0 Hugh Govan 2003 contribution to the EPP Initiative: LESSONS LEARNED IN COMMUNITY-BASED MANAGEMENT AND CO-MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND PROTECTED AREAS: focus on coastal and marine resources and Indigenous People's communities in Central American and the Caribbean. Caribbean, Central America, coastal and marine resources, co-management, community-based management, indigenous people, protected area As the Central American and Caribbean component to a global review of community-managed natural resources, this study identifies key issues, challenges and possible solutions facing people and nature in coastal areas under environmental conservation. Co-management (CM) of protected or biologically important areas by local and indigenous people in participation with state and non-governmental actors holds great potential for sustainable livelihood development and biodiversity conservation; however, it often falls short of achieving its goals. Govan forms his assessment of CM in the region by drawing from 105 case studies and he highlights these variable scenarios of success or failure throughout his report. Summary data on the case studies is annexed, along with contact information for the individual projects and the questionnaire surveys administered to each. The author sees externally-designed conservation schemes as a basic hindrance to successful resource management and as typically problematic for local resource users. In response to the seven key CM issues identified at the beginning of the report, he proposes three main priorities for effective CM: 1) its promotion in the socio-economic and policy contexts of nations involved; 2) recognition of the vital role of indigenous people and territories; and 3) promotion of CM as a necessary aspect of coastal zone stewardship. Govan defines numerous challenges pursuant to these priorities, and then follows with suggested courses of action and advice. Action on environmental policy and legislation should adopt a more holistic approach that encompasses socio-economic needs of the communities and country. By designing and promoting decentralized and locally contextualized CM as a means to improve livelihoods, governance, equity and other national priorities, conservation is transformed into an attractive solution for local people instead of an imposition. Though the design costs of such programs may be high, implementation, monitoring and enforcement are made more cost efficient. Nicaragua is pointed to as a pioneering example for integrating CM into national policy. Fundamental to CM is the clear definition of local or indigenous rights to land tenure and resource use. Govan views the International Labour Organization Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples as an excellent legal guide on such issues, but much work remains for participating countries in regard to its localized application. Further advice for participation with local people revolves around developing non-ethnocentric mechanisms for dialogue that will produce the design and provision of appropriate social capital support and capacity building schemes. The re-conception of protected coastal zones as areas that require CM for successful sustainable management is a movement that is spreading in the region, with the Caribbean and Belize presenting the highest degree of local involvement in resource management. Nevertheless, insufficient local stakeholder support or capacity is a common project downfall. Advice in this priority area calls for international and donor support that mandates local stakeholder participation from the outset of project design, allows for institutional flexibility and adaptive planning, features building the skills of implementing institutions for working through participatory processes, and avoids donor or state paternalism. Prepared by Megan Glore