Belize - Empowering local communities to protect the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System

The mission of the Community Management of Protected Areas Conservation Programme (COMPACT) in Belize is to conserve the integrity and character of the Belize Barrier Reef System, a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site, by developing and supporting a range of conservation and sustainable livelihood activities through transparent and democratic partnerships with coastal communities and other stakeholders. COMPACT is an initiative of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), the United Nations Foundation (UNF) and other partners.
 
Active since 2001, COMPACT has approved a total of 35 grants, adding up to almost US$1.9 million. The grants have supported a range of conservation and livelihood activities led by community-based organizations and NGOs working with coastal and fishing communities in the following areas:

• Sustainable livelihoods (including skills and product development);
• Protection, conservation and sustainable management of resources; and
• Strengthening of management capacities for stakeholders that impact the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System - World Heritage Site.
  

 
In the current phase of work, many activities have focused on building the institutional and leadership capacity of community groups engaged in stewardship of the reef. For example, the Community Stewards project has built the capacity of communities within the Maya Mountains Marine Corridor for improved co-management of protected areas. Led by the organization Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), the Community Stewards project has reached 25 resource-users in a two-year programme of training in marine and terrestrial laws, and technical skills such as GPS and computer use. This programme included an exchange visit to Cerro San Gil in Guatemala to learn how communities there are involved in resource management,  protected areas management and communications. As a result of the project, these stewards are now taking up leadership roles within their communities and playing key roles on advisory and technical committees established for the management of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve and the Payne’s Creek National Park.
 
Notably, there has been an important shift in the attitude of fisherfolk and other resource users in the communities that rely on the Belize Barrier Reef System; many fisherfolk, once opposed to the establishment marine protected areas, have now become advocates for them. COMPACT has been instrumental in providing capacity building for newly established fishing associations and alternative livelihood opportunities for fisherfolk. Recognizing the decline in fishery resources, many fisherfolk are adopting alternative livelihoods, such as marine tour guides and dive masters. In addition, COMPACT Belize supports local NGO efforts to harvest the invasive species lionfish by providing incentives and disseminating information on how to prepare the fish for human consumption. In these ways a, thereby reducing pressures on the natural ecosystem of the Belize Barrier Reef.