A UK project will allow communities in the Atlántida Seascape,
Honduras, to improve small-scale fishing and to strengthen
protection of critical marine habitats and species.
The British Ambassador to Honduras, Nick Whittingham, visited the
project “Strengthening ecological and socioeconomic resilience in
the Atlántida Seascape, Honduras” between 5-8 September. The
project is supported through the Darwin
Initiative financed by the Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the British Government.
The project will support 23 coastal communities located across
the Honduran Atlántida Seascape who depend on small-scale
fisheries for food security and income. The Atlántida Seascape is
home to key populations of locally and globally threatened
species, including the hawksbill turtles, the Antillean Manatee,
and the endemic Utila spiny-tailed iguana. The seascape faces
issues of illegal poaching, pollution and the growing pressure of
climate change.
In response to these challenges, the project will focus
predominantly on reducing destructive and/ or illegal fishing
practices, while helping to build vital ecological and social
resilience to climate change reduced impacts, through:
- Sustaining and improving protection and enforcement of
critical marine habitats and species;
- Improving small-scale fisheries markets that reward
responsible fishers and are more equitable;
- Building recognition of small- scale fisheries’ importance
with national government and empowering direct fisher engagement;
- Strengthening and building organisational resilience of
existing seascape partners and management platforms to support
locally-led, sustainable conservation; and
- Improving understanding of community vulnerabilities to
climate change and how to tackle these.
The project has a duration of three years starting from April
2023, with financing of £529,999 (approximately US$675,000) from
the British government, and a counterpart contribution of
£85,674, which makes a total of US$784,000. The project will be
implemented by Fundación Cayos Cochinos in partnership with Fauna
& Flora, Asociación Pro Comunidades Turísticas de Honduras,
Centro de Estudios Marinos, Fundación Cuero y Salado, and
Fundación Islas de la Bahía.
