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Ecotourism has been embraced by a number of developing nations hoping to improve their economies
in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible. The Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area
(MPA) includes a set of two small islands (Cayo Menor and Cayo Mayor) and thirteen coral cays off the
north coast of Honduras, located at the southern most point of the Meso-American Barrier Reef (see
Figures A and B for maps of the MPA; HCRF 2006). The area offers some of the country’s best natural
and cultural attractions: white sand beaches, eco-adventure marine and terrestrial tourism, and Garifuna
“living culture.” In 2005, a resource management plan was developed by the MPA’s managing body, the
Honduran Coral Reef Fund, with assistance from the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF). This plan
included a series of regulations on the extraction of marine resources that would eliminate the possibility
of fishing for livelihood; ecotourism was suggested as a sustainable development option for the local
Afroindigenous Garifuna communities that have historically relied on the area for fishing.3 The Cayos
Cochinos MPA waters are home to a rich variety of fish, lobster, and conch and have served as the site for
Garifuna subsistence fishing since their arrival in the early 1800s.
For more information about ecological
and environmental anthropology
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