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SOME RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL
PROJECTS SINCE 1996
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2006-presente
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Adopt
A Ranger is an innovative initiative to try to help solve the most
urgent problem that conservation is facing in developing and transition
nations: Raise funds to finance rangers in the field. Adopt A Ranger has
as its mission to support the conservation of nature worldwide,
particularly by:
1998
financing the
salaries and operational costs of "national park rangers" and
comparable officials whose task it is to protect natural areas and to
serve the stakeholder public of the protected area to which they be
assigned; and
1999
Assist developing
countries in elaborating financing and staffing strategies to
gradually reduce the financing and staffing deficits.
Visit:
http://www.adopt-a-ranger.org
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Brasil,
TNC: In the context of COP8 of the CBD in Curitiba, Brasil, the
Ministry of Environment (MMA) of Brasil created the National Forum on
Protected Areas, with representatives of both the government and society.
As part of this endeavour, Dr. Vreugdenhil was invited to make an integral
financial analysis for the long term financing of the entire protected
areas system (SNUC) of Brasil, involving almost 300 federal, 500 state,
some municipal and 500 private protected areas. Using a special version of
MICOSYS, an individual costing was made of each of the more than 1200
areas in the database and a financial analysis was made of the budgets and
income sources of the MMA and its environmental institute IBAMA. Prognoses
were modelled on income sources like visitation revenue, forestry
concessions, environmental compensation funding, the protected areas
endowment fund (FUNBIO/FAP) etc. and a scenario was portrayed on how the
GoB can achieve a permanent minimum adequate financing over a period of 10
years. Special attention was paid to FUNBIO, as its procedures and
operation resulted in a rather low net performance in benefit of the
protected areas.
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2006
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2005-2006
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American hemisphere, OAS/GEF: For the duration
of 5 years, the Boticario Foundation for Nature Protection (FBNP) of
Brasil, leads a task force of IUCN, WWF, Humboldt Institute (Colombia),
NatureServe, TNC, WICE, EcoCiencia (Ecuador), the Mexican National Parks
Service - CONANP - and the Mexican Fund for Nature Conservation FMCN on
behalf of the Inter American Biological Network (IABIN at http://iabin.net).
IABIN, an international institution under the umbrella of the Organization
of American States (OAS) with its headquarters in Panama, has received a
grant from GEF to develop and set the standards for biological and
conservation informatics and technology, data storage and information
sharing issues for the entire American Hemisphere. This effort is
essential for the region, as it responds to both the Vth World Parks
Congress and the CDB COP 7 resolutions, particularly the “Ecosystem
Approach”. The task force is working on such issues as the development
of a state of the art and yet practical hemispheric methodology (i) for
ecosystems classification, identification, mapping and monitoring, (ii)
socio-economic as well as biological management effectiveness evaluation
of protected areas, (iii) applicable and affordable protected areas and
biodiversity monitoring methods, (iv) the development of a web-based
database for biodiversity and protected areas data for the member states
(currently 34 IABIN signatory countries), (v) the development of a
web-based GIS tool with access for all protected areas managers and
planners, etc. As part of this crucial task, the task force provide
training and workshops for the IABIN member countries. Dr. Vreugdenhil
supports the FBNP as the scientific coordinator of the task force, while
building on methodologies he has helped develop over the last 15 years.
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2005
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Tajikistan, Ferghana Valley
/ Syr Darya River environmental flow assessment, World Bank: In the context of a Irrigation
Infrastructure and Hydro-electro Reservoir Rehabilitation project, an
environmental flow assessment was carried out, taking in consideration the
existing water agreements among the countries feeding in to the Syr Darya
River and ultimately the Aral Sea. Special concerns were water quality and
the survival of certain threatened fish species.
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2005
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Mexico, Evaluation 25
million dollars GEF protected Areas management project: The evaluation mission evaluated impacts of
the project as well as the policy of the CONANP as a whole where related
to the project objectives, as the policy of the project could not be
separated from the institution’s national policy on this issue. CONANP
does an extraordinary job in assisting local communities. However, with
somewhere around a mere 2,000,000 Mexican visitors per year (the USA NPS
has between 400 and 500 million visits per year), COANP misses to reach
the Mexican public and failing to do so, it lacks a popular support bases
to the nation’s protected areas system. Evaluation of the management of
5 protected areas inhabited by local communities. Recommendations to
enhance visitation though better management and marketing. The mission
advised on both the environmental and social impacts of the project and
CONANP management approaches. It advised how future increased visitation
could be absorbed without endangering the areas’ natural resources,
while it opiniated that the CONANP does far more than merely manage
conservation areas: In the most remote and forgotten corners of the
country, it functions as the advanced outposts of the federal government
in aiding some of the most vulnerable people of the nation – including
ethnic minorities - in to achieving self-governance and improving their
livelihoods. In the process, CONANP advances gender equity goals among
traditional rural communities where the needs for this issue are still
eminent.
http://www.nature-worldwide.info/downloads/EvaluacionSINAP2.pdf
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2006
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Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Government of Finland/HCG: Formulation mission, in coordination with
the Comunidad Andina de Naciones (CAN) of a Finland-CAN Programme that
will support and build capacities to: a) improve the ability of the region
to implement the Regional Biodiversity Strategy and the United Nations
Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB), b) strengthen the Information
Society by promoting the establishment of Information Systems on
biological diversity and c) promote regional land use planning through
implementation of the Ecological and Economic Zoning (ZEE). Particular
attention was paid to the protected areas endowment funds and the national
budgets of the protected areas agencies of the 5 Andean-Amazonian
countries.
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2005-2006
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Brasil, TNC: In the context of COP8 of the CBD in
Curitiba, Brasil, the Ministry of Environment (MMA) of Brasil created the
National Forum on Protected Areas, with representatives of both the
government and society. As part of this endeavour, CES/WICE was invited to
make an integral financial analysis for the long term financing of the
entire protected areas system (SNUC) of Brasil, involving almost 300
federal, 500 state, some municipal and 500 private protected areas.
Using a special version of MICOSYS, an individual costing was made
of each of the more than 1200 areas in the database and a financial
analysis was made of the budgets and income sources of the MMA and its
environmental institute IBAMA. Prognoses were modelled on income sources
like visitation revenue, forestry concessions, environmental compensation
funding, the protected areas endowment fund (FUNBIO/FAP) etc. and a
scenario was portrayed on how the GoB can achieve a permanent minimum
adequate financing over a period of 10 years. Dr. Vreugdenhil advised the World Bank on his concern about
the net return of FUNBIO, which was hampered by conditions imposed on the
fund by the trustees.
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2005 - 2006
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Venezuela, GEF mid-sized
grant Indigenous people self management project: The Dekuana tribe occupies about 2 million ha of
mainly primary forest in southern Venezuela. This on-going project helps
the Dekuana to carry out sustainable hunting practices and land use
planning involving ILWIS-based GIS applied by the Dekuana. This innovative
project involves training and wildlife management research and resource
monitoring and participative protected area management planning including
sustainable hunting.
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2004 - 2005
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Serbia, Water
Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project, World Bank: Environmental Impact assessment for a 35 million
dollar water infrastructure rehabilitation project to strengthen dikes
along the Danube, dredge drainage and irrigation canals, refurbish pump
stations, reorganisation of the water sector, etc.
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2004 - 2005
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China, Biodiversity
monitoring and GIS training course, NUFFIC: In a combined effort ITC and CES/WICE provided a
biodiversity monitoring and GIS training course to the National Park
Office of China. This approximate 20 weeks course dealt with all the
necessary GIS and monitoring applications for monitoring the 175 national
parks and natural heritage sites under the supervision by the NPO. As an
on the job training component a participative management plan was made for
Sanquin Shan National Park.
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2004
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Cambridge, Workshop on
Conservation Financing,
CES/WICE was invited by the World Conservation Finance Alliance
to give a presentation on the worldwide costs of protected areas, as its
method was the only method in the world that is based on each individual
area and about 50 different cost factors common to protected areas
systems. It is also
particularly suitable for financial monitoring of protected areas and
investment progress made. The only other method is based on rather
speculative economic surrogate parameters.
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2004
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Ecuador, Sibimbe
Hydroproject, World Bank:
Environmental Flow and environmental impact assessment mid-size
Hydro-electrical project.
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2004
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Ecuador, Sabanilla
Hydroproject, World Bank:
Environmental Flow and environmental impact assessment mid-size
Hydro-electrical project.
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2004
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México, EU: Evaluation of the EU project on marine
protected areas managed by the Mexican Protected Areas Fund. The project
was intended to make 4 key protected areas in the Mexican system
financially self-sufficient. While attempting to achieve financial
independence for these areas, no effort was made to calculate recurrent
and investment costs of the areas. The evaluation mission designed a costs assessment
format for the institution and with the area administrators assessed the
costs of each area under evaluation. The outcome showed that financial
independence was still elusive and could probably best be achieved through
a system of differentiated entry and service fees. Evaluation of the
management of 5 protected areas inhabited
by local communities. Recommendations to enhance visitation though
better management and marketing. The collaboration between CONAP and CES/WICE
on protected areas monitoring was further developed.
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2004
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Malaysia, Conference of the
Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, financed WWF: Official IUCN delegate specialist on
protected areas financing. Several member states were advised on financial
issues that resulted in recommendations on protected areas financing.
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2004
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World Wide, wholly financed by CES/WICE:
Strategic Document to inform the parties in Kuala Lumpur on
worldwide costs of protected areas in developing and transition countries
as member of the IUCN delegation at COP7 on the Convention on Biological
Diversity. The report is in furtherance of the estimates calculated in
2003. The results are very encouraging: with the total calculated amount
of S1.1 billion, the study suggests that costs are about twice as low as
the costs calculated by the study with the second lowest estimates, and 20
times lower than suggested by the highest estimate ever made. As the WICE
study is based on more than 50 costs factors common to most protected
areas in the world, the WICE estimates are far more specific then any
other worldwide study previously undertaken, which are all based on
generic indicators.
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2003
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Worldwide, wholly financed by CES/WICE:
Teamleader of a taskforce for the development of a Strategic
document for the Vth World Parks Congress in South Africa: “Protected
Areas System Planning And Monitoring”. The document reviews the options
for efficient biodiversity selection to protected areas systems worldwide
based on the experiences of ecosystem mapping.
It reviews previous analysis worldwide since the nineteen seventies
and offers solutions both for biodiversity selection and for protected
areas monitoring by integrating different appropriate technology modules
and tools. It is the first time a holistic method has been presented that
deals with aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, flora and fauna, and that a
tool has become available to quantify biodiversity geographically. The
document unites a task force of world-renowned ecologists like Terborgh,
Boere, Vreugdenhil, etc. and has been presented at the Vth World Parks
Congress in Durban, 2003.
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2003
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Worlwide, financed CES/WICE, WB, CI, WWF, IUCN: Cost approximation of all the PAs of all the developing and transition
countries of the world in preparation of the Vth World Parks Congress in
Durban. WICE has developed a
methodology to cost protected areas management based on very specific cost factors, like
staffing, transportation, administrative and operational infrastructure,
etc.
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1999-present
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Worldwide, wholly financed by CES/WICE:
The WICE website http://birdlist.org/
is in the process of developing species lists for the birds, mammals,
herpetofauna, butterflies and coral reefs of all countries of the world,
currently with more than 3,000,000 data entries. It is currently designing
a very user-friendly worldwide on-line biodiversity monitoring database,
on-line methods for natural resources and protected areas management,
biodiversity and ecosystem mapping, integral water management practices,
as well as a non-commercial world wide ecotourism information site, with a
protected areas list for each country of the world.
WICE holds 25 specialised domains integrated with http://birdlist.org
to facilitate more convenience by users in developing countries.
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1999-2003
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Central America, CCAD/World Bank/Netherlands
Government: The most thorough scientific ecosystems study ever executed in
Central America. It involves the detailed forest cover and ecosystems
mapping at scale 1:250,000 for all seven Central American Countries as
well as a detailed ecosystems analysis. The consultant tasks included: (i)
for each country overseeing the production teams of the national
specialists, (ii) training in the UNESCO vegetation classification,
application and training of GIS, (iii) at the end, assist CATIE in
integrating all the GIS files into one large regional ecosystems baseline
to be posted on the Website of the Central American Commission for
Environment (CCAD), as well as on the one of the World Bank.
The map production is a joint effort of several universities in
each one of the participating countries and the Ministries of
Environment/Forest Services or equivalent.
The mapping project introduces the detailed UNESCO mapping system
as the modern alternative to the Holdridge system, as it reflects the real
vegetation situation from remotely sensed images and about 150 detailed
field verification sites in each country. A powerful, easy applicable
database will serve future projects and national programs to monitor
sequestered carbon (the inventories include the basal area factor, a
measurement for cubic meters of wood mass per hectare) biodiversity,
environmental quality and irregularities in protected areas in a
consistent way throughout the region.
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1997-1998
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Mexico, WB/GEF:
Evaluation of the GEF component of the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservacion
de la Naturaleza, A.C., the Fondo para Areas Naturales Protegidas (FANP).
Fundraising; institutional organization, financing mechanisms, ecotourism,
etc. Participitory development of a low-cost permanent monitoring system
which can function independently of external financing.
This monitoring system currently forms the bases for the Central
American monitoring database.
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1995-1998
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Central America, UNDP/WB/GEF:
This period concerns various different and independently financed GEF
projects, in part carried out under UNDP and in part under the World Bank.
These projects are very similar in design and make part of the
Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. They include development of sustainable
bufferzone management programs, involving local communities, stakeholders,
farmers, indigenous people, and NGOs.
Identification of promising productive activities, such as small
scale fishing, animal husbandry, BD-friendly agriculture, communal gold
mining, tourism, etc. Preludes to coastal management initiatives.
Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of biodiversity protection, of
needs of institutional strengthening and investments and of policy and
financial priorities of the national parks system. A computerized rating
system has been established with the WICE in-house developed MICOSYS-software,
involving biodiversity representation, institutional capacities and
economic values. Estimate on long-term financial needs for a minimum
national conservation system, which includes all major ecosystems of
Honduras; identification of self-financing opportunities and gap-analysis.
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