Project Detail

Strengthening Community Agroforestry Cooperatives Governance for Sustained Local Livelihoods

This project seeks to advance GCFC?s current ICCA model to help shape future governing of their resources and enterprises, allowing the CBO to be more effective conservation stewards, while implementing capacity building workshops to initiate community-based governance and cacao agroforestry for ACDC will prepare them for adapting an ICCA land governance model in the future. Ya?axché envisions this one-year project to lead to and solidify long-term sustainability of these organizations to effectively manage their own land and resources.
This project is rooted in the same philosophy the GEF Small Grants Programme operates under, and addresses two GEF focal areas, biodiversity conservation and prevention of land degradation. Objectives and activities are fully aligned with the SGP?s OP7 Strategic Initiatives, as they demonstrate priority of community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species, sustainable agriculture and enhancing social inclusion and knowledge management.

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Ya'axche Conservation Trust

Country:

Belize

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity

Operational Phase:

OP7 - Y1 (Jul 20-Jun 21)

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 63,700.00

Project Number:

BZE/SGP/OP7/Y1/CORE/BD/2021/03

Start Date:

7/2021

End Date:

12/2022

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Guiding GCFC through the abridged strategic process will strengthen Ya?axché?s ability to become a resource for other communities seeking to form ICCAs. Replicating a smaller scale exploratory planning process with ACDC will assist to inform and guide future ICCA establishment within other MGL communities. When there is a meeting or training session, CBO leadership and the Ya?axché project coordinator will capture and note suggestions for best practices that can be used to inform future strategic planning sessions and cacao agroforestry training. These notes will be typed up and stored with the project?s documents, for future reference and use by both Ya?axché and the CBOs

Notable Community Participation

The project ensure participation of youth in the implementation of project activities.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Two radio shows will be utilized to spread awareness and inform local audiences of the ICCA governance model, with the aim to spark the interest of other MGL-based community groups. This will boost awareness of Ya?axché?s work in developing the ICCA model of community-based governance, further replicating what GCFC has achieved, and provide a contact for locally interested groups. The collaboration agreement has been included in this project to set up continued knowledge sharing and exchange between GCFC and ACDC. The agreement will allow the two groups to take ownership over their knowledge and empower them to continue leading under the ICCA model.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

With both GCFC and ACDC being primarily composed of indigenous Maya members, this project serves to strengthen indigenous land ownership and natural resource management, and has been developed in alignment with Ya?axché?s Policy on Working with Indigenous and Local Communities. Through the establishment of cacao demonstration plots, these indigenous community members become invested in their land, which will serve as long-term sources of sustainable income. By incorporating gender into the strategic planning process, Ya?axché and GCFC make a strong and positive statement that women are vital in the decision-making process and must be considered when planning and strategizing for the future. The inclusion of women in the decision-making process will give the opportunity to voice their opinion and strengthen their leadership.

Capacity - Building Component

Ya?axché Conservation Trust, a registered Belizean non-governmental organization (NGO), is dedicated to achieving their vision of maintaining harmony between nature and human development for the benefit of both since its establishment in 1997. The livelihoods of many indigenous communities within the MGL are highly intertwined and dependent upon natural resources, and therefore Ya?axché focuses on gender-inclusive capacity building to bolster community-based agroforestry and landscape management, while also managing their private protected area, Golden Stream Corridor Preserve, and co-managing together with the Belize Forest Department, BNR and MMNFR.

Gender Focus

this project focusing on training women (alongside men), in cacao agroforestry, not only are these women able to take the lead in sustainably managing their land and becoming resource stewards but are also able to gain the independence of earning income for their families. The project?s gender responsiveness and inclusion align with the GEF Gender Implementation Strategy to ?seize opportunities to address gender gaps critical to the achievement of global environmental benefits.? Women are often the center of the home and consequently serve as role models for their children.

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