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Newsletter No 11
June 2003
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Steve and Jude in
Honduras |
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Baby on the way!
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For those of you who haven’t heard from
us since our last newsletter we are delighted to tell you that we are
expecting a baby! Due date, 9 October. Apart from having to cope with some
very hot, humid weather during April and May both Jude and the baby are
keeping well. |
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Heading home
Our planned 2 month ‘mid-term break’ in
the UK this summer will now be extended by a few months until after the baby
is born. We will be leaving Honduras on 6 July and, all going well, will
return to La Mosquitia in late November. We are really excited about seeing
everyone again – we’ve been away for nearly 2.5 years! |
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Evaluation |
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Under its International Programme
Management System Tearfund is
committed to undertake a review of 25% of their overseas assignments with
the aim of increasing the understanding of the impact of the assignments,
and to learn more about the effectiveness of Tearfund’s support of partners
through international personnel. In early May, therefore, we spent a week
with two external evaluators (one from Honduras, one from the UK) and the
MOPAWI team in Belén chatting about our work, visiting community projects
and speaking with local friends and church leaders. It was a very positive
and encouraging process and we have received some excellent recommendations
to help us make the most of our 2 remaining years in Honduras. |
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Aerial surveys
Heart of the rainforest |
To strengthen the conservation status of
the Río Plátano Reserve, MOPAWI has been working with the Honduran
government to register the area’s coastal and inland wetlands under RAMSAR,
an international convention for wetland use and conservation. |
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This has included a series of
consultations with community leaders and some aerial surveys. Steve, always
ready for a challenge, took on the responsibility of taking the photos
during three flights over the Reserve in a visiting Canadian forester’s
plane, specially designed for slow, low level flying. |
Skimming the waves
counting turtle tracks |
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Funding news
MOPAWI’s work in Belén has recently
stepped up a gear with the confirmation of two medium sized grants from The
Nature Conservancy to support the current projects until the end of 2003.
Efforts are focusing on conservation of marine turtles, community management
of coastal wetlands and forested water catchment areas, and ecotourism. As
always, MOPAWI is working closely with local organizations to strengthen
their ability to manage their own projects. The micro-credit/community bank
scheme, funded by Tearfund with the aim of encouraging personal savings and
small businesses, is also expanding slightly this year.
Long term funding beyond the end of 2003
is still rather uncertain but MOPAWI and Tearfund are working together on a
major 3-year funding proposal to present to the UK Government.
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BBC hired helicopter
lands in Belén |
BBC invades the Río
Plátano Reserve
The coast of the Reserve is alive with
gossip about a strange group of foreigners camped out on the other side of
the lagoon. Some say that the Americans are building a new military base
there; others say the British army has come to kick out the illegal
colonists! (see our March 2003 newsletter)
The truth is that the BBC is filming
part of a new series, ‘Hunting Chris Ryan’ in the rainforest of the
Reserve. Ryan, ex SAS and famous for his exploits in the first Gulf War
(see the book ‘Bravo 20’) has been dropped in the forest and has to
use all his skills to |
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survive and evade capture by a group of
other British and US soldiers. Mmmm – no wonder the locals are a little
puzzled! Watch out for the series on BBC and Discovery later in 2003. |
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Hot Topic: Illegal
timber
The process of deforestation in the Rio
Plátano Man and Biosphere Reserve is typical of many other tropical
countries with much of the timber being extracted illegally. On the face of
it the timber may appear perfectly legal, coming with the seemingly
appropriate paperwork from the Government Forestry Service, but independent
investigations have shown that things are not so transparent as they seem.
Often the timber does not come from the area stipulated in the
felling permit and the volumes felled greatly exceed the amount
allowed. It is estimated that 50% of the mahogany exported from Honduras is
felled illegally. |
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As a result, officially protected areas
in Honduras are being systematically stripped of valuable, potentially
renewable natural resources. The Forestry Service is chronically under
funded and rarely finds the offending parties to confiscate the timber.
Furthermore, there have been accusations of corruption, that some officials
accept bribes to turn a blind eye to infractions.
MOPAWI has helped two community forestry
cooperatives to sell their legally harvested timber from well managed
forests for higher prices by gaining certification from the
international Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC certified timber
products are available in many UK retailers, including B&Q and Boots
Homeware, and the FSC symbol is a sure sign that the timber comes from
forests that are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way. |
Confiscated illegal mahogany |
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…whatever you do, do it all for
the glory of God. 1Cor 10 v31 |
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If you move house,
change email address or would like to be removed from our mailing list,
please contact Jude’s sister and brother-in-law, Ruth & Stephen Smith.
Please also contact them if you would like to receive our regular
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prayer bulletins.
Their contact details are:
email:
ruthandstephen@ukonline.co.uk
Our correspondence
address is:
Email address:
s-j.collins@tearfund.org |
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