Abstract

The Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) empowers coastal communities to manage marine resources using data collected by local youths trained under its internationally recognized Community Researcher program. Since 2011, TIDE has developed a comprehensive course to prepare young people from disadvantaged stakeholder communities of Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR) for careers in conservation and resource management that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. The course comprises scuba training and fieldwork methods training at three progressive levels, taught by TIDE’s research staff to strengthen teamwork and site-specific fieldwork skills. Research methods taught include monitoring of water quality, conch, lobster, coral reefs, fish, sea grass, turtles, and lionfish. Foundation courses are taught in environmental science, reef ecology, fisheries, climate change and human impacts. The program generates young ambassadors of conservation who become agents of change in the developing world by fostering stewardship, building local capacity for conservation, offering alternative livelihoods and personal development opportunities - all while addressing challenges faced by PHMR managers. This approach builds trust between PHMR stakeholders and scientists, fostering integration of local knowledge and science into decision making for management of PHMR and generating consensus over MPA regulations in an environment of limited enforcement capacity. Local fishers are now more receptive to the idea that resource management can be done by the community for the community due to their own family members collecting data, and report having more confidence in the use of scientific research as a basis for MPA management.

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