WWF INVOLVEMENT IN THE GREATER CARIBBEAN



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WF got involved in the Greater Caribbean in 1961. Since then, some US$24 million has been spent on conservation work throughout the region. The largest amount (36%) has been for set aside for education, training, organizational development, and capacity-building. Just under a third (31%) has been spent on planning and management of protected areas, about a sixth (16%) on protection and management of species, and the rest (12%) used to promote the sustainable use of resources.

The Greater Caribbean Programme, which is part of WWF's Latin America and Caribbean Programme, was formally set up in 1992. Two Programme Offices have been established in Mexico, and one in Costa Rica for Central America. In addition, there are four Project Management Offices situated in Belize (Belmopán), Mexico (Oaxaca), St Lucia, and Costa Rica (San José).

For over four decades, vast tracts of forest-land have been cleared or severely damaged. Hence, early WWF work in this region concentrated on two priority biomes (life zones) forests and oceans/coasts. Today, WWF's forest conservation and management projects cover a wide range of both dry and moist forests in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominica, and St Lucia.

The region has other problems. Coastal and marine areas are becoming less productive due to over-exploitation, indiscriminate pollution, drainage schemes, and inappropriate development. Conservation of key coastal and marine habitats (mangrove forests, sea grass beds, and coral reefs) is the main focus of the Insular Caribbean Programme. In the region's coastal zone, assistance is being provided to projects in Mexico (Southern Yucatan and the Gulf of California), Belize, Southern Honduras, and Northeast Nicaragua.

For the next three years, WWF's strategies will have a three-pronged focus planning and management of protected areas, sustainable development, education schemes, and institutional development. In addition, environmental legislation in treaties will be promoted. These include a study of the impact of pesticides on coastal and marine ecosystems and the establishment of a toxicchemical register. A Land-Based Pollution Protocol to the Cartagena Convention, the international convention covering the Caribbean, is also being developed.




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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature