Given Northern Mesoamerica's importance for global conservation, the international donor community has progressively channeled more resources toward conservation and environmentally sustainable development to the region. During the early days of conservation in the 1980s, funding for biodiversity and sustainable development was scant. Universities and research institutions promoted most conservation initiatives. Indeed, many reserves and parks owe their establishment to prominent scientists or academic institutions with access to decisionmakers. By the early 1990s, several high profile events, such as the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, galvanized interest in conservation at higher political levels. National and regional agencies were established to support the environment, particularly biodiversity, and appropriate legal frameworks were developed.
By the mid-to-late 1990s, international NGOs developed strong conservation programs in conjunction with newly established national and regional counterparts with funding from bilateral and multilateral donors and private foundations. Community-based organizations built capacity to take advantage of the new environmental movement. Significant conservation investment and progress occurred: new protected areas were established, biosphere reserves and national parks were staffed, management plans were developed and implemented through participatory planning with the local communities and best practices in ecotourism, agroforestry and non-timber products were developed at the pilot project scale. Since the 1990s, governments have invested increasingly in regional biodiversity conservation, culminating in the development of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, financed by the World Bank, GEF and other partners such as the GTZ.
On a regional scale, several funding trends emerge. Between 1993 and 2003, the Northern Mesoamerica region received $82 million for conservation and environmentally sustainable development from a variety of donors. Over the last six years, from 1997 to 2003, local and international NGOs received $29 million for activities that include the introduction of best practices, technical assistance, protected areas management and conflict management. During this time, investments implemented by community-based organizations were low.
Funding for 2004 to 2008 is expected to grow significantly, reaching nearly $125 million. In total, for the period spanning 1993 to 2008, about $182 million will have been invested for conservation and environment projects for the eight key biodiversity areas selected by CEPF for support (Table 7). This figure excludes general development investments such as Plan Puebla-Panama and the Mundo Maya Sustainable Tourism Program, although they may support sustainable development components as well.
Overall, several funding trends emerge in the eight key biodiversity areas of interest to CEPF (Table 8). Most notably, investments in Cuchumatanes will experience significant growth, from $0.6 million over the last 10 years t o $50.6 million from 2004 to 2008. Likewise, investments in the Selva Zoque will increase from $1.5 million to $11.6 million. These large sums present an unprecedented opportunity for civil society to engage in conserving these critical areas. Funding for the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and the Gran Peten is expected to increase as well. Support for the Lacandona key biodiversity area will decrease. Meanwhile, though biologically important, no investment data was available for Laguna del Tigre, Chiquibul and Sierra de las Minas for the next four years.
One important characteristic of these new investments is that they will be channeled through government to strengthen the management of specific sites, unlike in earlier years when funding went primarily to NGOs. As a result of this new funding pattern, most investments to NGOs and CBOs will in all likelihood be channeled through government rather than received directly from donors. In addition, the current funding scenario indicates that certain key biodiversity sites will be well funded, while others will remain woefully underfunded. Indeed, no or little funding has been identified for Laguna del Tigre, Chiquibul and Sierra de las Minas, although they rank very high in maintaining populations of globally endangered species.
Furthermore, funding will continue to be scant for the kinds of policy reforms that are critically needed in order to address key threats to the region. The current investment scenario does not envision support at a policy level to confront some of the most destructive threats to biodiversity: agricultural encroachment, forest fires, infrastructure development and destructive tourism development. CEPF can therefore help to fill this gap by supporting NGO efforts to advocate for the kinds of policy reform that promotes sustainable development in the two corridors.
Two projects account for a large share of new investment in the region. The World Bank and GEF will invest $40.8 million in the Western Altiplano Natural Resource Management Project (MIRNA), which will cover the Los Cuchumatanes key biodiversity area in Guatemala. The Government of Guatemala will provide $8.6 million for the project. MIRNA supports three main components: (i) Improving the welfare of the rural poor through the sustainable use and conservation of natural resources, targeting 54 municipalities and 760 small-scale, grassroots production and conservation projects; (ii) biodiversity conservation to support the protection of sites of global importance, environmental education, and monitoring and evaluation; and (iii) an environmental services market as part of a long-term strategy to promote the sustainable use of resources in the region.
Similarly, the World Bank and GEF have allocated $19 million and the Government of Mexico has committed $67 million to support the Mesoamerica Biological Corridor in five corridors located throughout Southern Mexico. The project aims to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources biological corridors that link existing protected areas with productive landscapes. More specifically, the project supports the design and monitoring of the corridors, corridor integration into development programs, and the sustainable use of biological resources. Two of the MBC's five sites—Selva Zoque and Sierra Madre de Chiapas—coincide with CEPF's key biodiversity areas.
Both these projects place a high premium on ensuring active participation by civil society and local NGOs to guarantee their success. Indeed, MBC designers state in the project appraisal document that robust stakeholder and civil society engagement must underpin the initiative in order to ensure sustainability: "Stakeholders' interest and participation, demonstrated through the project's preparation phase, reflects the demand that exists for locally adapted programs for sustainable use of natural resources. This, together with institutional and political commitment, technical soundness and financial viability, is likely to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project. The specific combination of community participation, political will, civil society engagement, and financial arrangements required to promote sustainability of biodiversity conservation after the project is likely to vary across the various corridors."
The CEPF profile team envisions a strong synergy and complementarity with these two projects. Civil society has worked successfully for many years in certain sites and communities, often under difficult conditions, where these projects are located. This breath of experience will be important to these two projects. Furthermore, CEPF provides a platform to support civil society and local governments through opportunities to enhance coordination, share lessons learned and build capacity in ways that allow for their meaningfully participation in these two projects. At the same time, the MBC and the MIRNA provide local NGOs and governments with unprecedented opportunities to engage in conservation and sustainable development initiatives in three of the eight key biodiversity areas.
To ensure that the CEPF strategy fully considers the landscape of investments from bilateral and multilateral donors, private foundations and governments, the profile team identified the full panorama of projects and programs currently in implementation or expected to be executed in the near future. The major donors of conservation and sustainable development initiatives in Mesoamerica are described briefly below.
Global Environment Facility. The GEF has been the largest international donor of biodiversity conservation in Mesoamerica. Since 1993, the GEF has invested approximately $35 million in Northern Mesoamerica. Approximately $18 million supports the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, while $3 million has supported community-based organizations and NGOs through the UNDP's Small Grants Program. The GEF has also supported the preparation of the national biodiversity conservation strategies and action plans and is providing $16.5 million to the Protected Areas Fund in Mexico (FMCN), targeted at 10 priority protected areas, three of which are within CEPF's key biodiversity areas. In the future, the expectation is that the GEF will direct 80 percent of its future investments through governments in four areas: in-situ conservation (protected areas, strengthening the national protected areas system), natural resource management, sectoral integration (tourism, trade, finance, agriculture) and communication of lessons learned.
The World Bank. The Bank's 2001-2006 strategy supports public sector initiatives in the sustainable management of natural resources, development of frameworks for environmental management and support in the search for equitable solutions for other regional challenges. In Mexico, the Bank has assisted the Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources - Mexico (SEMARNAP) to develop policy instruments consistent with the country's biodiversity strategy, including improving conservation through the national system of protected areas (SINAP); promoting sustainable use of plant and animal species with improved management and market access; and mainstreaming both conservation and sustainable use into territorial development by means of integrated land-use planning. The Bank's future investments in the region will total approximately $30 million, and will concentrate on the sustainable development of the Cuchumatanes through the Western Altiplano Natural Resource Management Project.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID investments are channeled through NGOs to support the conservation of critical ecosystems and improve natural resource management. USAID-Guatemala has supported natural resource management in priority biodiversity areas-principally the Maya Biosphere Reserve-while offering viable options for sustainable income-producing alternatives. USAID also funds PROARCA, a regional environmental program, which aims to improve environmental management in the Biological Corridor. In addition, there are three Parks in Peril sites in the area-Sierra de Las Minas/Bocas del Polochic in Guatemala, and Calakmul and El Triunfo biosphere reserves in Mexico. Another priority for USAID is improved river basin and water management, as integrating themes that help prioritize activities and also reduce vulnerability to climate change.
The Government of Germany (GTZ and other agencies). The Government of Germany is a major donor in Mesoamerica, supporting balanced economic and social development. In collaboration with DANIDA on many initiatives, the German government provides support for various regional projects including the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor through support for the CCAD. Other regional programs include an ecotourism project; support for the Center for Research and Training in Tropical Agriculture, offering assistance to small agro-industries in the use of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides; and a project to improve the environmental management of small and medium enterprises in Central America.
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The IDB has less than $500,000 for conservation and sustainable development in the region. However, within the Plan Puebla Panama, the Mesoamerican Initiative for Sustainable Development will promote sustainable natural resource management, and develop environmental management at national and regional levels. This initiative will also promote mechanisms for local community participation.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). UNDP has invested around $40 million in support of the MBC at a regional level. It also has provided $3 million through the GEF-UNDP small grants program, working toward the strengthening of the protected areas.
Private Foundations. The Packard, Kellogg, Sharp and Ford foundations all fund programs in the Maya Forest. For the MacArthur Foundation, investments have targeted rapid population growth and the demand for resources, even though the region is not one of the Foundation's geographic priority areas.
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