Sarstoon Temash National Park, Belize

Partner

  • Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management (SATIIM)


Aerial view of Sartoon National Park coastal zone/S.Paul

 

Founded in 1999 by indigenous communities living in and around Sarstoon Temash National Park, and with EcoLogic's help, the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management manages the park which encompasses 42,000 acres of diverse coastal ecosystems. The Sarstoon Temash National Park is Belize's second largest park and is consistently recognized as the best managed in the country. It is home to endangered species including the jaguar, the manatee, and the neotropical river otter, among others. Its expanse is recognized as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The Institute’s creation and work has elevated the status of local stakeholders in negotiating the development direction of their region. The current challenge before the Institute is formidable: mitigating the impact of a new highway from Belize City to Toledo and contending with the numerous logging concessions and oil exploration permits granted in the region.

The results described below were made possible by the support EcoLogic provides in partnership.

Results

Forests

  • Facilitated community-led mapping of 34 corn fields that posed an agricultural expansion threat to the national park. Agreements were reached with residents to halt expansion into the park. Efforts were made to locate suitable alternative sites and to raise yields of traditional crops.
  • Identified and halted a major illegal mahogany logging operation within the park.

Water

  • Established working group with stakeholders in Belize and Guatemala to develop and implement a river basin management plan that pays special attention to the bi-national fishery at the river’s mouth.

Sustainable Livelihoods

  • Collaborated with the Belize Forest Department to establish a permitting system for legal extraction of select species from the national park that is managed by local authorities in conjunction with park rangers. Members of buffer zone communities can for the first time legally extract these species from the park with a permit, a first-of-a-kind system in Belize of community-managed legal sustainable extraction from a protected area.
  • Initiated pilot projects for economic alternatives for seafood markets.

Community Self-Determination

  • Assisted Institute's efforts in the successful legal victory that recognized indigenous land rights.
  • Assisted the Institute with successful campaign to demand completion of legally required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to oil exploration.
  • Designed and disseminated educational materials in English, Spanish, and Q'eqchi about sustainable and unsustainable fishing practices within the legal framework of Belize.
  • Facilitated workshops and meetings on environmental education and participatory planning in the communities of Barra Sarstún, Panti Beach, and Barranco.
  • Coordinated a participatory planning process for management of the Sarstoon Temash Marine Management Area.

Looking Forward

  • Augment park management with coastal zone and marine resource management
  • Expand sustainable livelihood alternatives in the park buffer zone
  • Complement area management by collaborating with organizations on the Guatemalan border of the Sarstoon River

back to top