IICD supported project: Conserving Mangroves with ICTs and Community Production

Countries: Ecuador [EC]
Sectors: environment

Summary

Ecuador's economic policies are geared toward extracting natural resources to repay the foreign debt, which entails destruction of Amazon and other tropical forests, land suited to farming, and mangrove ecosystem areas along the Ecuadorian coast. Accordingly, the National Coordinating Corporation to Defend the Mangrove has created initiatives in provinces of the Ecuadorian Coastal Region, working with grassroots communities and organizations to recover, conserve, and defend the mangrove ecosystem, which is a natural heritage of the Coast, considered among the five most productive ecological units in the world. The MANGROVE ICTs project promotes community production initiatives currently underway on Ecuador's coast around the mangrove ecosystem, by publicizing the experiences carried out; complementing, processing and publicizing research; training communities; exchanging experiences; and promoting and disseminating the strengthened production initiatives. The first stage will be pursued in the province of Esmeraldas in the northern part of the Cayapas Mataje Mangrove Reserve, reinforcing the proposal to produce bio-aquatic species (shellfish and blue crabs), and in the southern part of the Muisne River Mangrove Ecosystem Wildlife Refuge, by supporting community ecotourism. Later, the proposal will extend to the provinces of El Oro, Manabí and Guayas where organizations from C-CONDEM are pursuing small-scale activities to produce shellfish and crustaceans and promote community tourism in the mangrove ecosystem.

Objectives

The development goal of C-CONDEM is to construct a community management proposal to recover, conserve, and defend the mangrove ecosystem on the Ecuadorian Coast, while ensuring the human rights of communities who are ancestral users of this ecosystem. The overall goal of the Mangrove ICTs project is to strengthen local knowledge and capacities of organizations and communities who are ancestral users of the mangrove system, to improve their management of production initiatives related to conserving the ecosystem by using ICTs.

Planned outputs

• Systematization and reflection on community tourism processes in the canton of Muisne and repopulation of shellfish in the canton of Limones.
• Support for research and community strategic planning processes to support the project.
• Production of PowerPoint multimedia presentations by C-CONDEM promoters to reproduce knowledge acquired through technical research, systematization and experience exchange.
• Validation of communication products with the community.
• Publicizing and disseminating communication and information products to inform and train communities around Muisne and Limones to handle production initiatives regarding ecosystem conservation.
• Exchanging alternative community production experiences as a feedback process for local population groups and to incorporate production alternatives in the mangrove ecosystem environment.
• ICT training for the project team is a major thrust, emphasizing not only the technical part but also construction of the communication message.
• Institutional capacity-building for C-CONDEM to promote sharing of information and knowledge among its members, other institutions and organizations through its Website www.ccondem.org.ec, a bulletin board and electronic newsletters.

Development Impacts

Incorporation of production alternatives in the mangrove ecosystem, and audiovisual and print records of activities done with the communities, promoters, leaders, technicians and coordinators, will aim to construct - with community participation - a model for recovery, conservation and management of the mangrove ecosystem as a protected area favoring sustainable local development. All actions to defend, conserve and recover the mangrove ecosystem on the Ecuadorian coast began with a local community proposal, which has gradually and increasingly influenced broader mangrove management policies. There has only recently been any public recognition and among authorities of the seriousness of coastline destruction.

Management and organisation

The project promoter is the National Coordinating Corporation to Defend the Mangrove Ecosystem (C-CONDEM). This organization groups over 20 grassroots member organizations, including associations and communities of small-scale fishing and gathering people, environmental and social NGOs of Ecuador. Project management and administration is under the responsibility of C-CONDEM’s President and Coordinator-General, who also coordinate training and evaluate the process along with partners and communities involved. Since September 2003, C-CONDEM has been Executive Secretariat of the International Mangrove Network to strengthen local community initiatives in participating countries regarding mangrove management worldwide. Since January 2003, C-CONDEM has had a cooperation agreement with the Environment Ministry to administer and oversee the Ecuadorian coastal mangrove ecosystem. In December 2003, it joined the RAMSAR National Committee as the top advisory policy body for planning and coordination of activities to enforce the Wetlands Convention in Ecuador.

Market and finance

The organization has funding from Hivos of the Netherlands and SWISSAID for approximately $60,000 USD per year. This enables the Coordinating Corporation to maintain some of its activities. Project formulation, implementation and monitoring, and administration of funds are C-CONDEM’s responsibility.

Lessons learned

• It is necessary to strengthen production initiatives in local organizations and communities in mangrove ecosystem areas on the Ecuadorian Coast, through information and communication processes grounded in their own knowledge, with scientific and technical information inputs.
• Producing material is highly important for the project, since the material must be responsive to the needs of population groups involved, enabling them to build their capacity to handle resources, and provoking reflection and experience exchange.

Budget

The project budget is $46,000 USD every six months.

Project Owner : National Coordinating Corporation to Defend the Mangrove Ecosystem (C-CONDEM) of Ecuador manglares@ccondem.org.ec

Project Partners :

Funders: HIVOS - Humanistic Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries
COSUDE Swiss Development Cooperation

Project Contact : IICD