Eventos

Financiamiento a largo plazo para sistemas nacionales de áreas protegidas

Habana, Cuba, 5-8 de julio 2004

Belice

Project Title: CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF THE BELIZE BARRIER REEF COMPLEX. BZE/98/G32

I Project Goal
To secure the conservation of options and existence values embodied in the second longest barrier reef system in the world.

II Project's Main Objectives
This project seeks to support the Government of Belize in implementing an integrated coastal zone management programme by undertaking targeted interventions for biodiversity protection in a sustainable manner. These measures include strengthening the planning, management and operation of a network of 13 marine protected areas (five of which are World Heritage Sites); integrating development planning on the cayes with marine biodiversity conservation principles; developing a sustainable financing mechanism; establishing legal and institutional capacities for facilitating bioprospecting; and complementing widespread environmental conservation advocacy with coastal and marine biodiversity concerns.

III Objectives Related to Financial Sustainability
Specifically the project called for the sustainable financing mechanism for marine biodiversity conservation to be established and operational. This was to be achieved through:
1. Appropriate levels of user fees (based on pilot-phase findings) determined and a streamlined system for collecting user fees and managing funds.
2. A Comprehensive fund-raising strategy to complement other revenue sources developed and under implementation.
3. Transparent and flexible eligibility criteria and requirements articulated for accessing resources from the Trust Fund- sub-account.
4. An Awareness-raising programme to be established and operationalized aimed at building a constituency supportive of bio-diversity conservation within the dive industry.
5. The establishment of a Barrier Reef Trust fund/sub account designed and established with an agreed governance process.

IV LESSONS LEARNT

Institutional Environment
While there are many benefits to be had through a network approach, the fragmentation of responsibilities for protected area management is difficult to overcome making the ability to harmonize policy and decision-making regarding management at the site level problematic. This is further complicated by the range of varied co-management arrangements each having its own stipulations in terms of financial matters, in the context of an absence of a legal framework for co-management. Often co-management partners are competing for funds from the same funding sources and sectoral agencies place particular attention to safeguarding "turf". In this context it was easier to garner support from resource managers for fees at site level as opposed to broad Integrated Coastal Zone Management Fees where the multiplicity of mandates resulted in a focus on the individual area of influence or concern and the revenue generation needs as opposed to areas for collaboration in management.

Financing Needs
It is equally challenging to gain consensus on the level of investment needed and operational cost for services provided by sites as this is largely determined by the level of quality of the services to be provided, the existing infrastructure in place and need for improvement and the geographic locations of the sites. Park management could benefit from taking a business planning approach for the management of sites as management plans place greater emphasis on technical aspects of environmental management as opposed to financial sustainability and even sometimes socio economic components.

Furthermore, financing needs for environmental management are often seen as being too high and as a means of diverting enormous national economic resources from productive pursuits. Furthermore in the early stages of economic development, "negligible" increases in environmental degradation are even regarded as acceptable side effects or cost.

Revenue Generation
Sites with management presence often have in existence fee collection systems (albeit prone to "leaks"). Gaining consensus on a cost effective and uncomplicated fee collection method is at the risk of being overshadowed by the need for quick "cash in hand" at the site level.

The standardization of fees across sites has both benefits and disadvantages in that it reduces competition between sites and avoids confusion for the visitors. However it needs to be applied in an environment where cross subsidization is provided for, so as to support the management of ecologically valuable sites which do not benefit from high visitation levels.

Any comprehensive fundraising strategy will invariably be susceptible to macro economic and political considerations such as the need of the sector to retain competitiveness and the need to avoid the overburdening of anyone sector in an environment where there are multiple and new taxation demands. Furthermore, with shrinking government budget revenues and consequently allocations, there is the need to guarantee the earmarking of fees for conservation efforts at the site level, particularly in an environment where industry stakeholders resist higher fees when it cannot be assured that it will be reinvested in conservation efforts.

Management and Delivery of Funds
Given the limited number of capable national experts and financial resource constraints, as well as the small size of the country it was agreed that the establishment of multiple trust funds was not necessary. The merits of utilizing the Protected Area Conservation Trust (PACT) on an interim basis outweighed other options for management and delivery of funds. However, the issues relating to fund allocation criteria needs to be further deliberated as preliminary recommendations of a working group to address this issue appears to be creating a disincentive for engaging in new co-management agreements. Furthermore, the management needs to include a performance evaluation system which tags investment to performance, an area that is being inadvertently overlooked by a committee that is evidently lacking in private sector tourism and fishers industry representation.

Awareness Rising
There is much merit in attempting to economically value resources, not withstanding how complex and arguably inaccurate the results may yield but such tool would be useful in any communication strategy to users and decision makers regarding the appropriate level of fees and the stronger appreciation of the linkage between degradation and its detrimental effects on economic growth itself . Similarly the willingness to pay surveys in particular, provided much factual basis for arguments in favor of new or increased fees.

However, education needs to be accompanied by well timed, targeted campaigns through popular mediums. Professional expertise in this area is highly advised as communication of the benefits of resource management from a social and economic standpoint is paramount for uptake of the financial sustainability recommendations.