Friends of the Mangrove / Success Story

SUCCESS STORY IMPROVED COASTAL WATERSHEDS AND LIVELIHOODS PROJECT

Friends of the Mangrove: Good governance for conservation and co-management of protected areas Planting catkin and creating red mangrove nurseries joins women, men and youth together in Nacaome and Alianza to reforest and restore Bahia de Chismuyo in Honduras.

“I joined a reforestation campaign because of the conditions of the mangrove; it has been totally deforested by people who cut down trees and use timber as a business and seashore owners who are expanding and chopping them down. We are fishermen and our families depend on it, on the mangrove; that is where we get our daily food from.

The mangrove provides us with oxygen and food, and it shelters all types of species: birds, raccoons, oysters and fish. The mangrove has always been there, it has always existed, if the mangrove is in good shape, we people are fine. If we join efforts, the three communities together may restore it, we can work hard to completely restore the mangrove. It is so beautiful to see the enthusiasm and happiness of people when planting, becoming aware of the damage that the mangrove is bearing, and doing something about it.

Same as we need the mangrove, the mangrove needs us; it is our way of survival.”

José MendozaMatamoros, president of the Community Consultative Committee (COCOCO) in Playa Grande, La Brea and Agua Fria, and reforestation campaign coordinator

DE LA CUENCA A LA COSTA

A group of 101 people from 4 communities in Bahia de Chismuyo (La Brea, Playa Grande, Estero and Llano Largo) acknowledged the importance of the mangrove as a unique and complex ecosystem that is a source of life, protection and livelihoods for their communities, and joined the “Friends of the Mangrove” initiative to put their efforts at the service of the mangrove conservation and co-management of protected areas.

Their goal: to take advantage of the catkin’s sprouting period (red mangrove seed, Rhizophora mangle), collect it, and embark into a reforestation campaign that involves women, men and youth from the communities to assure mangrove conservation. Rhizophora mangle was the species selected, as it is the most devastated because of its great value for construction and firewood uses.

The training process for the communities is led by the Committee for Defense and Development of Flora and Fauna in the Gulf of Fonseca (CODDEFFAGOLF) with the support from the Forest Conservation Institute in Honduras (ICF), as part of the actions of the Improved Coastal Watershed and Livelihoods Project.

The first step is to make use of governance spaces to strengthen capacities in the communities, encouraging their leadership, and aiming community management focused on resource conservation and co-management of protected areas. Thus, three (3) forest Community Consultative Committees (COCOCOS) have been reinforced: "El Conchal", with 23 leaders from the communities in Photos:: Wanda Villeda / UICN

Calicanto, Muruhuaca, La Ceiba, Llano Largo, El Conchal Playa Grande and Valle Nuevo; "El Estero", with 26 leaders from the communities in San Pedro Calero, El Estero, El Cubulero and Aceituno; and "Chismuyo", with 28 leaders from the communities Playa Grande, Agua Fria and La Brea. The members of these structures receive training and begin planning actions to help them become stronger as a community and to make them able to recover the mangrove. This is how the “Friends of the Mangrove” campaign originated.

Training and preparation actions are carried out to be ready for the season in August and September, which is when the catkins come to their peak; and once mature, they can be collected to begin the reforestation effort. Participants receive training on reforestation techniques, they define spaces to work on, using geo-referenced data from the Forest Conservation Institute, and they begin to get prepared for the work season, which lasts about a month. Groups of catkin collectors and planters are organized, and group coordinators are appointed to define routes and working schedules.

“We used to be only nineteen people at the beginning. We were already using the catkin, but with the training from CODDEFFAGOLF we started to learn better ways to do it, how to follow up our work, and how to take care of those fifty hectares we have reforested in this sector. I’m a member of the Consultative Committee, we know the mangrove, we know we have craw fish, fish, and that these activities we are carrying out protect the environment, the air we get is more pure, cleaner, and that is why we get organized as a COCOCO to take care of reforestation. How could we get food for our families if the mangrove were deforested? We depend on it, it’s a source of labor for our communities.” María Santiago Martínez, reforestation campaign coordinator at the community in Playa Grande.

There is a close link between livelihoods and the mangrove in Bahia de Chismuyo. Fishermen are very much aware of this since they directly depend on the mangrove’s health to survive and obtain goods and services from it.

“We work happy and pleased, with people we had never spoken to in our communities before. Now we spend time together and they ask us: ´When are we going back? We´re looking forward to it, we are going to devote more of our work days to take care of reforesting because it´s a benefit for all of us who need it.”

María Santiago Martínez, restoration activities coordinator in the community at Playa Grande.

During the reforestation campaign, 283,140 catkins were planted, and 3 nurseries were set up, with 8,200 catkins that are to be planted next year. According to data provided by the Forest Conservation Institute, 44.2 hectares were planted during the activity at the mangrove, which encloses the communities La Brea, Playa Grande, El Estero, and Llano Largo. Active participation of 101 people, 42 men, 23 women and 33 youth during the activity, and strengthening governance structures and environmental education activities make up the first integration effort of the governance instances that contribute to the mangrove restoration for the Project, strengthening bonds among people and communities to preserve the mangrove and protected areas.

“I joined this reforestation campaign because it is important for our communities to reforest the areas that are more seriously damaged, and it sets an example for us to continue teaching our children the importance of taking care of Bahia de Chismuyo. I love my place, it is important to nurture our area and keep it beautiful. This action makes us all winners: we take care of the mangrove, we get jobs for people in the area and we help them by providing them with income, and we teach the communities the importance of reforestation and care of Bahia de Chismuyo. Being a member of the Consultative Committee is one of the nicest experiences we could have, because we were actually able to see the communities working on their own for the same purpose.” Dalila Rubí, park ranger, Bahia de Chismuyo.