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Mesoamerican Reef
Results
For over 30 years WWF, in collaboration with its conservation partners in the region, has achieved tremendous conservation successes. Although threats to this fragile ecosystem are constant, WWF is working to ensure that the beauty and bounty of this region will benefit local communities and visitors for generations.
Harmful SCUBA Fishing Banned in Honduras' Cayos Cochinos
Coast of Roatán, Bahía Islands, Honduras
© WWF-Canon / Chris Martin Bahr
Motivated by a transboundary workshop, we organized in 2001, fishermen from three Honduran communities successfully organized a campaign to eliminate harmful SCUBA fishing within the Cayos Cochinos Reserve.
SCUBA fishing had already been banned in Mexico's Banco Chinchorro Reserve and the ban is strictly enforced by local fishermen there. Once the Honduran fishermen met with their Mexican peers at the workshop, they became determined to do the same for Cayos Cochinos. It has become a common practice in the southern portion of the Cayos Cochinos Reserve off the coast of Honduras. Unfortunately, the practice of using SCUBA gear to fish for lobster and other marine resources is having devastating effects on coral reefs and the conservation of lobster and other species like conch that are critical to the well-being of the region's ocean ecology.
Further, SCUBA fishing can be dangerous for local fishermen since the people adopting the practice in this region rarely receive the training necessary to use the equipment properly and safely.
The Honduran fishermen from Rio Esteban, Sambo Creek, and Nueva Armenia who organized the campaign were rewarded for their conservation efforts when their government prohibited SCUBA fishing in the Cayos Cochinos Reserve.
WWF helps Belize Protect Marine Habitats
Bluestriped grunt school on shallow reef in Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Belize.
© WWF-Canon / Anthony B. Rath
As a result of hard work and lobbying efforts by a WWF coalition that includes seven local and international NGOs, eleven new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were established in November 2002, promising to protect critical habitat and restore depleted wildlife populations. Although each of the sites is only about 2 square miles in size, their ecological importance in maintaining healthy fisheries greatly increases their conservation benefit. These MPAs will help protect spawning aggregations, and many species of grouper, snapper and other reef fish. This comes less than 15 years after WWF Central America worked with Belize to create its first marine reserve.
WWF has conducted behind the scenes activities as well, raising public awareness and convincing fishermen and policy makers that creating no-take zones provide greater benefits than the lost fishing income -- resulting in wider acceptance for the concept and larger no-take zones within marine protected areas. Additionally, in Belize WWF teaches biologists coral reef identification and monitoring methods in order to provide them the training and experience required to safeguard coral reefs.
To strengthen community-based management, WWF supports other environmental organizations -- such as Friends of Nature in Belize -- and has organized community exchange programs where participants learn about park management and fisheries regulations, and how to develop tourism regulations for whale shark protection.
Leading palm oil producers commit to responsible agricultural management
In Honduras, oil palm crops cover nearly 168,000 acres.
© WWF/Cinthia Flores
Reducing pesticide runoff from the agricultural plantations in the Mesoamerican Reef watershed is critical to the conservation of its reef. The steep mountains of Honduras and the region's strong rains make agriculture a particularly serious threat to the reefs as large amounts of sediment and agrochemicals flow down to the sea. Pesticide runoff and increased sedimentation may cause reduction in the reproduction and viability of the corals and affect the health of people living on coastal communities by contaminating marine species that are commonly consumed.
WWF is pioneering action in diverse agricultural sectors to reduce the use of pesticides and soil erosion. In June 2007, we reached an important milestone with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with two of Honduras' largest palm oil producer groups - Palmas de San Alejo (PALSA) and Agropecuaria Tornabé (AGROTOR) - in which they committed to responsible agricultural management.The memorandum outlines a number of improved management practices, including better management for disposing empty agro-chemical containers, increasing plant cover to avoid soil erosion and reducing use of herbicides and fertilizers, especially nitrogen.
Notable Accomplishments
Tourist excursion boats - Bahía Islands, Honduras.
© WWF-Canon / Chris Martin BAHR
1980s
- Facilitated designation of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize—two of the first marine protected areas in the Mesoamerican Reef
1990s
- Assisted in crafting the Tulum Declaration, a joint conservation commitment by the governments of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala
- Spearheaded a regional plan for reef conservation that strengthened the management of protected areas, fisheries and species conservation—the Global Environment Facility awarded WWF an $11 million grant for implementation
2000s
- Played a key role in creating a network of 11 marine protected areas in Belize to protect fish spawning sites
- Secured commitments from Chiquita, Dole and other large agricultural producers to reduce the use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides and to reduce pollution runoff
- Signed a memorandum of understanding with Quintana Roo Fishermen to help their members meet sustainable certification standards of the Marine Stewardship Council
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