UK promotes sustainable fishing and environmental protection in the Atl谩ntida Coast
UK project will allow communities in the Atl谩ntida 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 鈥淪trengthening ecological and socioeconomic resilience in the Atl谩ntida Seascape, Honduras鈥� between 5-8 September. The project is supported through the 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 Atl谩ntida Seascape who depend on small-scale fisheries for food security and income. The Atl谩ntida 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鈥� 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 拢529,999 (approximately US$675,000) from the British government, and a counterpart contribution of 拢85,674, which makes a total of US$784,000. The project will be implemented by Fundaci贸n Cayos Cochinos in partnership with Fauna & Flora, Asociaci贸n Pro Comunidades Tur铆sticas de Honduras, Centro de Estudios Marinos, Fundaci贸n Cuero y Salado, and Fundaci贸n Islas de la Bah铆a.