Bio-diversity

This project addresses two related problems: the decline of commercial fishing stocks in and around the Southern Belize Barrier Reef System World Heritage Site and the reduced productivity of the Placencia Producers Co-operative. The dual goals of this project are to reduce fishing pressure in and around the BBRRS-WHS (Gladden Spit & Silk Cayes Marine Reserve and Laughing Bird Caye National Park) sites near Placencia Village and revitalize the Placencia Cooperative. This will be accomplished by completing the first objective, which is to establish ten renewable, sustainable seaweed farms near Placencia. This project is directly inline with the first objective of the COMPACT Phase II Strategy which is: "to expand the sustainable livelihoods options for community groups... who impact the reef system with a view towards reducing stressors on the BBRRS-WHS". The project will accomplish this by re-training 10 fisherfolk members of the Placencia Cooperative who will then be responsible for establishing and maintaining their individual seaweed farms. Because the original seaweed`seeds` stay in the farms even after repeated trimmings, this is a sustainable renewable activity that will generate income by the stakeholders. By including processing of the seaweed (as opposed to selling only the dried product in bulk), this project will also provide training oppurtunities and three new jobs for single mothers in the village, which will boost both productivity and the local image of the cooperative, part of the second objective of this project. By the end of this projec the Placencia Cooperative will be able to calculate how much dried seaweed product can be produced from a single farm in six and 12 months. Based on the product demand, the coop can then expand this enterprise to include more farms and or more trained coop members, making this enterprise sustainable long after the timeframe of the grant.

Belize