Caribbean coastal resources co-management - Part 1

Coastal resources co-management is a relatively recent development in the systems of natural resources governance in the English-speaking Caribbean. There is much interest in co-management among government agencies and non-governmental organisations, ranging from consulting with stakeholders to delegated and community-based management. Resource users are less familiar with the concept. The Coastal and Marine Management Program (CaMMP) of the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) is implementing a project on developing guidelines for successful coastal resources co-management in the Caribbean. It is part of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Natural Resources Systems Programme (NRSP) for the Land-Water Interface. Cases of co-management initiatives in Barbados (sea urchins and Fisheries Advisory Committee), Belize (marine protected area and Fisheries Advisory Board), and Grenada (lobster and seine net fisheries) are being documented. Less detailed investigations are being done in other locations. The ecological and institutional analysis research framework, some preliminary findings and a few tentative conclusions are provided here as 'Part 1' in sharing project outputs. The project is expected to conclude in mid-2003, with further outputs to be reported at subsequent GCFI meetings.