Resilience of the Blue Economy and the Coastal Ecosystem in Northern Honduras—MIPESCA [NDF C61]
The project will address mangrove degradation and loss through enhancing the competitiveness of artisanal fishing companies and organizations so as to ensure their sustainable and environmentally responsible inclusion in the economy while preserving the mangrove ecosystem on which their economy depends and increasing their resilience to climate change.
EUR 3.1 Million
Project Period: 2016-2020
Partner Agency: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Objectives
The overall objective of this project is to contain and reduce the loss of mangrove ecosystems in Honduras. This will be done by helping boost the competitiveness of artisanal fishing companies and organizations so as to ensure their sustainable and environmentally responsible inclusion in the economy while preserving the mangrove ecosystem on which their economy depends and increasing their resilience to climate change.
The specific objectives of this project are the following: (i) reduce the intermediation gap between fishing organizations and high-value markets; (ii) improve production practices and product quality; (iii) facilitate the artisanal fishing sector’s access to credit; (iv) strengthen territorial governance in the management and use of natural resources; and (v) raise awareness of the ecosystem services that the project provides for improving the resilience of the population and its economy. The immediate objectives are addressed through five components:
1. Strengthening the administrative-accounting, operational, and business skills and practices of artisanal fishing companies and organizations so they can comply with the law, meet the expectations of their members, and satisfy market requirements. Work is planned in four departments: Cortés, Atlántida, Colón, and Gracias a Dios.
2. Development and adoption of a traceability system by species that confirms the origin, catch volume by location, and handling process carried out at each point in the chain, in addition to promoting trust and loyalty on both sides of the chain..
3. Establishment of a financial instrument in the form of a mutual guarantee fund to serve the artisanal fishing sector.
4. Governance and planning for the sustainable management of the mangrove ecosystem. Participatory and resilient governance models being implemented in 4 mangrove systems and priority fishing sites in co-managed areas and
indigenous territories.
5. To improve knowledge on the measurement of carbon stocks in mangrove ecosystems so that this dimension can be incorporated into the community governance models adopted in the Moskitia region.
Financing
Total budget of EUR 5.9 million (USD 6,527,158). NDF grant will be EUR 3.1 Million and IDB financing will be EUR 1.9 million (USD 2.1 million) The international NGO GOAL will contribute EUR 0.9 million (USD 986,158). Government of Honduras and local communities will provide in-kind contributions.
NDF Contact
Program Manager Aage Jørgensen
Telephone +358 10 618 00
