; National Educational Travel Council with offices in Massachusetts and California, USA; Enodo Adventures of British Columbia, Canada; the National Outdoor Leadership School of Wyoming, USA; Global Vision International headquartered in Great Britain; and Land for Learning of Illinois, USA.
The emergence of Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve as a ?new? tourism destination provides hotels, dive shops and tour guides in the targeted communities with a new attraction to be used in marketing their businesses. Tour operators that have added Bacalar Chico to their list of tours include, Discovery Expeditions, Suya Tours, Island Excursions and Seaduce. In addition, several tour guides have added tours to Bacalar Chico to their offerings (Neftali Verde, Exequiel Verde, Tony Rivero, and Ricardo Castillo). The first 3 of these people got the training in the specialized tour guiding course for Bacalar Chico.
