Natural resource management and protection

The project will develop public and private capabilities in three areas: (1) environmental planning and monitoring; (2) sustainable agriculture; and (3) forestry development. An international PVO will implement the project, employing local NGOs (LNGOs) wherever possible, especially in field interventions. The thrust of the environmental planning and monitoring component will be to strengthen the Department of the Environment (DOE) of the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment (MTE). The project will (1) formulate an environmental protection and natural resource management strategy for Belize; (2) clarify the legislative and regulatory framework defining MTE/DOE responsibilities and promote interministerial cooperation; (3) strengthen DOE"s capacity to apply environmental quality guidelines, carry out environmental impact assessments, and monitor environmental quality; (4) increase public awareness of and political support for environmental conservation; and (5) encourage LNGO involvement in the environment. DOE will contract LNGOs to perform water quality monitoring in watersheds and coasts and conduct environmental impact assessments. DOE, MTE, and LNGO staff will be trained in environmental management, planning, monitoring, and information analysis, with DOE training to include two B.S.s and two M.S.s. The sustainable agricultural component will field extensionists and paratechnicians to promote improved technologies in three technical areas -- cropping systems, soil conservation, and integrated pest management (IPM) -- particularly on the fringes of forest reserves and protected areas of the extended Maya Mountain area. Cadastral surveys and soil analyses will identify priority lands for assistance. Depending on existing and potential environmental impacts, the boundaries of protected areas could be changed to allowing cropping, or farmers might be offered land in more suitable areas. Secure land titles will be expeditiously granted to farmers. Extension and field staff will receive training, including 4 B.S.s and 2 M.S.s. Three types of activities are planned under the forestry development component. (1) Institutional development, which will include six academic scholarships, non-degree programs, short courses, workshops, and internships open to staff of the Ministry of Natural Resources (specifically, the Forestry Department, Conservation Division, and Lands and Survey), the DOE, and LNGOs; initial training will focus on management of protected areas for forest rangers and park wardens. Also, a Conservation Data Center (CDC) will be established. (2) A comprehensive system of protected areas will be created to preserve representative critical habitats and increase legal and policy support for such a system. (3) A boundary demarcation program will include surveys, demarcation, hiring and training of guards, promotion of community and LNGO involvement, etc.; a special "Maya Biosphere" venture will be undertaken in the Maya Mountains and surrounding reserves as a test of protected area management. Lastly, in addition to the involvement of LNGOs in the various project components, the project will establish a Conservation Fund to support complementary PVO/LNGO activities, e.g., the Belize Ethnobotany Project. Grant amendment of 3/3/95 authorizes a buy-in to efforts of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center (CATIE) under the Regional Environmental and Natural Resource Management (RENARM) project (5960150). CATIE will assist the project in three areas. (1) The major area of assistance will be IPM: CATIE will provide Belizean farmers with extension bulletins on IPM for pests of major crops (tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, cucumber, and cabbage); provide Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and NGO extension staff with in-country training in IPM; and help to institutionalize IPM within the MOA by providing pest management professionals returning from overseas academic training with in-service training at CATIE. (2) CATIE will establish, at Stann Creek Agricultural Station, a root tuber and germplasm multiplication facility for cassava and other crops; efforts will include training at CATIE and in-country, as well as TA to the MOA. (3) CATIE will provide TA on the potential for agroforestry in various areas of Belize. (PD-ABM-059)