Roatan Marine Park
Registered
Below is a compounded version of our newsletter, please open attached PDF for full version of the newsletter and the accounts for the year.
July 2008 Newsletter
Introduction
In July the Marine Park was accepted to present at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida, the largest ever congregation of coral reef scientists and managers from around the world, and the keystone event of the 2008 International Year of the Reef. More about that in the following pages, but the biggest news this month is that we are finally legally recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization, a goal we have been striving towards since our conception. This achievement is a massive step towards true sustainable management of the Park and the effects will benefit all users of the Marine Park.
Personeria Juridica and the General Assembly
After years of waiting, the Marine Park is officially a legal entity, having received recognition as a N.G.O. by the Honduran Government. The Secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia in Tegucigalpa bestowed the Marine Park with the Personería Jurídica No. 283-2008 and approved the organizations Statutes. Furthermore, the current Agreement Letter signed with COHDEFOR will now turn into a Co-management agreement for the protected area, which makes the RMP a member of The Honduran Group of Protected Areas Co-Managers. Besides that, we are now members of Honduran Registry of Civil Non Profit Associations. All of these give recognition to our organization throughout the country, as well as the eligibility to apply for grants and present environmental complaints to judicial authorities. Also coming up in September is a General Assembly which will be open to the supporters, members and the general public to discuss the progress of the Marine Park, celebrate our NGO status and vote on the Board of Directors. Watch out for further details on this event.
Patrols
Throughout July, in addition to the daytime hours, the patrols operated five nights a week due to numerous reports of people poaching around sundown and early evening. Night patrols, however, are very tricky as it is extremely difficult to catch poachers in the act with such limited vision. A boat or a poacher becomes invisible to our patrols simply by switching their lights off when our engines are heard.
We always try to respond to calls in the evening but it is often hard to coordinate police, captains and boats if they are not working at the time of the call. To date we have only made a handful of evening arrests, highlighting the intricacy of the process.
This months patrols resulted in two arrests and several confiscations of masks and snorkels. After reports of persons diving to the east of Baileys Cay on Sundays, we organized a stakeout involving plain clothed policemen and boat captains. After several hours of waiting, two young men from La Colonia where arrested for possessing speared fish, conch, and lobster. Several others were also involved, but after our boat captains searched the water with a mask, they were unable to find evidence of illegal activities. Since that weekend, there have been doing plain-clothed shore patrols in the vicinity every Sunday.
On July 26th, two young men fresh from the mainland were apprehended but released as it was clear to the boat captain and the police that the men were completely oblivious to the Park regulations. The dead give away was that they were still duck diving for conch as the boat came alongside them. The conch were seized and relocated, the snorkel gear was confiscated and they were brought to the office where they were cautioned and explained in detail the rules and the reasons for their enforcement.
Meetings and Workshops
Every four years the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) convenes as a major scientific conference to provide the latest knowledge about coral reefs worldwide. This years 11th summit, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, drew over 3,500 experts from around the world.Natural scientists, educators, social scientists, conservationists, policy makers, economists, coral reef managers and users, and environmental journalists met together to advance coral reef science, management, and conservation. The ICRS is devoted to the best reef science available, with the purpose of sharing scientific findings with government agencies, resource management, and NGOs throughout the world. This helps organizations like the RMP improve their conservation and management strategies.
The ICRS was an ideal opportunity to tell the world about the Park and the challenges we face in managing a marine park on a fast changing island. James was accepted to give a presentation entitled Challenges Facing a Marine Protected Area Management Body in the Context of a Rapidly Developing Tourism Industry to an audience of over 1000 professional reef experts. The event was a great success and served to launch the Roatan Marine Park onto the international marine conservation stage. James spent the week networking with reef experts, comparing notes, gaining new ideas, promoting our research internship program and seeking new funding opportunities for the Park. The benefits for the RMP and for the community that we serve will be propagated through our activities for a long time to come. To find out more about this event visit http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/.
Protected Area Connectivity Workshop
The RMP was invited to attend a Mesoamerican Coral Reef Targeted Research workshop (CRTR) being held in Florida by the United Nations University and the Nature Conservancy immediately after the ICRS. Fortunately the organizers of the workshop paid for Jamess transport and accommodation so that he was able to attend both events free of charge. The workshop enabled all the major marine resource managers from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras to convene and discuss ways to improve coordination of management between the different areas of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
It is increasingly being recognized that coral reefs are interconnected over vast spatial scales, and that to manage them on a local scale alone is not enough to ensure their long term survival. Evidence suggests that corals in Mexico can originate from larvae spawned in Roatan; Nassau grouper in Roatan can come from eggs that floated down from Belize etc. Without a regional management framework, local management alone will ultimately fail.
A series of recommendations arose from the meeting. A full breakdown can be seen at www.roatanmarinepark.com/CRTR.htm
Education
One of our priorities at the Marine Park is to raise awareness and concern for environmental issues and promote environmentally responsible behaviors through environmental education to the general public. Many would agree that the best method is through educating the children, who then relay this message to their parents. The Parks schools education program started in 2006 with Lidia Salinas, who visited the schools in West End and Sandy Bay and the Alternative School.
To date, the education program has visited eleven schools throughout the island, including schools in West End, Sandy Bay, La Colonia Balfate, Mud Hole, Corozal, ESBIR, Coxen Hole, Childrens Palace, Jonesville, Punta Gorda and Camp Bay. This year we have seen almost 1,500 children, the large majority we have visited more than once, giving presentations and taking them on the glass bottom boat and guided snorkel tours. As you may have read in previous newsletters, the kids are not only taught about the importance of conserving the reef and its inhabitants, but also the important functions that sea grass and mangroves have. They are also introduced to the concept of Reducing, Recycling and Reusing, the best way to reduce the trash issues on Roatan.
Wildlife Conservation Education
Since we know that conservation efforts should integrate terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the Wildlife Department from COHDEFOR provided the Marine Park with educational booklets regarding terrestrial wildlife conservation. Third graders from the Sandy Bay School had a very entertaining afternoon learning about threatened wildlife and what they can do to help with their protection. We especially focused on the importance of conserving their habitats and how illegal trading affects wildlife populations.
Exposing Journalists
Earlier this month Mayor Dale Jackson held a press conference with around 50 journalists from around Central America. As part of the event, they were invited to attend a glass-bottom boat tour with Mario in West Bay. James went along to act as tour guide, helping the journalists to understand what they were seeing and to answer their questions about why the reef is dying in West Bay and in Roatan in general. James gave them helpful pointers about the effects of unregulated building practices and poorly treated sewage on coral reef health. They went away awe-struck and highly informed about the stresses Roatans reefs are currently facing and the socio-political sources of these problems. They will be disseminating their experiences throughout the regional media over the next few weeks.
Inspections
On Sunday July 27th we received information regarding a construction behind Las Rocas in West Bay. A developer had begun development and was filling in a previously heavily wooded area with red clay without a permit. After receiving the photos of the site, we forwarded this information to Lidia Medina, Environmental Coordinator for the Roatan Municipality. Lidia confirmed that the developer was operating illegally and has informed us that the relevant details have been forwarded to the FISCALIA. All we can do is wait and see what happens to the developer. Sadly, the current laws fail to ensure that the area is restored at the expense of the developer.
Online Donations
As a result of acquiring our NGO status, we are now able to accept online donations! This will be of huge benefit as it will allow people based outside of Roatan to donate to us should they so wish. We hope that this will make remote donations much simpler for all. If you would like to donate to the RMP online, please click on the Donate button on the front page of our website (www.roatanmarinepark.com). Thank you in advance!
Wrapping Up
Thanks for reading and hope you will all be able to attend Septembers General Assembly Meeting.
Nicholas Bach, James Foley and Grazzia Matamoros
July 2008 Newsletter
Introduction
In July the Marine Park was accepted to present at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Florida, the largest ever congregation of coral reef scientists and managers from around the world, and the keystone event of the 2008 International Year of the Reef. More about that in the following pages, but the biggest news this month is that we are finally legally recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization, a goal we have been striving towards since our conception. This achievement is a massive step towards true sustainable management of the Park and the effects will benefit all users of the Marine Park.
Personeria Juridica and the General Assembly
After years of waiting, the Marine Park is officially a legal entity, having received recognition as a N.G.O. by the Honduran Government. The Secretaría de Gobernación y Justicia in Tegucigalpa bestowed the Marine Park with the Personería Jurídica No. 283-2008 and approved the organizations Statutes. Furthermore, the current Agreement Letter signed with COHDEFOR will now turn into a Co-management agreement for the protected area, which makes the RMP a member of The Honduran Group of Protected Areas Co-Managers. Besides that, we are now members of Honduran Registry of Civil Non Profit Associations. All of these give recognition to our organization throughout the country, as well as the eligibility to apply for grants and present environmental complaints to judicial authorities. Also coming up in September is a General Assembly which will be open to the supporters, members and the general public to discuss the progress of the Marine Park, celebrate our NGO status and vote on the Board of Directors. Watch out for further details on this event.
Patrols
Throughout July, in addition to the daytime hours, the patrols operated five nights a week due to numerous reports of people poaching around sundown and early evening. Night patrols, however, are very tricky as it is extremely difficult to catch poachers in the act with such limited vision. A boat or a poacher becomes invisible to our patrols simply by switching their lights off when our engines are heard.
We always try to respond to calls in the evening but it is often hard to coordinate police, captains and boats if they are not working at the time of the call. To date we have only made a handful of evening arrests, highlighting the intricacy of the process.
This months patrols resulted in two arrests and several confiscations of masks and snorkels. After reports of persons diving to the east of Baileys Cay on Sundays, we organized a stakeout involving plain clothed policemen and boat captains. After several hours of waiting, two young men from La Colonia where arrested for possessing speared fish, conch, and lobster. Several others were also involved, but after our boat captains searched the water with a mask, they were unable to find evidence of illegal activities. Since that weekend, there have been doing plain-clothed shore patrols in the vicinity every Sunday.
On July 26th, two young men fresh from the mainland were apprehended but released as it was clear to the boat captain and the police that the men were completely oblivious to the Park regulations. The dead give away was that they were still duck diving for conch as the boat came alongside them. The conch were seized and relocated, the snorkel gear was confiscated and they were brought to the office where they were cautioned and explained in detail the rules and the reasons for their enforcement.
Meetings and Workshops
Every four years the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) convenes as a major scientific conference to provide the latest knowledge about coral reefs worldwide. This years 11th summit, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, drew over 3,500 experts from around the world.Natural scientists, educators, social scientists, conservationists, policy makers, economists, coral reef managers and users, and environmental journalists met together to advance coral reef science, management, and conservation. The ICRS is devoted to the best reef science available, with the purpose of sharing scientific findings with government agencies, resource management, and NGOs throughout the world. This helps organizations like the RMP improve their conservation and management strategies.
The ICRS was an ideal opportunity to tell the world about the Park and the challenges we face in managing a marine park on a fast changing island. James was accepted to give a presentation entitled Challenges Facing a Marine Protected Area Management Body in the Context of a Rapidly Developing Tourism Industry to an audience of over 1000 professional reef experts. The event was a great success and served to launch the Roatan Marine Park onto the international marine conservation stage. James spent the week networking with reef experts, comparing notes, gaining new ideas, promoting our research internship program and seeking new funding opportunities for the Park. The benefits for the RMP and for the community that we serve will be propagated through our activities for a long time to come. To find out more about this event visit http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/.
Protected Area Connectivity Workshop
The RMP was invited to attend a Mesoamerican Coral Reef Targeted Research workshop (CRTR) being held in Florida by the United Nations University and the Nature Conservancy immediately after the ICRS. Fortunately the organizers of the workshop paid for Jamess transport and accommodation so that he was able to attend both events free of charge. The workshop enabled all the major marine resource managers from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras to convene and discuss ways to improve coordination of management between the different areas of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
It is increasingly being recognized that coral reefs are interconnected over vast spatial scales, and that to manage them on a local scale alone is not enough to ensure their long term survival. Evidence suggests that corals in Mexico can originate from larvae spawned in Roatan; Nassau grouper in Roatan can come from eggs that floated down from Belize etc. Without a regional management framework, local management alone will ultimately fail.
A series of recommendations arose from the meeting. A full breakdown can be seen at www.roatanmarinepark.com/CRTR.htm
Education
One of our priorities at the Marine Park is to raise awareness and concern for environmental issues and promote environmentally responsible behaviors through environmental education to the general public. Many would agree that the best method is through educating the children, who then relay this message to their parents. The Parks schools education program started in 2006 with Lidia Salinas, who visited the schools in West End and Sandy Bay and the Alternative School.
To date, the education program has visited eleven schools throughout the island, including schools in West End, Sandy Bay, La Colonia Balfate, Mud Hole, Corozal, ESBIR, Coxen Hole, Childrens Palace, Jonesville, Punta Gorda and Camp Bay. This year we have seen almost 1,500 children, the large majority we have visited more than once, giving presentations and taking them on the glass bottom boat and guided snorkel tours. As you may have read in previous newsletters, the kids are not only taught about the importance of conserving the reef and its inhabitants, but also the important functions that sea grass and mangroves have. They are also introduced to the concept of Reducing, Recycling and Reusing, the best way to reduce the trash issues on Roatan.
Wildlife Conservation Education
Since we know that conservation efforts should integrate terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the Wildlife Department from COHDEFOR provided the Marine Park with educational booklets regarding terrestrial wildlife conservation. Third graders from the Sandy Bay School had a very entertaining afternoon learning about threatened wildlife and what they can do to help with their protection. We especially focused on the importance of conserving their habitats and how illegal trading affects wildlife populations.
Exposing Journalists
Earlier this month Mayor Dale Jackson held a press conference with around 50 journalists from around Central America. As part of the event, they were invited to attend a glass-bottom boat tour with Mario in West Bay. James went along to act as tour guide, helping the journalists to understand what they were seeing and to answer their questions about why the reef is dying in West Bay and in Roatan in general. James gave them helpful pointers about the effects of unregulated building practices and poorly treated sewage on coral reef health. They went away awe-struck and highly informed about the stresses Roatans reefs are currently facing and the socio-political sources of these problems. They will be disseminating their experiences throughout the regional media over the next few weeks.
Inspections
On Sunday July 27th we received information regarding a construction behind Las Rocas in West Bay. A developer had begun development and was filling in a previously heavily wooded area with red clay without a permit. After receiving the photos of the site, we forwarded this information to Lidia Medina, Environmental Coordinator for the Roatan Municipality. Lidia confirmed that the developer was operating illegally and has informed us that the relevant details have been forwarded to the FISCALIA. All we can do is wait and see what happens to the developer. Sadly, the current laws fail to ensure that the area is restored at the expense of the developer.
Online Donations
As a result of acquiring our NGO status, we are now able to accept online donations! This will be of huge benefit as it will allow people based outside of Roatan to donate to us should they so wish. We hope that this will make remote donations much simpler for all. If you would like to donate to the RMP online, please click on the Donate button on the front page of our website (www.roatanmarinepark.com). Thank you in advance!
Wrapping Up
Thanks for reading and hope you will all be able to attend Septembers General Assembly Meeting.
Nicholas Bach, James Foley and Grazzia Matamoros
