Co-management of Laughing Bird Caye National Park

Laughing Bird Caye national Park is an ideal one-day excursion for tourists visiting Placencia, a Belizean village booming with tourism. Nearly every tourist visits the Park, and visitors' impacts are becoming evident. Degradation would severely damage the tourism industry that, along with large-scale shrimp aquaculture, is replacing fishing as major local economic activities. In 1996, a group of community members formed the Friends of Laughing Bird Caye committee (FOLBC) and registered the NGO aimed at protecting and promoting the sustainability of the natural resources off the coast of Placencia. However, management of the park continued to be voluntary and minimal due to the NGO's lack of capacity. Yet they installed buoys, replaced trees, established a voluntary no-fishing zone, and engaged in environmental education. Also in 1996, the National Park was declared a World Heritage Site along with six other protected areas known as the Belize Barrier Reef System. In June 2001 FOLBC signed an agreement with the Forestry Department for co-management of Laughing Bird Caye. The Marine Protected Area (MPA) is now formally under community-based management. The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute assisted to build FOLBC capacity, and in March 2001 provided a Reserve Manager, Ranger and boat. FOLBC acquired another ranger and has vigorously sought ties with a wide community of interested stakeholders, including other NGOs and donor agencies, to continue the process of building capacity for managing the MPA. The impacts of Hurricane Iris on the caye and NGO resulted in serious setbacks.