The CBM is a Mesoamerican agenda to strengthen the conservation of biodiversity.
The main foundation and safeguard of Mesoamerican biodiversity is in large and small, government and private protected areas. The different management categories for protected areas are an important tool that opens spaces for the ordered usufruct, at different levels of intensity, of its natural resources, by society.
The finest scale, to put into operation the CBM in Mesoamerica, is in the «Regions of Conservation and Sustainable Development (RECODES) at the internal level of each country in the region.
The construction of the CBM must be based on the thesis that the sustainable use of natural resources is an approach to the conservation of biodiversity, which focuses on people as part of the solution, not so much of the problem.
Recognizing that the interdependence between human beings, natural resources and the ecosystems that support them, provide the necessary incentives to make use of and promote conservation with an emphasis on their sustainability.
The tactic for the construction of the CBM in the field of RECODES and at the national level, is to work around axes and activities, constantly evaluated, both corrective (transformative) and constructive (innovative); where the actors and associates to the CBM, act to:
- Generate a change of actions and focus of current socioeconomic development Generate a process of reflection on sustainable development Develop and strengthen institutional participation, local NGOs and communities in the conservation of biodiversity Consolidate and land the concept and vision of the CBM through local Biological Corridors.
The construction of the CBM should be a gradual process (respecting local rhythms), and conciliatory (respecting the individual agendas of the partners), characterized not by what is due, but by what can be done.
The construction of a Biological Corridor in a RECODES, must define, among others, the following:
- Potential limits of the RECODES Biogeographical situation of the Protected Areas involvedPituation of management of the Protected Areas involvedPotential private Wild AreasCharacteristics and biophysical elements of the RECODESWater network (sub-basins and micro-basins) Natural resources by local communities Ecosystem recovery / restoration Program to establish and manage one or more local biological corridors RECODES Environmental Management Strategy
What is needed for a Biological Corridor to be sustainable in RECODES:
- Do not create false or ambitious expectations at the beginning with the partners Contact, meeting, communication and permanent participation of local communities and organizations. Each partner decides how, when, how, where, with whom and what they want to achieve with their participation To achieve possible benefits, it is necessary to invest time, change non-eco-friendly habits, on the part of the partners. That the management and conservation of protected and private areas is the responsibility of the communities, rather than the central government. Reforestation, natural regeneration, agroforestry, economic management of secondary forest, multiple and perennial crops are essential for the connection areas between protected areas.
