Project Detail

Building Community Environmental Stewardship in the Maya Forest Corridor through Avian Ecology

This project will serve as a supporting project toward the larger objectives of the coalition to influence livelihood practices to become more biodiversity-positive among the agriculture, tourism, forestry, and wildlife sectors. The ongoing feasibility studies by the coalition will occur in tandem with this smaller community-focused project, which will address community attitudes and capacity, while the feasibility studies inform the factors that affect the livelihood sectors.
The project will equip community members and youth with basic avian identification skills that will initiate community natural resource monitoring, through data submission on the global avian citizen-science platform eBird. This will be a long-term, sustainable contribution to monitoring of avian species in the corridor that can continue informally, but still provide valuable data to inform management of the corridor and its natural resources. By increasing the community ecological knowledge, locals will understand the benefits of conservation and become more engaged in protecting the wild areas around them, in addition to learning sustainable ways to continue their traditional interactions with these resources.
The project aims to achieve the following objectives:
? Engagement of four local communities and three civil society organizations in the management of the MFC
? Capacity development of stakeholders in avian monitoring techniques and corridor ecology
? Increased education and skills in four target communities to develop more sustainable livelihood practices in tourism, agriculture, forest, and wildlife use.
? Establishment of long-term partnerships between local Civil Society Organizations and local communities.
? Sustainability in generational knowledge sharing through training of teachers.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

University of Belize Environmental Research Institute

Country:

Belize

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity
CapDev

Operational Phase:

OP7 - Y1 (Jul 20-Jun 21)

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 52,362.50

Project Number:

BZE/SGP/OP7/Y1/CORE/BD/2021/02

Start Date:

5/2021

End Date:

12/2023

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Community Birding: Based on a suggestion given during the Planning Grant Community Consultations, a booklet with submissions from children about their birding experiences would be compiled to distribute to the communities. This will allow community members to see the direct impact that the project has made on the youth and will empower the children by allowing them to voice their own experiences within the corridor. Community Capacity Development: The community will develop their own sustainability goals which will be developed into a brochure to share with the MFC Coalition leading the efforts to secure the corridor lands. This will ensure community ownership and influence in the decision-making process of corridor endeavors. The goals set by the stakeholder communities will ensure an active contribution to the management plan developed for the MFC and will be an official document for governance under the National Protected Areas System.

Gender Focus

In order to ensure the engagement of all genders in this project, active recruitment to all members of the household will be done for community birding clubs as well as capacity building sessions. If the response is not favourable among a certain gender cohort, the project manager will develop ways to accommodate a more inviting environment for participation to promote a safe space with representation of every cohort.

Policy Influence

National Bird Monitoring program of activities supported.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Teacher Training: As a part of the teacher training programme with TBZ, teachers will be required to submit exercises that will be used as practical tools in corridor primary schools to promote environmental awareness. The developed unit itself will contribute to the long-term knowledge sharing as the unit may become a continued component of the teacher training programme, depending on the response and success. Press Releases and Social Media: The Project Manager will release quarterly updates on UB ERI?s social media to update the larger Belizean public on the positive engagement of corridor communities in conservation action.

Project sustainability

The Belize Zoo, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and other partners will continue to support avian ecology efforts along with UBERI.

Capacity - Building Component

The University of Belize Environmental Research Institute (UB ERI) is a semi-autonomous department of the University of Belize (UB) established in 2010 to address the large gap in local research and monitoring capacity in Belize. The UB ERI aims to build a culture of evidence-based decision-making in Belize to guide sustainable development, in cohesion with national policies and strategies. The UB ERI has developed a research culture within the University through mechanisms for efficient and transparent research project management that continuously builds local scientific capacity and guides the effective management, use and conservation of natural resources. At the project level, UB ERI has focused on building national research capacity, developing national frameworks for protected areas management, and increasing the availability of local baseline biological data vital for ecosystem conservation. These have been achieved through collaborations with local, international and Belizean government partners to maximize reach and impact. Sustainability in conservation has been achieved through targeted research and monitoring capacity building for students and local Belizean professionals. Education and outreach are at the core of all efforts. UB ERI engages community stakeholders in all projects to increase local ecological knowledge and awareness, and translates research data for direct utilization by decision-makers.

Notable Community Participation

The inclusion of a training of teachers is perhaps the most certain pathway to sustainability. Educators play a major role in shaping the values of youth, and by equipping educators with the necessary tools and information to impart environmental knowledge, the youth in the target communities will be ensured quality education and creative enrichment to promote environmentalism for years into future. The Mahogany Heights community consultation was youth focused. Youths will be involved in all aspects of the project. Especially ebird activities.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

The sustainability of long-term conservation in the MFC depends on an understanding and awareness of environmental interactions by those directly involved. These four villages will gain invaluable benefits by receiving the fundamental tools to understand their role in the natural environment in which they exist, and their power to affect its long-term function. By promoting solid relationships with the stakeholder conservation organizations in their communities, sustainability can be ensured through the establishment of trust and cooperation toward the continued protection of the MFC. By involving local CBOs in the outreach components to upper division students, their existing programs can be supported and developed. Successful results from this project can serve as evidence in future corridor initiatives that include an educational outreach component. The knowledge passed onto youth will foster environmental awareness that will permeate to their household and contribute to the gradual increase in community environmental awareness. Economically, the increase in overall knowledge of avian and corridor ecology has the potential to bring increased benefits to the community. Birding is quickly becoming a popular interest among global travelers. Through the use of the eBird app, these communities will be improving their visibility as a birding destination. This can attract both locals and tourists to the area that will contribute to the economic development of the villages. These visitors may seek assistance from local guides and may utilize community amenities such as restaurants or lodging. The increased environmental knowledge and skills in observation can also give community members an advantage in seeking employment within the environmental or natural resource sectors.

Replication of project activities

UBERI intends to apply for GEF SGP OP8 resources to upscale.

Project Results

* 91 students received in-class educational presentation on general ecology, avian ecology and conservation, and the ecological significance of the Maya Forest Corridor.
* 5 Teachers attended the teacher training workshops and were trained in Fundamentals of Environmental Education.
*The project trained 11 youths in bird ID skills and the e-Bird platform.
* 19 community members visited the Runaway Creek Research Station and learnt the basics of bird monitoring.
*28 adults visited the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

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