Bio-diversity

This proposal focuses on raising awareness of issues related to the traditional fishing sector and the marine environment, and has arisen following a series of related activities in the largest of Belize s coastal fishing communities, Sarteneja. Community participants, all from families that are reliant on the marine resources, are collaborating as part of this project, providing their perceptions of the Belize reef. The reef ecosystem of Belize is not only important for their income, but has been highlighted as a priority in regional conservation planning initiatives, and at the global scale, through its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (a serial site comprised of seven marine protected areas, based on universal natural heritage value). The objective of the project is to provide a mechanism for the four sectors involved the fishermen, tour guides, high school students and fishermen s wives to present their views on the issues involved in the management and conservation of the Belize Barrier Reef in a video format that approaches this subject in a way in which other fishing communities can relate to. The series of activities under the project will provide opportunities for cross gender and cross generation interchange of perceptions and ideas, whilst also building awareness of the current condition of the reef and marine resources, the impacts affecting it, and the need for more effective management. There is a strong capacity building component in the area of presentation skills, providing participants with the ability to clearly voice their opinions and concerns to others a skill that fishermen, in particular, have highlighted as necessary if they are to participate fully in the management of the marine protected areas and marine resources.

Belize