TIDE makes great effort to connect with communities that buffer the protected areas that it manages. The coastal village of Monkey River, which has a population of 200, is a target area for TIDE since it buffers both Payne’s Creek National Park and Port Honduras Marine Reserve and due to the fact that TIDE is currently implementing Managed Access in PHMR. Managed Access is a pilot project being implemented in Port Honduras Marine Resource whereby only traditional fishers are able to acquire licenses to extract marine resources from reserve; the marine resources within PHMR are no longer open for extraction by all. 
 
On February 2nd, 2012, Seleem Chan, TIDE’s Marine Manager, Daniela Castellnos, TIDE’s Monkey River Liaison Office, and Nicanor Requena, EDF’s Local Coordinator, made house visits within Monkey River village to distribute invitation letters for the Managed Access Fisherman’s Forum, which is to be held on February 16th, 2012 at 9am at the parish hall. The group met with several community members to explain to them the importance of attending the forum and to remind them to liaise with Daniela Castellanos to reapply for their Managed Access License. Also on the agenda was to remind the community members of the need to nominate a community member to represent the village on the Managed Access Committee so that the voice of the village could be heard by the committee. The community members agreed there was a need for their village to be a part of the committee and committed to finding a suitable representative.
 
TIDE wants to stress the importance for community members to work with the organization to ensure that our natural resources are managed properly. Indeed, it is a fact that we depend on these natural resources for our survival and therefore, we need to ensure that they last for generations to come!
 
TIDE-Leading Community Participation in Conservation