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Garita Palmera, Ahuachapán Department, El Salvador
2015 - 2018
Short description
1. Channel unblocking and removal of silt in mangrove canals.
2. Reforestation of degraded mangrove areas: consists of recovering degraded areas where indiscriminate felling has been practiced, and/or areas that have been designated for livestock grazing.
3. Community surveillance: consists of touring previously identified key sites in order to prevent the indiscriminate felling of mangroves and the excessive extraction of crabs, fish, and so on.
4. Design and implementation of a Local Plan for Sustainable Extraction (PLES): this measure seeks to create a system that regulates the extraction of fish, crustaceans, mammals, and so on from the mangrove ecosystem to ensure the ecosystem and the services that it provides are not compromised
Main purpose
Biodiversity conservation / restoration,
Water harvesting / storage / irrigation,
Climate adaptation / resilience,
Food security,
Increasing community cohesion / community building,
Gender equality
Other expected benefits
Flood protection: redirection / drainage / infiltration of flood waters,
Provision / protection / diversification of employment and livelihoods / poverty reduction,
Reduced illegal resource exploitation / poaching
Conflict context
While El Salvador’s civil war ended in 1992, criminal gangs have controlled large parts of the population since. Murder rates soared after the civil and left many people living in danger of gang violence and mistreatment. In recent years, homicide rates have declined quickly due to the introduction of a state of emergency and a far-reaching campaign to stop gang violence. However, Amnesty Interational has reported ”widespreak human rights violations, erosion of the rule of law and criminalistaion of dissenting voices”. At the same time, mismanaged activities, such as deforestation and the introduction of sugarcane plantations and livestock, have led to inequitable use of fresh water and conflict between companies, communities and local authorities. The communities and coastal ecosystems of Garita Palmera are among the most affected. Additionally, community interviewees reported that due to the new restrictions on resource use, conflicts have arisen with people who destroy the mangroves for their livelihoods. The project deals particularly with conflicts related to resources in mangrove areas.
Peace and security contributions
There is more social cohesion now, and the three communities in Istatén are more united. Conflicts over resource use and exploitation did exist in the area, and the project has made these more evident, but people are now working together to look for solutions and resolve them, and most people understand the restrictions on the use of natural resources. IUCN describes how communities are now working together to protect their mangroves from deforestation and unregulated extraction of crabs, shrimp, fish and other mangrove goods.
Reported elements of good practices
Using a wide range of participatory approaches. Community knoweldge on species and water cycles, as well as how the mangrove used to be structured was collected and systematised and informed all conservation measures. Problems were identified collectively and proposed solutions were developed together with the community.
Reported challenges
A lack of participation by children was observed, along with a need to develop their knowledge.
Possible challenges related to sustainability, as identified by interviewees, include the lack of sufficient support, the need for stronger policy support, the need to improve water management, and possible high-level political shifts if the current government changes. Participation by all stakeholders needs to continue, and the sugarcane sector needs to abide by agreed policies for project actions to last over time.
Practical details of implementation
Survey results from local authority interviewees, project implementers and project beneficiaries showed various instances of:
– local authority involvement,
– technical assistance agreements signed with local governmental offices in charge of the environment,
– new village committees being set up (for example, ‘wood farmers’),
– information, education and training for local populations,
– workshops organized with local associations,
– community visits and work efforts, and
– ongoing efforts to organise and run meetings
Method of monitoring environmental and peace impacts
The project developed a monitoring and evaluation methodology to understand EbA’s contribution to food and water security. After the research interviews, researchers gathered together local stakeholders to validate climate hazards (and compare them with the 2011 CRiSTAL vulnerability assessment). Along with the interviews conducted, reports, webpages and publications on the Go4EbA project were also reviewed to assess the characteristics of project activities that contribute to effective implementation of the EbA approach.
The method of monitoring the peace impact is currently unknown.
