Supporting the management and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in Honduras    
 

   
UCME in the Community

The research of UCME is based around providing the science which can support the management and sustainable use of Utila’s resources. Thus the inclusion and support of the community is paramount in our success.

Whilst UCME is still a relatively recent organisation on Utila we are making steady progress to introduce ourselves to the community and demonstrate the usefulness and relevance to the island of the information and expertise that we can provide. As a part of this programme, we write monthly general interest articles for the local paper and give presentations on a range of ecology topics to interested members of the community.
Community projects
The development of community based projects is a key objective for UCME. This programme includes the development and implementation of a conch ranch to boost the local population of queen conch and act as an alternative livelihood scheme for local fishers. We are also conducting a feasibility study for installing a bay oyster farm which will not only improve water quality but also provide a useful source of protein. These schemes are still at the research and development stage but we are looking to implement them with the help of the community and support from the municipal authorities in 2008.
 
 
Utila Centre for Marine Ecology, East Harbour, Utila, Honduras | | +5044253026