Bridging the Gap from Local to Landscape in Northern Honduras

Overview

Uniting forces across a landscape

This case study focuses on an approach to scaling up local-level development and resource management projects to a broader geography, uniting forces across a landscape. It draws from the experience of EcoLogic Development Fund (EcoLogic) and the local partners it supports and with whom it co-designs natural resource management projects in Latin America.

Variety of communities, diverse actors

Specifically, the case study describes the Pico Bonito Landscape of Northern Honduras. It extracts lessons from work done to date in a variety of communities with diverse actors, from grassroots rural households all the way up to municipal, regional, and national policymakers. It then suggests—and illustrates from experience and current plans in Honduras—how to combine principles of Collective Impact, Integrated Landscape Planning, and Eco-regional Conservation/Protected Areas Network design in a way ensures the involvement of rural communities.

Strong local backbone

EcoLogic argues that a strong backbone organization, run locally and with strong landscape literacy competencies, must be left in place for a landscape-level conservation effort to take root. The case study present frameworks, identify potential tools to aid a landscape planning and management effort, and walk the reader through EcoLogic’s process for building a grassroots-led coalition in Northern Honduras. The case study is premised on the belief that a truly effective landscape-level effort must actively involve and improve the well-being of rural communities. It is essential that they have the means and the incentive to serve as long-term conservation leaders across a landscape, with the supportive enabling conditions of institutions, policy, legislation, and access to knowledge and power.