Several broad reviews have been conducted to survey conservation funding in the region that can provide an idea of funding trends. In 1989, Abramovitz conducted a survey of U.S.-based donor institutions. Results indicated 873 active projects worth $37.5 million, of which half were dedicated to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) projects. Costa Rica was identified as a leading recipient of funding. A follow-up survey indicated $62.9 million in investments, with 27% of the funding in the LAC region, the majority going to Costa Rica, Mexico, and Brazil.
USAID, the World Bank and the Biodiversity Support Program conducted a more comprehensive review of conservation funding in LAC in 2000. From 1990 to 1997, Central America and Mexico received $1.13 billion (35%) of the funding in the region. The leading donor agencies in the region were the World Bank, the IDB, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and U.S. Agency for International Development, and more than 90% of all funding came from bilateral and multilateral donors or programs. Natural resource management and protected areas received over 70% of the funding, with policy, research, capacity-building and sustainable development each getting less than 10%.
Conservation investments in southern Mesoamerica are shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Conservation Project Financing in Southern Mesoamerica
| COUNTRY |
VALUE (US$) |
PROJECTS |
% OF REGIONAL FUNDING |
RANK IN REGION |
| Nicaragua |
$85.7 million |
46 |
3.0 |
12 |
| Costa Rica |
$110.4 million |
190 |
3.8 |
8 |
| Panama |
$103.7 million |
55 |
3.6 |
9 |
While admittedly a broad overview of funding trends, these figures reflect the level of investment across the region, and help put into perspective the programs of specific donors described below.
Global Environment Facility: The GEF has been the largest single supporter of biodiversity conservation efforts in Mesoamerica. Since 1990, the GEF has provided about $120 million to support conservation in the region. Part of this investment was used to launch the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor program to protect the biodiversity of this important ecoregion. This program is one of the most ambitious environmental and social programs in Central America and southern Mexico; its goal is the recovery of the chain of forests that, until recently, united South and North America. GEF is currently contributing almost $11 million to efforts overseen on the ground by UNDP. Other sources of support for the effort include the World Bank and DANIDA, the Danish government aid agency.
This effort began in 1989 when Central American presidents signed the Central American Environmental Protection Agreement and established the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD). Since then, a culture of cooperation has characterized the work of environment ministries in the region. That the region speaks with one voice on environmental matters has been evident in the development of the Central American Environmental Agenda, which provided the basis for joint regional positions at the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio summit).
CCAD, elevated to an environmental secretariat within the Central American Integration System (SICA), a revived regional integration movement, has been instrumental in strengthening the united regional voice at international forums. It has also strengthened the countries' environment ministries and stimulated many regional activities, including the MBC initiative.
The World Bank: The World Bank recently issued its first environmental strategy for the LAC region. The World Bank has also supported several non-lending services (providing technical assistance) in the development of national policies and studies in the region. Projects in the Profile's area of focus include a biodiversity project in Costa Rica funded in 1998 for $7 million; a biodiversity project funded in 1998 in Nicaragua for $7.1 million, and three agriculture and forestry projects approved in 1994, 1999, and 2000 for $106.6 million; and a biodiversity project in Panama approved in 1998 for $8.4 million. Projects approved in 1997 and 1999 for rural poverty reduction support several small projects in the three corridors, in addition to a protected areas management program at the Fort San Lorenzo World Heritage Site with a budget of $23.2 million.
The World Bank's LAC strategy for 2001-2006 will focus on improvement of people's health by reducing exposure to harmful environmental factors; enhancement of livelihood through sustainable management of natural resources; development of frameworks for sound environmental management; and facilitation of equitable solutions to regional and global challenges so that future generations are guaranteed at least the same opportunities as present generations. Specific efforts will focus on areas of highest social cost by improving human health, livelihood, and environmental management. The highest priorities for the World Bank in Mesoamerica include sustainable integrated natural resource management; disaster response; targeted institutional development; and biodiversity conservation.
European Union:The EU has also funded projects in the three corridors, including work in the Rio San Juan area in conjunction with the Association for Cooperation in Africa and Latin America, support for the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, and others. DANIDA is also funding a $2.7 million sustainable development and natural resource management project in southeastern Nicaragua.
UNDP/GEF Small Grants Program: The SGP is an important source of project funding for NGOs and communities in the region. The second phase of the SGP in Costa Rica has funded 61 projects targeting community development and management of natural resources near protected areas. Projects include development of ecotourism enterprises and training; alliance-building and partnerships are an integral part of all projects.
The MacArthur Foundation: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has a program focusing on Conservation and Sustainable Development that has given grants in Mesoamerica. Although the Mesoamerica Region is not currently a geographic priority for the MacArthur Foundation, they have contributed a significant amount of investment in the region - particularly in the Mayan Forest - to address issues related to rapid growth in population and increasing demand for resources. To address this challenge and to increase understanding of the strong relationships between the health of the biosphere and the welfare of human communities, the Foundation has established the Conservation and Sustainable Development area. This area is dedicated to conserving biodiversity, to enhancing knowledge of how to use natural resources sustainably over the long term, and to promoting sustainable economic growth with social equity.
Many private foundations support projects in the region, according to their own institutional agendas. The Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation all fund programs in this Profile's focus areas. Citizen exchange programs are also active, especially the "Sister City" network and Rotary Clubs. The National Geographic Society has funded scientific research in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve.
Germany (GTZ and other agencies): The German government is a major donor in Mesoamerica, with a goal to support balanced economic and social development through "help for self-help." Based on the spirit and resolutions of the Rio Conference (1992) and the international conventions on climate and biodiversity, one focus of German support is the protection of the environment and sustainable management of natural resources and environmental services. Projects in the focus area of this ecosystem profile include:
Nicaragua: Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Management in Rio San Juan, whose goal is to support sustainable agriculture in the southeastern Nicaragua.
Costa Rica: Cooperation in the Forestry and Wood Sectors (Coseforma), whose goal is to promote sustainable management of forest resources through mechanisms that add value to their products and services. The project contributes to the development of public- and private-sector forestry (plantations, primary and secondary forest conservation, processing and marketing of wood products, and forestry policy), and will end in December 2001.
Panama: Natural Resources Management in the Ngobe-Bugle Province, whose goal is to promote the economic and social development of the indigenous Ngobe people through sustainable management and conservation of natural resources. The project is implemented by ANAM with assistance from GTZ.
The German government also supports several regional projects in Mesoamerica, including substantial assistance to the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) through support for CCAD and funding for national-level MBC coordinators. Other regional programs includes a project in ecotourism; support for the Center for Research and Training in Tropical Agriculture to assist small agribusinesses in the use of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides; and a project to improve environmental management in small to medium-sized industries in Central America. Other projects have focused on agroforestry techniques, watershed management, and training in sampling methods and statistical analysis.
U.S. Agency for International Development: USAID has environmental programs in Nicaragua and Panama. The environmental portfolio in Nicaragua focuses on NGO co-management of protected areas, supported by a project implemented by Associates in Rural Development in six specific protected areas (none in this ecosystem profile's focus area). In Panama, the USAID environmental program focuses exclusively on the Panama Canal watershed and on environmental interpretation and outreach. USAID's regional environmental program, PROARCA, focused on five priority coastal zones - two of which are in the focus areas, Bocas del Toro and southeast Nicaragua - as well as protected area policy issues such as ecotourism, green marketing, and training. The program's protected area components were implemented by a consortium of the Nature Conservancy, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the University of Rhode Island, and the International Resources Group. PROARCA concluded its first phase in September 2001; however, USAID is now in the contracting phase of a second PROARCA program with similar objectives.
While officially ending development assistance programs in Costa Rica in 1995, the U.S. and Costa Rican governments established the Costa Rica-U.S.A. (CRUSA) Foundation to support projects in institutional development, globalization, the environment, science and technology, and education. Since 1997, CRUSA has provided over %6 million to projects in Costa Rica.
Like the CRUSA Foundation, the Nature Foundation (Fundación Natura) was set up by the USAID program in Panama as an endowment to support conservation work there through a small grants program. Since its inception in 1995, it has supported over 60 projects outside the Canal Zone with a total budget of nearly %3.5 million. Project support is available to NGOs, municipal groups, and universities, and usually focuses on community-based resource management, agroforestry, research and monitoring, and protected area management.
The U.S. government also maintains an "environmental hub" at its Embassy in Costa Rica to monitor regional issues and provide support in the negotiation of treaties.
Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI): AECI maintains an active program in the region for environmental and cultural conservation. In Nicaragua, AECI has provided several years of support to work in southeast Nicaragua to develop a management plan for the Rio San Juan Wildlife Refuge and the conservation of Los Guatuzos wetlands, as well as major support for the management of Indio Maiz Biological Reserve. A new project funded in Nicaragua, the Araucaria project, also supports conservation work.
The Netherlands:The Dutch government has a large environmental program in the region, with a focus on wetlands conservation and strengthening the work of civil society through NGOs and municipalities. Some Dutch assistance is provided via UNDP country programs. Several Dutch-funded wetlands conservation and community development projects on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua will end soon, including the Forest Development Project of the Atlantic Coast (PROCODEFOR).
Norway, Sweden and Finland: These countries support large environmental programs in Nicaragua focusing on systemic issues such as information gathering and dissemination, strengthening of MARENA and the development of a biodiversity action plan for Nicaragua. Working with the Central American office of the IUCN, the Norwegian government is working on a new project in the Rio San Juan area of Nicaragua to support sustainable community management of natural resources. The project is now finishing the first phase of data collection and establishing indicators while negotiating details of the second phase. Ground-level focus areas include two in this profile's focus area, Rio San Juan (Nicaragua and Costa Rica) and the Caribbean watersheds of La Amistad (Costa Rica and Panama), with a third site at Barro de Santiago (Guatemala/El Salvador).
Many NGOs implement conservation programs in the region and, in the case of Nicaragua and Panama, some even manage protected areas. In southeast Nicaragua, a coalition of universities and NGOs is working to share information on research and monitoring in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve. A group of NGOs working across Nicaragua, Grupo Guardabarranco, coordinates and promotes bird conservation. The Cocibolca Foundation in Nicaragua is developing a training program for conservation biologists, supported by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. NGOs with experience working in southeast Nicaragua include Fundación Amigos del Rio San Juan (FUNDAR), which works in partnership with the Spanish chapter of Friends of the Earth; the Fundacion del Rio; the Association for Rural Cooperation in Africa and Latin America; Fundeverde, the Independent National University of Nicaragua (UNAN) at Leon; and Nicambiental.
A new partnership is coordinating activities along the Rio San Juan/La Selva corridor to establish the Maquenque National Park. The partners - including the World Wide Fund for Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society, Organization of Tropical Science, the Government of Costa Rica, and the Coseforma project - envisage a comprehensive conservation program to manage this protected area, an important block of 25,500 hectares along the San Juan River between the Atlantic forests of Costa Rica with southeast Nicaragua and the larger Indio Maiz Biological Reserve.
In the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica, the ACOSA Alliance is working to coordinate action on the Osa Peninsula and in Corcovado National Park. The Alliance includes the TUVA Foundation, the CRUSA Foundation, the Corcovado Foundation, InBio, the Cecropia Foundation, the Neotropic Foundation, the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center (CEDARENA), the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the Costa Rica office of the MBC, and several municipal groups, with minimal organizational support and coordination from CRUSA and GTZ. CRUSA is also working with other international groups, including Conservation International and an international steering committee, to establish an endowment for the management of Corcovado National Park.CRUSA has pledged $3 million in matching funds for this effort.
In Panama, many NGOs work in the terrestrial areas of the Bocas del Toro region, including the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON), ANAI, Fundespa, the Panama Audubon Society, and many community-based and indigenous groups. On marine conservation, ANCON and Promar both implement projects. Panama's Atlantic Mesoamerican Biological Corredor program has a portfolio of over thirty small, community-based projects in the region, and Conservation International has supported training in ecotourism and traditional medicine for the last five years. The World Bank also has a poverty alleviation project that supports small natural resource management projects developed by community groups. The Nature Conservancy and PROARCA have supported the development of management plans for the Bastimentos Marine Park and the San San wetlands.
The Alianza del Sur formed in early 2001 to develop a comprehensive action plan and to coordinate conservation activities in the region. Partners include Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Wildlife Conservation Society in conjunction with regional government projects such as Panama's Atlantic Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Program, and the environmental ministries of Panama and Costa Rica. This is the first time such a broad alliance of NGOs has been convened to analyze and prioritize conservation actions. Through a series of priority-setting workshops, supported by all the leading agencies, the Alianza assessed the status of the Talamanca ecoregion, and the Atlantic and Pacific lowlands of both countries, including the Osa Peninsula and Bocas del Toro. In a series of expert workshops, this group identified, on a very fine scale, the leading threats, conservation gaps, and existing conservation investments and priorities in this region.
The final report and action plan are expected in late 2001, and will serve as important tools for targeting new conservation investments in the focus area of this Profile. The study recommends two important corridors: the Piedras Blancas-Corcovado corridor in the Osa Peninsula, extending up to the Talamancas, and the Talamanca-Bocas del Toro corridor in the north. To complement the work in Costa Rica and Panama, the CEPF sponsored a stakeholders' workshop in Nicaragua in late August 2001 to learn more about conservation needs and priorities in the southeast region. Results of this process identified gaps and helped determine possible opportunities for CEPF investment in the Indio Maiz portion of Nicaragua:
Table 5: Summary of Results of the CEPF Stakeholder Workshop in Nicaragua
| Threats |
Stakeholders |
Gaps |
Potential CEPF Niche |
|
Land-use change due to expanding agriculture frontier
Population growth
Lack of land-use planning
Cattle
Large agricultural development projects (citrus)
Fire
Sedimentation
Illegal logging and poaching of wildlife
Lack of environmental awareness or appreciation
Lack of trained conservationists |
Fundeverde
FUNDAR
APDS
Solentiname Tours
ACRA
IUCN
Fundacion del Rio
Association of Solentiname Artisans
CENADE
Nicambiental
Many organized community groups
AMEC
Indio Lodge
UNAN/Leon
CATIE
Biostation Guises de Montana
Universities, like UNAN/Leon and URRACCAN |
No funds for coordination
Little value or awareness of the value of the region's biodiversity
Lack of protected area management actions
No regional or municipal development plans
No strategy or coordination for research and monitoring
Need for coordination between Nicaragua and Costa Rica
Weak infrastructure and training in ecotourism
Uncertain land tenure and conflicts |
Support a coordinating group for SE Nicaraguan conservation actions and support for alliance building
Support community outreach and education efforts
Provide funds to implement management plans
Funding for biodiversity research, coordination and communication
Provide training in community-based ecotourism development
Support community-based conservation effort and regional planning |
Central American Commission for Environment and Development: Regional governmental cooperation on natural resource management and conservation has its roots in the 1994 Concausa agreement between the U.S. and Central America. Following decades of armed conflict, which affected the entire region, the leaders of Central America established the Alliance for Sustainable Development (ALIDES) and committed themselves to manage their resources in a more sustainable manner through a common mission to promote democracy, social and cultural development, sustainable economic development, and the sustainable use of natural resources. In 1994, the U.S. became the first extra-regional government partner by signing the Concausa accord. After Hurricane Mitch, in May 2000, a new focus area was added to the ALIDES strategy to reduce vulnerability to natural disaster.
Among the ALIDES conservation objectives is the creation of the CCAD, also supported by the GEF, representing the environmental ministries of all seven countries in the region.
The CCAD has a professional staff based in San Salvador, divided into four operational units: biodiversity, environmental legislation, training and information dissemination, and environmental communications. Their mission is to promote a united political agenda from the region's environmental ministers. The biodiversity unit's most important duties are to provide follow-up to regional biodiversity treaties such as Ramsar, CITES and the CBD. Current priority projects include the definition of a regional environmental strategy and the implementation of a regional environmental information system called SIMEBIO. The environmental legislation unit provides training to judges and legislators in environmental law, while the communications unit works to implement a Central American consultative forum and supports the SIMEBIO monitoring network.
To date, the CCAD's activities have focused on coordinating and promoting environmental policies, but have received little input from the NGO sector. The gap between public policy in the region and the views of civil society presents a niche where CEPF investment can improve communication and support the full exchange of ideas on conservation issues.
Regional projects led by the Wildlife Conservation Society in the USAID-funded Paseo Pantera ("Path of the Panther") project first promoted a Central American biological corridor, and led to the wide adoption of a conservation network extending from southern Mexico all the way to the Darién forest of Panama. In 1997, the Central American presidents adopted this concept, known as the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
In order to support the agenda of CCAD and the Central American Protected Areas System, the World Bank, UNDP/GEF, and UNEP has approved an expansive conservation and sustainable development initiative across the region. Its mission is to consolidate the regional biological corridor for conservation, and it is intended to strengthen management of areas within the MBC, economic viability of the MBC, support for the corridor concept by the Central American public, and technical capacities of the region's policymakers.
The project has a central staff based in Managua, Nicaragua, with national representatives in each capital and a counterpart staff person provided by each country. The World Bank provides $200 million in assistance and is the implementing agency for nearly $40 million in ongoing national and regional GEF grants, with another $50 million in the pipeline. In 1999-2000, the World Bank also provided trust funds worth $6 million to support regional activities for the consolidation of the MBC. Germany's GTZ also provides important financial support to the initiative. Most of this funding, however, is directed to government agencies. These large donor projects usually contain a civil society component. CEPF efforts in the region should identify mechanisms by which civil society can better coordinate the MBC and CCAD and should secure matching funds for NGO-led activities within the region.
The MBC project supports the conservation work of CCAD in 11 priority transboundary areas. The foci within this Profile's area of interest include southeast Nicaragua and La Amistad (both Atlantic and Pacific). Other project areas in Mesoamerica include the Selva Maya, Lacandon/Montes Azules, El Triunfo, the Gulf of Fonseca, La Flor/Guanacaste, Bosawas and the Darien.
Given inadequate coordination and information-sharing, an important part of the MBC project's goals is to coordinate the many conservation and sustainable development projects in the region, and to support synergies among programs. In Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica alone, there are more than 43 major donor initiatives funded by the World Bank, the German government, UNEP, UNDP, GEF and CCAD.
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