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Concept Document
Prepared by Francisco Chapela /Estudios Rurales y Asesoría Campesina
February, 2009
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Sustainable Communities to preserve biological diversity
Concept Document
Prepared by Francisco Chapela /Estudios Rurales y Asesoría Campesina
February, 2009
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• Much less functional protected areas than Brazil or Costa Rica
Although considerable efforts have been taken in the last 20 years to develop environmental
laws and national protected areas systems, it is clear that a system based just in biological
considerations is not enough to preserve the dynamic relationships between cultural land
uses and biological diversity at the landscape level.
México, 1988: Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente (que sustituyó a la ley Federal
de Protección al Ambiente de 1982)
Nicaragua, 1996: Ley general del Medio Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales
For example, the gap analysis recently undertaken by the Mexican biological diversity
authority, recognizes that there are a lot of priority points, where biological values are high
and may be threatened, and the official PAs system has no coverage, or where PAs are
declared, they are not effective or are threatened:
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2. The need for a Mesoamerican policy
Mesoamerica needs to define a biological diversity policy suitable for its own cultural, social,
economical and natural reality. Blueprints designed for areas with less social and biological
densities, are not suitable for this case.
Since the 1980s, some steps towards a "Mesoamerican conservation model" have been
taken. We can at least see tree periods:
1980s: exploratory projects, with support from foundations (Ford, Mc. Arthur) and later from
bilateral organizations (IAF, USAID, GTZ, DfID).
1990s: "Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs)" in coordination with
federal governments and GEF, PNUD and The World Bank.
2000s: ICDPs Institutionalization
A lot of institutionalization efforts have been done under "Integrated Conservation and
Development Projects (ICDPs)", including:
• ACICAFOC/CCAD Integrated Ecosystem Management in Indigenous Communities
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• CONAFOR Forest Conservation and Management Project
• CONAFOR Communities and Indigenous Biodiversity Conservation project for
Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca
• CONABIO Mesoamerican Biological Corridor-Mexico
• CONANP Three Regions Integrated Ecosystems Management project
To do this, the experience shows the need to address some limitations, including:
• lack of regional projects with capacity to include in a profitable way production chains
and to have market penetration;
• lack of business models, based both on biological resources and communities cultural
substrate;
• poor development of communities cooperation networks;
• need of business plans, to attract capitals and production investment to local
communities and organizations.
4. Proposed strategy
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diversity reduction, and "conservation" does not mean lack of social development or eviction
of indigenous population.
The general strategy is to "promote sustainable communities for biological diversity
conservation".
This strategy, is focused on fostering, nourishing and promoting regional projects based on
sustainable uses of biological resources. Along with the projects themselves, local technical
leaders will be also incubated.
Altough the socio-environmental integrated conservation and development projects will be
very valuable for local communities and for regional policies, the technical leadership that can
be developed, may be over the time the main asset for local people to achieve a genuine
sustainable development.
Therefore, a two-tiers strategy is envisioned: by one hand, leadership and sustainable
business models will be incubated to build regional socio-environmental management
systems, while by the other hand theses systems will be promoted as relevant parts of
national protected areas systems, constituting a sub-system of Communal wild protected
areas, with a demonstrable and growingly significant share of national biological diversity
stewardship.
4.2. Goals
Goal A: regional management systems
Promote and consolidate wild communal protected areas (Areas Comunales Protegidas:
ACPs) economic sustainability in Mesoamerica, through developing business models based
on extractive and non-extractive uses of biological resources, to produce biological diversity
incentives to communities, organizations and local institutions.
Components: (a1) ACPs, (a2) Incubation of regional leaders and projects, (a3) setting-up/
operation of nodes into socio-environmental high priority areas in Mesoamerica, (a4)
Monitoring and evaluation
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4.3. Intervention Mechanisms
5. Financing
In the future, the project will operate with contributions from regional organizations willing to
enhance their leadership developing their own socio-environmental integrated conservation
and development projects. Governments and international cooperation agencies, may also
contribute to the costs of the program.
As a start, for a first 3-year period, it is estimated that about 2 million US dollars will be
needed. It is proposed that the Global Environment Facility finances almost 50%, and the
Ford Foundation and The Christensen Fund provide the rest together with seed money from
other national or international development agencies.
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Notes
(1) The megadiverse countries are a group of countries that harbor the majority of the
earth's species and are therefore considered extremely biodiverse. The World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, an agency of the United Nations Environment Programme, has identified
17 megadiverse countries, most located in the tropics.
In 2002, a separate organization, Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries, was formed in Mexico,
consisting of countries rich in biological diversity and associated traditional knowledge. This
organization does not include all the megadiverse countries as identified by the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre.
In alphabetical order, the 18 countries identified as megadiverse by the UNEP World
Conservation Monitoring Centre are: Australia, Brazil , People's Republic of China
(geographically including Taiwan), Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador,
India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru,
Philippines, South Africa, United States, Venezuela.
References
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