Rainforest Biodiversity Group (RBG), in conjunction with one of our Costa Rican partners, the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center (SCLC), has recently been awarded a grant through the Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC). PSC is a program that focuses on the pursuit of sustainable development and long term partnerships, between the partner countries of Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica.
RBG and the SCLC will be partnering with the country of Benin as represented by the organization Benin Ecotourism Concern. Benin Ecotourism Concern (BEC) is working to develop an eco-tourism project for the Lama Reserve Forest in Benin. In the communities surrounding Lama Forest, pressure on natural resources has been growing for a variety of interlinked reasons. The region is marked by low wages in the primary agricultural sector, a relative absence of measures to mitigate periods of water shortage, as well as the near total exclusion of women from income generating activities. In relation to these causal factors, there is also a lack of environmental awareness. Ecotourism was chosen as a tool to create an effective and sustainable link between the preservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and the social and economic development of the villages of Koto and Zalimey.
The situation in these villages of Benin is similar to that of the communities of northeastern Costa Rica. These Costa Rican communities are primarily sustained through cattle and agriculture, and often families cannot rely on stable wages year-round. Environmental education and an understanding of biodiversity is also lacking in this region. Since 2005, RBG has been implementing the Costa Rican Bird Route project in Costa Rica, to protect wildlife habitat as well as offer economic support, to com- bat these issues. By working under the South-South Cooperation program, knowledge and information on sustainable practices and methods can be exchanged between Benin and Costa Rica. This is vital to provide international assistance and understanding among the local people.
This project can help local people understand the importance of con- serving their habitat, as well as provide a mutual understanding of similar livelihoods on a global scale. Rainforest Biodiversity Group and the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center are very excited to share what we have learned through the development of the Bird Route and other projects to others doing similar work across the globe. We are equally excited to learn from our Benin partners.
Stay tuned to future editions for updates on this new partnership.
