TIDE Programs

In 2000, after six years of lobbying by TIDE and community members, Port Honduras Marine Reserve was declared; shortly after, TIDE was granted co-management authority of the reserve with the Government of Belize Fisheries Department. By 2000, the organization acquired three boats for use in its marine patrols and other conservation work.  In 2004, TIDE signed a co-management agreement with the Forestry Department for Payne’s Creek National Park, 37,680 acres of pristine wilderness bordering on the Caribbean and Monkey River. TIDE also manages newly acquired private lands on the Rio Grande River and between Golden Stream and Deep River adjacent to the Port Honduras Marine Reserve.

While TIDE’s primary activity is protected areas planning and management, it has long been involved in efforts to promote sustainable development in Toledo as a means of achieving conservation goals. Innovative programs include a scholarship fund for children whose parents agree to stop using unsustainable fishing and farming methods and a net exchange program that allows fishermen to trade gillnets for more environmentally sensitive equipment. TIDE Tours, TIDE’s ecotourism program, has conducted tour guide certification and continues to conduct all forms of tourism training including fly-fishing and kayaking. 

Current Projects

• Co-management of Port Honduras Marine Reserve with Fisheries Department.
• Co-management of Payne's Creek National Park with Forestry Department.
• Private Lands Initiative: acquisition of lands to be held in perpetuity for the people of Belize.
• Educational and Outreach: scholarship program; intern training; swimming day camp and junior ranger camp; radio program.
• TRIGOH - Tri-National Alliance for the Conservation of the Gulf of Honduras Rotational Secretariat: cooperative effort between organizations in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras
• TIDE Tours: promoting local level ecotourism to ensure profits generated are kept within Toledo's communities.

Organizational Qualifications

• In 1996, TIDE co-founded the Tri-National Alliance for the Gulf of Honduras (TRIGOH), a joint project of Guatemalan, Honduran and Belizean NGOs.
• In 2001, TIDE negotiated the first Debt-for-Nature Swap agreement between the Government of Belize and the Government of the United States.
• TIDE is currently a partner in the Caribbean Regional Environment Program (CREP) – a 13 country $9M EU project.

Awards

• Equator Initiative Prize from the United Nations at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002
• Cliff Messenger Award from The Nature Conservancy, 2000
• Ecotourism Showcase Award from Non-Profits in Travel Conference, Washington DC, 2000
• Environmental Organization of the Year Award from the Government of Belize, 1999