Ocean Found Partnership Project; Making Waves for a Cleaner Marine Environment: Coastal and Marine Cleanup Campaign and Restoration Project in the Caribbean Sea, Panama
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The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) is successfully executing the Ocean Fund partnership project: “Making Waves for a Cleaner Marine Environment: Coastal and Marine Cleanup and Restoration Project in the Caribbean Sea, Panama”. The fundamental objective of this project is to trace pollution to its source and to find ways to end improper management of debris, as well as promote awareness and responsibility. The participatory model proposed by the project, will make it possible for local governments to answer the population’s need for integrated coastal and marine management by training and organizing the communities to solve the continuous negative impacts on the coastal and marine environments resulting from human activities and setting the basis for promoting a sustainable coastal and marine culture in the region. |
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This project is carried out in the Panamanian Atlantic Coasts, an area characterized by extraordinary natural resources, and cultural and historical heritage. The combined population of the districts is approximately 35,000 people of African origin, migrants from the country side, and Emberá indigenous people who are engaged in agriculture, fishing, farming and raising livestock. The project contributes directly to the strengthening of local environmental governance and democracy of the local governments. It also gives a prominent role to protecting the coastal and marine environments, improving health, promoting tourism, and achieving local and regional sustainable economic development. The project is sponsored by the Ocean Fund, part of a comprehensive environmental protection program of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. The mission of the Ocean Fund is to support efforts to restore and maintain a healthy marine environment, minimize the impact of human activity on this environment, and promote awareness of ocean and coastal issues and respect for marine life.
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The project’s partners include: the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), the local governments of the province of Colon, CATHALAC, the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and the Ocean Fund. |
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