Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO...

download Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES   OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO   BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

of 11

Transcript of Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO...

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    1/11

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

    Honduras

    ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEESOF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICOBONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB)

    Empowered live

    Resilient nation

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    2/11

    UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

    Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

    or 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 practition

    themselves 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 succ

    to 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 Years

    the 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, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Sean Cox, Larissa Currado, David Godrey, Sarah Gordon,

    Oliver Hughes, Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma

    Mary McGraw, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding

    DesignSean Cox, Oliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Loren

    de la Parra, Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

    AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Association o Water Committees o Pico Bonito National Park and in particu

    the guidance and inputs o Zumilda Duarte (AJAASSPIB) and Chris Patterson (EcoLogic Development Fund). All photo credits courtesy

    AJAASSPIB and Chris Patterson. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

    Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2013. Association o Water Committees o the Southern Sector o Pico Bonito National Pa

    Honduras. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.

    http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=685http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-eventshttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:10years&catid=189:2012-events
  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    3/11

    PROJECT SUMMARYThis association o 27 village water committees located inthe southern buer zone o Hondurass Pico Bonito NationalPark oversees the management o micro-watersheds andtrains local communities in reorestation, conservation andthe application o environmentally riendly technologies. Aprimary ocus is ensuring local access to potable water in aregion prone to shortages.

    The association made the connection between decliningreshwater supply and deorestation, unsustainableagricultural practices, ranching, and rewood collection

    taking place in local watersheds. The association bringstogether water committees who are responsible ormaintaining water delivery systems, protecting waterrecharge zones, and both collecting and regulating water-use ees. The association has reorested more than 120hectares o land with native tree species. It has grown romour to 27 water committees and serves as a learning modelor more than 80 communties across the northern coast othe country.

    KEY FACTS

    EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2012

    FOUNDED: 2003

    LOCATION: Aguan River Valley watershed, Olanchito

    BENEFICIARIES: 11,000 people in 27 communities

    BIODIVERSITY: Pico Bonito National Park

    3

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Background and Context 4

    Key Activities and Innovations 6

    Biodiversity Impacts 7

    Socioeconomic Impacts 7

    Policy Impacts 8

    Sustainability 9

    Replication 10

    Partners 10

    ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THESOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARKHonduras

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    4/11

    4

    he Association o Water Committees o the Southern Sector o

    ico Bonito National Park (La Asociacin de Juntas Administradoras

    de Agua del Sector Sur de Pico Bonito - AJAASSPIB) is a volunteer-run

    ssociation o 27 village water committees located in the southern

    uer zone o Hondurass Pico Bonito National Park. The association

    works to ensure the sustainability o potable water or its member

    ommunities by promoting eective local governance o water

    esources and conservation o the orests that sustain them.

    ocated on the northern coast o Honduras near the town o La

    Ceiba, Pico Bonito National Park is the third largest national park

    n the country. The park covers 265,000 acres o land and contains

    wide range o habitats, including tropical broadlea, conier andloud orests, all o which host a great diversity o animals including

    aguars, armadillos, wild pigs, monkeys, toucans, mountains lions

    nd several endangered and endemic species. Park orests also

    maintain important ecosystem services, including resh water

    rovision. A sizable rural population depends on the water provided

    y this ecosystem.

    AJAASSPIB works in the Aguan River Valley watershed in the

    municipality o Olanchito. The associations work has been o

    mmense importance or the communities o the upper valley as

    hey, like many in rural Honduras, have suered marked reductions

    n available reshwater due to deorestation and the degradation

    rivers. The drivers o this environmental decline include logging,nsustainable agricultural practices, ranching and rewood

    ollection. Political instability and a decit o investment on the part

    the central government has also let water delivery inrastructure

    n rural areas in disrepair. The communities served by AJAASSPIB are

    ocated in a particularly dry region with ew economic opportunities.

    Average incomes in the region are 25 per cent less than the national

    verage, with nearly a third o the population living in extreme

    overty. Three o the associations member communities are

    olupan an indigenous group o approximately 650 people within

    he municipality o Olanchito.

    A history o decentralized water management

    AJAASSPIB was ormed in 2003 when the members o our vi

    water committees decided that the threats conronting the w

    catchment area could be more eectively addressed by wor

    together.

    Village water committees (Juntas Administradoras de Agua)

    common throughout Honduras and, in their current orm, repres

    legacy o the decentralisation and privatization o the countrys w

    sector since the mid-1990s. Hondurass Poverty Reduction Stra

    Paper (2001) set a target o achieving 95 per cent access to po

    water and sanitation by 2015, and identied the decentralisatithe National Autonomous Aqueduct and Drainage Service (Ser

    Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantrillados - SANAA) as a key mean

    which to achieve this. There are currently more than 5,000 Ju

    de Agua in Honduras. While community water boards have bee

    existence or decades, arising as communal attempts to ma

    local water resources in the countrys rural areas, legislation in

    and 2006 paved the way or the legal recognition o these bo

    responsibility or maintaining water delivery systems, prote

    water recharge zones, and collecting household water-user e

    the village level.

    In practice, however, many village water committees lack

    technical expertise, nancial resources and management capto eectively deliver water and sanitation solutions to

    communities they serve. AJAASSPIB was established, to allow vi

    water committees in the southern Pico Bonito buer zone to

    resources, coordinate eorts, leverage support rom internat

    partners, and implement regional projects. A monthly water us

    o USD 1.50 is levied on households in each member communi

    sustain the associations work.

    Background and Context

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    5/11

    55

    Size and governance structure today

    ince its inception, AJAASSPIB has grown rom the our ounding

    ommittees to 27 member groups, and increased its membership

    evenold to the more than 11,000 beneciaries. This growth is

    testament to AJAASSPIBs tireless leadership, its desire to be a

    ositive agent o change, and the widespread support it has been

    ble to oster among its member communities.

    AJAASSPIB is governed by a General Assembly and a Board

    Directors. The General Assembly consists o 27 members,

    epresenting the village water committees o each o the member

    ommunities. Each community elects its own representative onto

    he General Assembly. The General Assembly then elects the Board

    Directors every two years. Positions on the Board include a

    resident, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Comptroller, and two

    at-large members.

    Issues to be addressed by the Board o Directors are raised at Ge

    Assembly meetings. When decisions are taken, AJAASSPIBs

    in cooperation with individual village water committee mem

    hold responsibility or implementation. The association employ

    permanent ontaneros (community plumbers or water enginee

    one per member community each o whom are responsible or w

    inrastructure maintenance. One ull-time Community Promoresponsible or meeting coordination, recruiting participants, ov

    acilitation duties, community outreach, arranging meetings

    donors and partners, training community members on tree nu

    management and reorestation, and overseeing the logistics o

    ecient wood stove installation. When large-scale inrastruc

    and reorestation projects are prioritized, community member

    hired on a temporary basis to carry out the work.

    It is urgent that communities, organizations and governments, who are aware of the damag

    that humans have caused to our planet, unite to counteract the adverse effects that these

    actions have caused. By making rational use of our natural resources, we can mitigate this

    damage and stop the devastating catastrophes that threaten us.

    Ms. Zumilda Duarte, AJAASSPIB

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    6/11

    6

    Key Activities and Innovations

    he collective power o AJAASSPIB, derived rom the respective

    trengths o its member committees, has allowed it to tackle large-cale threats to community water access and the environmental

    ntegrity o the region. With a local deorestation rate o 10 per cent,

    many orest landscapes within the Pico Bonito National Park are

    egraded or vulnerable. While the park itsel is home to an estimated

    4,000 people living in 82 communities, its 19 upland watersheds

    nd more than 200 rivers and streams supply drinking water to more

    han 500,000 people in surrounding communities and nearby towns

    nd cities. The conservation challenges acing the park have clear

    nd unambiguous repercussions beyond its borders.

    AJAASSPIB has pursued innovative approaches to protect water

    esources across the southern buer zone o the park and done so

    o great eect including projects that address threats to the localwater catchment area and those that improve the quality o drinking

    water at the household level. The association carries out community-

    based micro-watershed management throughout the zone, and

    urrently has 14 micro-watersheds under its direct management with

    more than 11,000 direct beneciaries. The community-managed

    watersheds benet an area o roughly 40,000 hectares.

    Reorestation, water purication, uel-efcient stoves

    o counter the deorestation and orest degradation that have

    mpacted local water availability and quality, AJAASSPIB has

    eorested 120 hectares o land with over a dozen native broadleapecies, including caoba (Swietenia macrophylla) and cedro rojo

    Cedrela ssilis). These eorts have helped reconnect orest patches

    with the nearby national park and improve habitat or endemic

    orest-dependent species while simultaneously conserving the

    ydrological unctions o soil and orest cover. Agroorestry pilot

    projects have also successully increased orest cover while allowing

    or continued cultivation o traditional elds. Planting guama treesInga edulis) among conventional crops such as corn and beans has

    ncreased productivity and reduced the area o orest cleared or

    gricultural production.

    To improve household water quality, AJAASSPIB has initiat

    project to puriy water by chlorination. Chlorination tabletsinstalled in large water tanks that service whole commun

    Member communities are each responsible or maintaining

    own chlorination systems and monitoring them to ensure

    are unctioning properly. As a result, households in ve o

    associations 27 member communities can now drink water dir

    rom their aucets, something that was unthinkable a ew y

    ago. AJAASSPIB also trialled a solar disinectant method o w

    purication, but abandoned it due to community ears that he

    plastic might harm their health.

    To complement to its reorestation activities, AJAASSPIB prom

    and installsuel-ecient cooking woodstoves. Nearly 1,200 st

    have been installed to date, resulting in greatly reduced preson surrounding orests. The stoves are highly ecient and re

    the amount o wood needed or household cooking. In ord

    increase the impact o this activity and consolidate vital comm

    involvement, AJAASSPIB requires that in exchange or each s

    installation, recipient amilies actively participate in conserva

    activities.

    Expansion o the AJAASSPIB model

    In order to ensure the sustainability o its activities, AJAASSPIB

    established environmental unds in member communities

    allocate a percentage o household water user ees toward lterm watershed protection and restoration activities. Twelve

    unds have been established to date. These unds are used to n

    tree nurseries to support AJAASSPIBs reorestation activities,

    also und a range o environmental education activities.

    The ecacy o the associations work can be seen in the adop

    o its activities by local government. A cooperation agreement

    signed in 2011 arranging or a Payment or Ecosystem Ser

    (PES) agreement with the Municipality o Olanchito. The agreem

    places AJAASSPIB in charge o the conservation o a 6,500-ha

    watershed that provides water to the citys 26,000 residents.

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    7/11

    7

    Impacts

    BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

    n its conservation work, AJAASSPIB has chosen a strategy which

    ensures eective local governance o water catchment areas and

    protection o the orests that protect them. The association is currently

    protecting a water catchment area o approximately 40,000 hectares.

    Beyond the benets related to water provision, the protection and

    estoration o these orests enhance the ecological integrity o the

    buer zone o Pico Bonito National Park, strengthening the park

    tsel and protecting the habitats and biodiversity it harbours.

    The associations reorestation o 120 hectares o land has used

    native broadlea species that also have commercial value suchs caoba (Swietenia macrophylla) and cedro rojo (Cedrela ssilis).

    uch reorestation has helped to reconnect orest patches with the

    nearby national park and improve habitat or orest-dependent

    pecies such as the jaguar (Pantera onca), quetzal (Pharomachrus

    mocinno), ocelot (Leopardus wiedii nicarague), numerous monkey

    pecies, tapir (Tapirus bairdii), the endangered Honduran Emerald

    Hummingbird (Amazilia luciae) and the Black-chested Spiny-tailed

    guana (Ctenosaura melanosterna).

    Alleviating pressures on local resources

    The 1,200 uel-ecient woodstoves AJAASSPIB has installed use

    up to 60 per cent less wood than traditional stoves, signicantlydecreasing pressure on orest resources while providing tangible

    wellbeing benets. The establishment o agroorestry pilot projects

    has also proven to be a successul way to increase orest cover while

    llowing or continued cultivation o traditional elds. Projects

    nclude planting guama (Inga edulis) trees among conventional

    rops to increase agricultural productivity and reduce the area o

    orest converted or agricultural cultivation. Inga edulis is known or

    ts rapid growth rates, tolerance o acid soils, and high production o

    eay biomass to control weeds and erosion.

    SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

    The primary socioeconomic impact o AJAASSPIBS wo

    the protection o potable water sources or current and u

    generations. By promoting local governance o water resource

    working to protect the orests that sustain hydrological unct

    AJAASSPIB improves and protects the quality and availa

    o water in its 27 communities, benetting 11,000 people.

    communities that are members o the association are particu

    vulnerable to threats to their water sources. Not only are

    located in a particularly dry region o Honduras, but the region o

    very little in the way o economic opportunity. As a result, amil

    these communities would struggle to purchase expensive bowater i their local drinking water sources ailed them.

    As a result o AJAASSPIBs water purication activities, househo

    ve o its member communities can now drink water directly

    their aucets. The water is puried at the community level, u

    chlorination tablets installed in community water tanks. Ha

    a local supply o potable water in the home eliminates the

    or amilies to purchase bottled drinking water. With AJAASS

    community-based model, amilies pay a monthly ee o about

    1.50 to receive tap water. This same amount would purchase on

    gallons o bottled water, representing enormous savings or t

    amilies and communities.

    In addition to household savings on water and uel costs, AJAASS

    work has had positive eects on local incomes. Permanent

    positions generate direct employment or community mem

    including the 27 ontaneros and Community Promoter

    temporary hires or large-scale inrastructure and reorest

    projects are a source o short-term employment and income.

    AJAASSPIB has also contributed to greater local awareness o

    need or conservation, linkages between healthy ecosystems

    local wellbeing, and grassroots approaches or maintaining w

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    8/11

    delivery systems. This knowledge will be critical in helping to adapt

    o the eects o climate change, preventing water scarcity and

    mitigating threats to water access. Honduras has been ound to be

    one o the most climate vulnerable countries in the world third

    behind Bangladesh and Myanmar according to the 2011 Global

    Climate Risk Index (Germanwatch, 2011). The community-based

    action model promoted by AJAASSPIB is essential or spurring

    uture local adaptation measures, and stands the Aguan River

    Valley communities in good stead to withstand more unpredictableweather patterns.

    Empowerment o women

    AJAASSPIB prioritises the empowerment o women in its initiatives,

    ecognizing that women are central agents o meaningul social

    change. The process o installing uel-ecient woodstoves is the

    most evident example. Groups o between eight and ten women

    gather to receive training on stove construction, mainten

    and benets, and then construct stoves as a group, progressin

    each group members home. In addition, by ensuring that s

    recipients participate in conservation activities in exchange

    their stove, AJAASSPIB acilitates greater leadership and solid

    amongst women in actively solving the environmental

    economic challenges they ace. As principal ood preparers, wo

    are also the primary recipients o the health benets that the

    stoves provide. The stoves drastically reduce the smoke prodduring cooking, thus reducing incidence o respiratory illne

    The associations leadership, as voted or by member commun

    refects the high levels o participation amongst women. A

    2012, three o AJAASSPIBs seven board members were wome

    was its Community Promoter. Its current Board Secretary, Zum

    Duarte, is the ormer President o the Board and is the public

    o the association. A ormer schoolteacher, Ms. Duarte has a

    as AJAASSPIBs spokesperson on multiple occasions, most rec

    during a press conerence announcing its cooperative agreem

    with the Municipality o Olanchito.

    POLICY IMPACTS

    The recently signed ve-year cooperative agreement with

    Municipality o Olanchito is evidence o AJAASSPIBs advancem

    in the policy arena. The purpose o the agreement is or commun

    and local government to work together to sustainably ma

    water resources, beginning with an awareness campaign and

    plans to move toward a ormal payment or ecosystem ser

    (PES) scheme. The agreements implementation is ocially ba

    by representatives o the Honduras Forest Conservation Insti

    the National Autonomous University, the local agricultural scie

    college, and several international NGOs, all o which will be inv

    to participate in discussioons about PES unding and co

    mechanisms over the next several years. There are many examp

    successul PES and PES-like arrangements in Honduras and Ce

    America, but ew i any have been managed rom start to nis

    rural people as is the case with AJAASSPIB.

    To date there has been a series o mesas de dialogo or stakeho

    roundtables including community members, municipal autho

    and other local institutions to discuss the implications o a

    arrangement in the region or eective, community-b

    watershed management. Eight roundtable discussion mee

    have been held so ar, involving 227 people. A PES agreement w

    nance a comprehensive, community-based approach whe

    rural villages come together to improve water access and qual

    has the potential to serve as a compelling example or policy-maacross Honduras, particularly in other water-insecure regions.

    8

    Both national and international policy makers must accompany the communities an

    organizations that are working on environmental conservation, in order to guarantee that th

    authorities and the laws are respected and righteously applied.

    Ms. Zumilda Duarte, AJAASSPIB

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    9/11

    9

    Sustainability and Replication

    SUSTAINABILITYAJAASSPIB has been in operation since 2003 and has laid a solid

    oundation or long-term, sustainable impacts. Socially, the

    ssociation has made great eorts to generate community buy-in

    nd participation rom a range o local stakeholders. Institutionally,

    he association has prioritized local governance o water resources

    nd ensured that the 27 participating communities have gained

    he capacity to manage micro-watersheds in the long run. All o

    AJAASSPIBs eorts take an integrated approach to ecosystem

    management that prioritizes the availability o water resources not

    nly or current, but also or uture generations.

    inancially, AJAASSPIB has made great eorts to become sel-

    ucient and to establish reliable sources o revenue. A monthly ee

    USD 1.50 rom households in each o the associations member

    ommunities helps to cover operational costs, with individual village

    environmental unds established to aid communities in saving or

    eorestation and environmental education work. AJAASSPIBs

    roposed PES scheme would urther bolster nancial sustainability,

    s the association would receive consistent payments rom the

    Municipality o Olanchito or the protection and management o the

    water catchment area. Financial support rom international partners

    ncluding EcoLogic and CARE also help to sustain AJAASSPIBs work.

    mproved social cohesion and institutional strength

    AJAASSPIB has increased unity within and between communities

    n its area o infuence, helping to develop a strong social abric,

    which has arguably increased social resilience and the ability o

    articipating communities to adapt to change. The association is

    ighly active in the region and has been particularly successul at

    enerating buy-in or water resource management amongst diverse

    takeholders. To cite one example, the associations current president

    s a cattle rancher, representing a group o rural land users typically

    een as the enemy o conservation initiatives.

    AJAASSPIB has successully used the universal need or clean w

    as an organizing ocal point and ostered participation amo

    community members o all backgrounds. Its work has also utilize

    expertise o international partners such as EcoLogic Developm

    Fund and CARE to build local administrative and technical capac

    Through these multi-year partnerships, AJAASSPIBs leadership

    gained knowledge in the areas o nance and budgeting, m

    watershed management, water analysis and measurement,

    ecient stove construction, project design, and monitoring

    evaluation. These skills and knowledge strengthen the organiza

    ability to respond to external pressures and help ensure contin

    operation.

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    10/11

    Our experience has taught us that we can do great things with local communities. We therefore

    invite the communities of other regions and countries of the world to try to follow suit and unite

    their efforts with ours, because together anything is possible.

    Ms. Zumilda Duarte, AJAASSPIB

    1010

    REPLICATION

    Due to widespread support or AJAASSPIBs mission and vision, its

    members are highly engaged with its work. The resulting high level

    community involvement is the main aspect o the association that

    ther organizations have sought to replicate. AJAASSPIB has served

    s a learning model or approximately 80 village water committees

    nd ve municipal water committees on the north coast o Honduras

    n the Department o Atlntida.

    eplication has been initiated in partnership with the Mancomunidad

    e Municipios del Centro de Atlntida (MAMUCA), a community-

    ased organization working to improve sustainable development

    n this region. MAMUCAs ocus area is to the north o Pico Bonito

    ational Park, thus complementing AJAASSPIBs conservation

    orts to the south. MAMUCA and AJAASSPIB hold regular learning

    xchanges amongst their members to share best practices and

    ollaborate on how to overcome common challenges. JAASSPIB

    also sharing its model with communities located in and around

    he watershed that provides water or the city o Olanchito. This

    eplication eort has been cultivated by the municipality, including

    hrough a comprehensive awareness raising campaign that is carried

    ut both within resident communities and the city o Olanchito itsel.

    PARTNERS

    he Associations work has been supported by a number o like-

    minded partners. Since 2007, AJAASSPIB has maintained a ormal

    artnership with EcoLogic Development Fund, which helped

    evelop the association during its early years. EcoLogic assists

    JAASSPIB with its projects related to microwatershed management,

    uel-ecient woodstoves, environmental unds, water purication

    nd its proposed PES arrangement.

    he association also partners with CARE, which provides technical

    ssistance or water quality monitoring and the auditing o village

    water committees accounting and use o household water ees.

    ARE is also helping AJAASSPIB to carry out a micro-meter pilot

    roject, whereby water meters will be installed in households to

    etermine how much water is being consumed.

    AJAASSPIB maintains productive relationships with several reg

    and national authorities and organizations including SANAA

    Honduran national water authority) and AHJASA (the national-

    association o water committees). In 2011, AJAASSPIB signed a

    year cooperative agreement with the Municipality o Olanchit

    described above; the association was approached by the Municip

    o Olanchito to replicate its work because o the success it

    achieved in the areas adjacent to the city. The association has

    previously collaborated with a number o other international Nincluding ArtCorps, Engineers without Borders, and Nepen

    a Danish NGO working to promote conservation and sustain

    use o the worlds orests as well as promoting respect or o

    dependent communities.

  • 7/27/2019 Case studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF WATER COMMITTEES OF THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF PICO BONITO NATIONAL PARK (AJAASSPIB), Honduras

    11/11

    Equator Initiative

    Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

    304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

    New York, NY 10017

    Tel: +1 646 781-4023

    www.equatorinitiative.org

    UNDP partners with people at all levels o society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain

    kind o growth that improves the quality o lie or everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we oer glo

    perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

    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.

    2013 by Equator Initiative

    All rights reserved

    FURTHER REFERENCE

    Association o Water Committees o the Southern Sector o Pico Bonito National Park Equator Initiative prole page:

    equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=34&Itemid=683

    EcoLogic Development Fund website: http://www.ecologic.org/en/where-we-work/honduras/pico-bonito

    EcoLogic Deveopment Fund. 2009. Community-Led Watershed Protection and Management, Olanchito, Honduras. Available at:

    ecologic.org/les/user_les/AJAASSPIB_2009.pd

    Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

    http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=34&Itemid=683http://www.ecologic.org/en/where-we-work/honduras/pico-bonitohttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2002winners/CIPASLA_ASOBESURCA/juma_timmer_equatorpaper_031205.pdfhttp://www.ecologic.org/en/where-we-work/honduras/pico-bonitohttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=winner_detail&id=34&Itemid=683http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348162144.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/67/casestudy/case_1370356267.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/winners/48/casestudy/case_1370356204.pdf