case studies undp: garifuna emergency committee, honduras

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: GARIFUNA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE, Honduras

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Honduras

GARIFUNA EMERGENCYCOMMITTEE OF HONDURAS

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that woor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practitionthemselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succto scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Yearsthe Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Par

Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Gariuna Emergency Committee o Honduras. All photo credits courtesy o Gariuna Emergency Committee o Honduras. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Gariuna Emergency Committee o Honduras, Honduras. Equator Initiative Case Stu

Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


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PROJECT SUMMARYThis women-led initiative arose in 1998 in response to thedevastating eects o Hurricane Mitch on sixteen agrarianGariuna communities. These peoples o Aro-indigenousdescent have traditionally been socioeconomicallymarginalized in Honduras, and their agricultural livelihoodswere hard hit by the loss o 70% o the countrys crops dueto heavy ooding.

Beyond initial disaster relie eorts, the initiative hassought to improve local resilience to uture environmentaldisasters. By conserving orests, incorporating sustainable

agricultural practices or hillside arming, adoptingappropriate technologies, rehabilitating beaches, andsupporting the land reorm eorts o disenranchisedGariuna communities, Comite de Emergencia Garunais helping to ensure that uture generations o Gariunaare able to live prosperously and in balance with healthyecosystems.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2004

FOUNDED: 1998

LOCATION: Coln

BENEFICIARIES: 16 GARIFUNA COMMUNITIES

BIODIVERSITY: COASTAL HUMID-TROPICAL FOREST

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GARIFUNA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE OFHONDURASHonduras

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 11


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he Garuna Emergency Committee o Honduras (Comite demergencia Garuna, CEGAH) is an Aro-Indigenous group that was

ounded by a group o emale Garuna community leaders in 1998 toupport critical reconstruction eorts within Garuna communitiesected by Hurricane Mitch.

The efects o Hurricane Mitch on the Garuna

n late 1998, Hurricane Mitch saw up to 1.9 metres o rainall in

Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua over a ve day period. Deathsue to catastrophic ooding made it the second deadliest Atlanticurricane in history; in Honduras alone the extreme ooding and

mudslides killed over 6,500 and let several thousand missing. Acrosshe country, the storm destroyed 33,000 houses and damaged 50,000

thers, leaving over 20% o the countrys population homeless.Mitchs rainall also resulted in severe crop losses, aecting more

han 300 square miles (800 km2) or 29% o the countrys arable land.An estimated 70% o the countrys crops were destroyed by ooding,ncluding 58% o the corn output, 24% o sorghum, 14% o rice, and

% o the bean crop. Crop damage alone was estimated anywhererom $900 million to $1.7 billion (1998 USD). Severe crop shortages

et many villages on the brink o starvation, while overcrowding andlack o sanitation led to outbreaks o malaria, dengue ever, cholera,

onjunctivitis and chickenpox. In all, an estimated 7,000 people wereeported dead and damage totaled $3.8 billion.

he impacts o Hurricane Mitch ell particularly hard upon Garunaommunities living along the Caribbean coast o Honduras. The

Garuna are descendants o the Carib, Arawak, and West Aricaneoples. They currently populate the Caribbean coast o Belize,

Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, while there are many diasporaommunities living in the United States. Their language, Garuna, iscreole which derives primarily rom Arawak, Carib, English, French

nd Spanish. The origins o the tribe date to 1665, when two Britishlave ships were wrecked near the island o San Vicente. The ships

were carrying West Arican slaves to British colonies in the area o

Martinique, Santa Lucia, Granada, Dominica, and Barbados.shipwrecked slaves swam to the island o San Vicente and event

began to mix with the Arawak Indians living there. By 1750, tprosperous and numerous communities were known as Garuna. Ater a series o wars with British colonial orces, how

approximately 5,000 o the tribe were expelled rom San Vicenthe Honduran mainland where they settled the coastal town

known as Trujillo.

The Caribbean coast o Honduras comprises the southern enthe Mesoamerican Barrier Ree System. The coastal zone conmainland ree ormations, mangroves, wetlands, sea grass

and extensive ringing rees around its oshore islands. The to Trujillo is surrounded by two protected areas: Parque Nac

Capiro-Calentura, a National Park, and Reserva de Vida SilvLaguna Guaimoreto, a Wildlie Preserve. Capiro-Calentur

composed o lowland evergreen tropical rain orest. These oare Honduras most species-rich ecosystems with as many asspecies o tree per hectare. The reserves are also particularly ri

amphibians with 26 species comprising 31% o the national t

Background and Context


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hese ecological eatures orm part o a complex natural systemhat is requently disrupted by periodic natural disturbances suchs hurricanes, ooding, res, and droughts. While these natural

occurrences are common in tropical areas and are importantomponents o healthy ecosystems to the extent that they alter

he ecological balance and acilitate growth and renewal theirmpact upon human communities can be devastating.

A community-based response to natural disasterCEGAH was born out o necessity. The scale o destruction

et by Hurricane Mitch was beyond the capacity o nationalisaster response units to adequately respond to, leaving many

municipalities to pool resources and organize rescue operationson their own. As a result, over 250 Garuna women rom severely

ected communities in and around Trujillo organized themselves

o provide rst-response disaster relie services or Garunapopulations as they awaited the deployment o international relie

nits. Their main objective was to construct shelters or amilies letomeless by the hurricane and to address the rapidly deteriorating

ood security situation in 16 Garuna communities. Working with

nternational humanitarian and relie organizations such as the UNmergency operations organs (UNOCHA, UNDAC, UNICEF), CEGAHelped to coordinate critical humanitarian support services such asearch and rescue, emergency medical services, the construction o

emporary shelters, the provision o ood, clothing, and constructionmaterials, and providing counseling or traumatized victims.

n response to the urgent need to relocate victims let homeless

by the hurricane and to combat the growing threat o epidemicsn overcrowded shelters, CEGAH concentrated their eorts on

stablishing tool banks to acilitate the reconstruction o houses

and buildings. The tool banks were established in each o thcommunities targeted by CEGAH and they proved to be crto the reconstruction o devastated households. The initial

rapid success o the tool banks not only legitimized the existo a emale-led organization within a traditionally male-domin

culture, but also ensured that gender equality become a thcommon to all o CEGAHs projects.

Building local resilience to environmental riskAter the most pressing needs o local communities had been

CEGAH began shiting its ocus rom disaster response to dismanagement and preparedness. Having endured one o the

devastating natural disasters in recent memory, CEGAH concentits eorts on assisting local communities to increase their capto mitigate and manage the impacts o natural disasters. CE

immediately undertook initiatives aimed at combating povand malnutrition, diversiying incomes, conserving critical hab

restoring degraded areas, advocating or land reorm, protectinGaruna peoples cultural heritage, and promoting gender equ

within Garuna communities. Specic activities have inclu

developing sustainable agricultural systems to boost productdiversiy crops, improve ood security, and augment incoprotecting orests upon which the Garuna rely or econoreligious, and cultural purposes; strengthening Garuna land r

which they elt to be threatened by outside inuences such as cranchers, loggers, and commercial developers; ensuring the sur

o traditional Garuna cultural practices through holding arworkshops or Garuna youth; and promoting gender equalit

prioritizing the role o women in leadership positions withinorganization.


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Key Activities and Innovations

he key activities o CEGAH center on disaster management.hrough a variety o innovative poverty reduction, environmentalonservation, and cultural awareness initiatives, CEGAH is equipping

ocal communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to respondo uture challenges. Within the rubric o disaster management,

CEGAH ocuses primarily on disaster prevention, mitigation,esponse and resilience through strengthening livelihoods and

mproving the sustainability o the agricultural sector.

mproving agricultural productivity

he impact o Hurricane Mitch on the agricultural sector was

normous. As mentioned, ooding destroyed at least 70% o theountrys crops leaving many villages on the brink o starvation.

Recognizing the urgent need or a more resilient agricultural

ector, CEGAH works to acilitate the adoption o agriculturalechniques which diversiy production, increase yields, strengthen

ood security, and diversiy arming incomes. Prior to Mitch, thetaple crop o the Garuna was a root crop called yucca (or maniocoot, Manihot esculenta). Yucca is highly susceptible to rotting i

oils are too moist. The extensive rains and ooding triggeredby Mitch caused widespread losses o this crop and pushed

many communities to the brink o starvation. In response to theprecarious ood security situation, CEGAH worked with Garuna

armers on various crop diversication projects which increased

production o other traditional root crops such as ginger, taro root,ed yam, arrow root and sweet potato as well as ruit trees. Farmers

lso received training in sustainable arming techniques and in on-arm production o necessary inputs such as organic ertilizers such

s Bokachi, a ermented organic ertilizer which is cheap, ast, andasy to produce using locally available materials. Diversication and

ntensication o agricultural production has enhanced householdccess to a wider variety o ood sources and has greatly improvedhe ood security situation o Garuna communities. Intensication

o production and proper soil management also reduces the need toxpand agricultural production into nearby orests. CEGAHs eorts

are generating many economic benets and increasing the dispreparedness and response capacity o Garuna communities.

Value-added processing o natural resources

In addition to arm-level orientation and support, CEGAH as

communities in the production and marketing o arm prodGaruna armers are predominately women. Traditionally, Gar

women would not only harvest yucca, but would also spend hmore boiling, drying, and grinding their harvest into the sta

our that is used in the production o casave bread. Casave bis a staple in the Garuna diet, and is highly prized in urban a

where, due to the time and labor required or production,relatively scarce. CEGAH successully acquired nancing to procommunities with labor-augmenting mills to be used in grin

the yucca into our. Now, casave producers can more quicklyefciently process yucca into bread and earn substantially hi

incomes or their eorts. The extra income provided by the milsignicant nancial achievement in these marginalized and isoareas. The mills provide communities an additional benet in

they are able to store surplus quantities o yucca our. Thus, itimes when ood security is at its most precarious, it is certain th

least there will be casave bread to eat until the next harvest.

CEGAH also assists communities to commercialize agricultura

artisanal production by providing training seminars and establisMercado Wabagari, the rst ever Garuna armers market. Far

rom previously isolated markets are now able to sell cropsplantains, yucca, breadruit, saltsh, pineapple, hot peppers, y

our, casave bread, oranges, sugar cane, wild ruits such as jicand camacama, sweet potato bread, coconut oil and mango

at more competitive prices. Crats produced through the arworkshops are also brought to market or sale, earning artadditional income. With greater diversity in the harvest and m

efcient methods o production and marketing, communitieable to plan beyond mere survival.


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ncentivizing orest conservation

he Garuna have long conserved natural areas or their artisanal,

eligious and medicinal plants, and CEGAH supports local Garunaommunities in conserving local orests. For example, the initiative

ow encompasses a livelihood project to cultivate balaire, a orestesource o great cultural and economic importance to the Garuna.

alaire is a vine-like climbing palm which the Garuna utilize in a

ariety o ways, rom ashioning cooking implements to weavingaskets or carrying harvests, rewood, or other supplies. La culebra

the snake) is a traditional Garuna implement crated rom balairend used in the production o the traditional casave bread. As it is

climbing palm, balaire depends upon other trees or mechanicalupport. The balaire project exemplies how CEGAH is partnering

with local communities to provide realistic economic incentives ornvironmental conservation.

Another key activity is the uel-efcient Justa Stove project. Thesetoves help reduce the amount o rewood needed or cooking,

llowing amilies to save up to 70% on uel wood consumptionompared to traditional open-pit cooking res. Families that buy or

ollect rewood are able to save time and money or other necessitiesuch as medicine and schooling. There are also signicant health

enets associated with using the Justa stove. The chimney canemove 95% o the toxic gases produced through the combustion wood. By promoting this technology, CEGAH is helping to

rotect local orest and water resources and protecting the health owomen and children, who are disproportionately aected by smoke

roduced rom cooking.

Youth and gender empowerment

CEGAH also promotes youth and leadership development, thereby

nsuring the sustainability o their work or uture generations.Capitalizing on the balaire conservation project, artisan workshops

re oered to local youth in order to provide them with income

enerating skills while at the same time promoting the preservation traditional Garuna practices. Youth are trained in traditional

rtisan techniques and are able to earn roughly US$30 a monthelling their work at the armers market or to visiting tourists.

CEGAH is also working with local high school students in the nearbyown o Limn to reorest degraded coastal habitat with nativeruit and hardwood tree species. Through the various reorestation

nitiatives, CEGAH is helping to ensure that the Garuna leaders oomorrow are gaining valuable knowledge and experience about

rotecting the environment while sustainably developing their

ommunities. By empowering communities and ensuring that theyre able to maintain control over their ancestral lands and keephem productive, the Garuna are able to oer viable economiclternatives to youth who might otherwise migrate in search o

pportunity in crowded urban areas.

CEGAH is also a champion o gender equality and womensmpowerment it is entirely emale-led. Women orm a majority

participants in CEGAH and it is women who comprise thegricultural sector in Garuna communities. Women are also therimary producers o casave and coconut products, and they are

the central actors in the commercialization o arm products anreorestation activities. Though not an all-womans group, CEGgenuine commitment to womens empowerment and participa

has been eatured as an example o Best Practice by the HuaCommission, a global coalition that empowers grassroots wom

organizations to enhance their community development praand to exercise collective political power at the global level.

Institutional organization

CEGAH is a democratically run organization governed by a boadirectors consisting o representatives rom the ve municipacovered by the initiative (Iriona, Santa Rosa de Aguan, Santa

Limon, and Trujillo). This board o directors oversees a GenAssembly composed o representatives rom each o the

community boards. Each community board consists o sub-direcand supervises the community tool banks. Representatives are

accountable to the members who number roughly 250. The GenAssembly meets monthly at CEGAH headquarters in Trujillo, Cothese meetings are open to the public.


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Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

Protecting and enhancing biodiversity is a top priority or CEGAH.The Garuna take pride in helping to improve local conservation oboth Parque Nacional Capiro-Calentura and Reserva de Vida Silvestre

aguna Guaimoreto, protecting one o the ew areas in the regionwhere wild parrots, crocodiles, monkeys and other wild mammals,

eptiles and birds are still relatively abundant. CEGAH mirrors thisonservationist ethic by aiming to relate biodiversity to people and

heir livelihoods. The traditional livelihoods within coastal Garunaommunities include non-mechanized subsistence arming,shing, and the production o artisanal goods. CEGAH works with

ommunities to identiy important economic and social incentivesor habitat protection and rural development. The organic arming

projects, reorestation o coastal habitat, orest conservation throughhe balaire project, and the Justa stove project all encompass

ctivities that simultaneously benet local communities and theenvironment.

Sustainably conserving orest resources

or example, balaire production protects local orests romdeorestation. Used mainly or artisanal purposes, Balaire or bayaldesmoncus orthacanthus) is a native vine-like species o the palmamily that once grew abundantly throughout the region. Due to

widespread deorestation by non-Garuna cattle ranchers, armersnd loggers, local stocks were growing increasingly threatened. To

ensure that local supplies o Balaire would not be depleted, CEGAH

upported the establishment o community nurseries and increasedvigilance in the protection o local orests. Communities now

ultivate Balaire in its natural habitat. Once the vine reaches maturity4-7 years) it can be used or crating traditional Garuna cookingmplements, such as the 9 oot long culebra which is used in the

production o casave bread. Balaire is also sustainably harvested mature vines are cut and sold to artisans while the remaining portion

o the stem continues to grow. The sustainable production o Balaire

has brought about many co-benets including the conservo orested and riparian areas that directly support local wil

strengthening local hydrological systems, and expanding incgenerating opportunities or community members.

Another example o CEGAHs commitment to biodiversity isyouth beach reorestation program. Through workshops

reorestation activities, edible ruit-bearing trees which used tabundant sea grapes (Coccoloba uviera), almond, camaca

nance (Byrsonima crassiolia), cashews (Anacardium occiden

jicacos (Chrysobalanus icaco) now populate coastal areas aThe trees will not only help protect the beach against erosion

the wind and sur generated by the annual tropical storms, bualso provide ruit that can be sold in the armers market.


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SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

All o the projects undertaken by CEGAH are designed to not only

protect the environment but also to benet the Garuna people.For example, Mercado Wabagari enables armers in isolated towns

o access larger markets and sell their products at more competitiveprices. While prots vary according to supply and demand actors,

having access to a larger market can yield signicant income gains

or armers. The yucca mills also allow women in isolated villages toearn extra income selling casave in urban areas. CEGAH estimates

hat a 25kg sack o yucca can yield roughly 20 casaves, worth aboutUS$20.

The Youth Artisan course is another example o how the initiative

s helping communities to reduce poverty. Youth are trained inraditional Garuna artisan techniques and are able to earn around

US$30 a month selling their work, and perhaps even more duringholidays or tourist season. The balaire project also generatesignicant economic benets. Within our to ve years o planting,

each mature balaire vine can yield roughly US$30 in crated goods.

POLICY IMPACTS

CEGAH was approached to participate in a planning meeting

coordinated by SEPLAN (the Honduran Ministry o Urban Planningand Cooperation Unit), COPECO (the Honduran Emergency Response

Commission), DIPECO, and local elected ofcials to evaluate theNational Ministrys disaster relie plan. CEGAH presented their workon the Community Resilience Fund (CRF). The und is supported

by the Norwegian Ministry o Foreign Aairs, UNDP, and the WorldBanks Global Facility or Disaster Reduction and Recovery, and

s a mechanism to channel unds directly to community based

organizations and womens groups living in disaster prone aAs a result o their participation, CEGAH was invited by the Mo Cantarranas, another disaster-prone community located in

Honduran highlands, to train his sta on community resiliencethe local implementation o the U.N. Hyogo Framework o A

(HFA). CEGAH also signed a memorandum o understanding witHonduran Government to develop programs on housing and

security. CEGAH has also negotiated with the Honduran Hou

Ministry or the construction o 100 homes in Trujillo, and 200 hoin Rio Esteban, and to establish community housing councils in

locality.

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Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYroad based-community support provides the bedrock or

CEGAHs three pillars o sustainability: institutional, nancial, and

nvironmental sustainability. By engaging communities at allevels o project administration rom design, to implementation,o monitoring and evaluation CEGAH teaches that every voice

ounts, and that everybody has a role in helping to create a morerosperous uture or their community.

Social, economic, and environmental sustainability

CEGAH ensures institutional sustainability through various capacityuilding activities within the organization. Periodic workshops

n undraising, teamwork, and leadership development providemembers with opportunities or personal and proessional growth

nd help to underscore the ounding principles o the organization.

Members are encouraged to not only participate in ofcial events,ut also to represent the organization within leadership roles as well.

Many members describe how they used to ear public speaking, butow, thanks to their experience working with CEGAH, can speak

ondently in ront o large groups o strangers. The organization isnriched by the act that project participants come rom a variety oackgrounds with diering levels o training and education. CEGAH

s empowering communities to be assertive and united.

CEGAH also ensures the nancial sustainability o the organizationhrough the variety o income generation programs they support.

or example, the agricultural component o the project reducesarmers dependence on expensive chemical and synthetic armnputs. Organic compost and repellents are produced using

materials produced on the arm and many crops can be replantedwith seeds, roots or stems, eliminating the need to purchase

hese costly inputs. In addition, CEGAH encourages strategic armlanning or short (yucca, plantain), medium (coconuts, ruit trees,

alaire) and long-term (hard woods) harvest and income generation

horizons. As part o these programs, participants are requirere-invest a percentage o proceeds back into program activ

in order to ensure long-term program viability. Central tosustainability o any agricultural project is a pay it orward cla

All project beneciaries sign an agreement to provide a portioseeds to another armer, and a portion o their harvest to an elor otherwise person in need.

Investments in higher priced items the yucca mill, construc

equipment, etc. allows participants to generate income strevital to the continued maintenance and operation o the equipm

For example, yucca-grinding mill operators charge a small e

use o the mills which is then allocated or purchasing dieselperorming routine maintenance or repairs. Another examp

the nancial sustainability o the project is the youth artisan coInitially, tools and materials were provided to the course, but

participants can purchase these inputs using their own earning

Above all others, environmental sustainability is the pillar uwhich the uture o all o CEGAHs projects rests. CEGAH recogthe vital role that a healthy environment plays in meeting

needs o the present generation without compromising the ao uture generations to meet their own needs. By conse

orests, incorporating sustainable agricultural practices, adopappropriate technologies, rehabilitating beaches, and suppo

the land reorm eorts o disenranchised Garuna communCEGAH is helping to ensure that uture generations o Garunable to live prosperously and in balance with healthy ecosystem

REPLICATION

In addition to helping develop the National Disaster Relie PlanSEPLAN and COPECO, CEGAHs eorts are being replicated in o

localities along the coast. Five nearby towns have implementbalaire conservation project. In San Jose de La Punta, the comm


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declaring the zone around their local water reservoir an area

erde, or green zone, and planting balaire within the boundary,while in Iriona Viejo, community members are conserving various

ntouched parcels o orest or balaire cultivation. Farmers rom

ommunities not encompassed by CEGAH have also been able to sellheir produce in the Mercado Wabagari, benetting themselves as

roducers while oering a wider variety o products or consumerso choose rom. Nearby towns are also replicating the successes

chieved through the mechanical yucca grinding mills.

PARTNERS

EGAH has created partnerships with several key local andnternational organizations, most notably, Fundacin Calentura y

uaimoreto (FUCAGUA), Organizacin Fraternal Negra HondureaOFRANEH), the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), WITNESS,

nd the Public Charter School 1 rom Denver, Colorado, USA.

UCAGUA is a local environmental NGO legally chartered in 1992y the Teachers Union o Trujillo with support rom UNDP and the

.S. Peace Corps to protect the local coastal ecosystems. FUCAGUAuccessully lobbied that Parque Nacional Capiro-Calentura andeserva de Vida Silvestre Laguna Guaimoreto be ormally designated

s a national park and wildlie reuge, respectively.

OFRANEH is the national Garuna organization o Hond

established in 1978 as a ederation o Garuna communities. main ocus o OFRANEH is to deend the territorial and cultural rio the Garuna populations o Honduras. OFRANEH was suppo

or eight years by AJWS in implementing a project titled BuilGaruna Response in Adaptation to Climate Change and De

o Land Rights to support the development o a community-bapproach to climate change and disaster-risk reduction, inclu

early warning systems. The organization also works to ormalizerole o women in a national network and provides legal supporcourt cases regarding land rights.

WITNESS is an international nonprot organization that uses

power o video and storytelling to open the eyes o the worhuman rights abuses. It was co-ounded in 1992 by musician

human rights advocate Peter Gabriel, Human Rights First andReebok Human Rights Foundation. A movie entitled GarHolding Ground/When the River Met the Sea was produce

conjunction with CEGAH in support o the residents o a neGaruna community struggling against an illegal highway bui

wealthy ranchers without an environmental permit as requirelaw. The construction o the highway caused deorestation w

has since contributed to ooding and water contamination.

CEGAH teamed up with Public Charter School 1 rom Den

Colorado, meanwhile, in launching the Justa Stove pilot project


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Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017Tel: +1 646 781-4023www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

Gariuna Emergency Committee PhotoStory (Vimeo) vimeo.com/24285331
http://vimeo.com/24285331http://vimeo.com/24285331http://vimeo.com/24285331http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348067785.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348150280.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348165961.pdf

case studies undp: garifuna emergency committee, honduras

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