Colombia - Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Project

Report No. PID8220 Project Name Colombia-Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta (@) Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Region Latin America and Caribbean Region Sector Natural Resources Management Project ID COPE57093 Borrower(s) FUNDACION PRO SIERRA NEVADA DE S.M. Implementing Agency Address FUNDACION PRO SIERRA NEVADA DE S.M. Calle 17 No. 3-83, Santa Marta, Colombia Contact Person: Maria Camila Diazgranados, Directora Ejecutiva Tel: (575)-431-0551 Fax: (575)-421-1746 Email: prosierra@compunet.net.co Environment Category B Date PID Prepared April 12, 2001 Projected Appraisal Date April 6, 2001 Projected Board Date June 19, 2001 1. Country and Sector Background Background: The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a UNESCO-declared Biosphere Reserve, has as its central feature the world's highest coastal peak, set apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia, which reaches an altitude of 5,684 meters above sea level just 46 kilometers from the Caribbean coast. The ecoregion encompasses 21,600 square kilometers and a population of between 1.0 and 1.5 million; it includes 15 municipalities located in 3 departments, 2 national parks, 2 major indigenous reserves. Because of its altitudinal variation as well as its location at 11 degrees north latitude, the Sierra Nevada contains a mosaic of biomes of global significance. Since pre-hispanic times, the indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada have possessed a world view, social organizations and living patterns revolving around the management and conservation of this unique environment. Main Sector Issues: Colombia is recognized to be one of the "megadiverse" nations in the world. Despite the fact that it accounts for only 1 (1.14 million square kilometers) of the world's land area, possessing 18 ecoregions, the second highest of any country in Latin America. It is home to about 15t of all terrestrial species, making it one of the countries with the highest concentration of species per unit area. However, Colombia's strategic ecoregions are experiencing rapid deterioration, which is a major threat to their biodiversity. An enforcement/policing approach combined with a shortage of financial and human resources, the remote location and difficult access to many of the areas, and the presence of armed groups in and around some of the key parks have been major obstacles to effective conservation and protection of biodiversity in the national parks system. Outside the protected areas, the most important direct sources of loss of biodiversity are colonization of new areas and inappropriate land use, in particular the enormous  increase in the area under pasture for extensive livestock production. Cultivation and eradication of illicit crops with herbicides, particularly in the Amazon, is another serious problem. In addition, many of the most important areas of the country from a biodiversity point of view are those where insecurity and armed conflict are serious problems. Precarious living standards of culturally diverse rural populations inhabiting strategic ecoregions contrast sharply with the rich biodiversity of these places.Government Strategy: The critical sector issues cited above are addressed in the Government's strategy contained in the National Development Plan, National Policy on Biodiversity, and National Action Plan for Biodiversity. The National Development Plan for 1998-2002, el Cambio para construir la Paz, defines the overall objective of Colombia's environmental policy as: "restoring and conserving priority areas in strategic ecoregions, while fostering sustainable regional and sectoral development in the context of constructing peace." The decision to involve communities in collaborative management of protected areas in the national parks system is an important policy change signaled in the Plan and endorsed by the National Environmental Council in August 1999. The new policy focuses on the social dimensions of conservation and seeks to improve the effectiveness of conservation in protected areas by involving local communities which implies a diversity of methods including collaborative management.The Development Plan's biodiversity program is based on the National Policy on Biodiversity adopted in March 1997 which seeks a more just and equitable distribution of the costs and benefits derived from biodiversity. The Policy defines three broad areas for action--knowledge, conservation, and sustainable use. Within this framework, a Biodiversity Action Plan developed in late 1998 defines ten strategies/objectives and a detailed set of actions for each.The Government has designated the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as one of the strategic ecoregions to be supported under the Development Plan. Foundation's Strategy: In 1988, the Fundacion Pro Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Foundation) initiated a participatory process that produced a Sustainable Development Plan for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SDP) published in February 1997 and endorsed by key stakeholders including the municipal, departmental and central governments, as well as communities and other local actors. The long-term development objective of the SDP is to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada, while maintaining and restoring the region's ecosystems and cultural heritage. The Foundation has develop a six-year program to promote the implementation of the SDP's objectives; it has developed an ecoregional conservation strategy which includes the identification of priority conservation sites. The Foundation's approach to conservation is based on building social consensus and agreement between key actors on conservation actions, rather than creating new restricted areas or expanding existing ones without social support. The objectives and strategies in the SDP, the Foundation's six-year program and this project are fully consistent with the Government's strategy as presented in the Development Plan, Biodiversity Policy and Biodiversity Action Plan. 2. Objectives Project development objective: better informed and organized stakeholders implementing jointly agreed actions to conserve the biological and cultural diversity of the Sierra Nevada and to use its natural resources in a sustainable manner.Global Environmental objective: conserve, restore and sustainably use the singular and heterogeneous mosaic of ecosystems -2 -  of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, focusing on prioritized areas that represent opportunities for maintaining and restoring the long-term viability of the ecoregion's biodiversity. 3. Rationale for Bank's Involvement As an implementing agency of the GEF and a committed lender in the environment sector, the Bank has an active biodiversity portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Bank is also one of the most experienced institutions in facilitating the creation of GEF-suppported environmental trust funds. It also has important experience in Colombia in these and related areas including support for: integrated rural development, sustainable natural resource management at the national and regional level, and promotion of a participatory, community development approach in a conflictive region. GEF support is warranted given the global significance of the ecoregion. GEF funding will make possible solid and sustainable attention to biodiversity conservation, and establish a sustainable financing mechanism not otherwise possible; it will also support the broad dissemination of the lessons from this experience which has already been internationally recognized for its pioneering nature. 4. Description The project includes the following components: 1. Knowledge Generation and Dissemination. This component supports the generation, exchange (including an intercultural dialogue) and dissemination of knowledge which are critical ingredients for promoting support for the ecoregion's conservation strategy, refining this strategy, and for working in the focal zones. The project supports: putting in place and operating a biodiversity monitoring system; key studies; communications strategy; study tours and other forms of knowledge exchange; and the monitoring, evaluation and learning system. 2. Participation, Organizational Strengthening and Coordination. This component supports the continuation of the Foundation's participatory approach to working with and strengthening community, local and regional organizations. The project supports: technical assistance and training for organizations and key stakeholders in the focal zones; the consultation process between indigenous organizations, the Parks Unit and farmers living inside parks/reserves on collaborative management of the Sierra Nevada Park; and the incremental costs of project management. 3. Collaborative Management and Subprojects 3.1 Collaborative Management and Conservation of Critical Areas. This sub-component supports the implementation of the ecoregional conservation strategy through support for the management plan for the Sierra Nevada Park being developed by the Parks Unit and indigenous organizations, and for activities in the 3 focal zones. The focus will be the participatory design and implementation of biological corridors in focal zones 1 and 3, and a buffer zone management plan based on the shade coffee production system in focal zone 2. 3.2 Non-Government Fund. This sub-component supports the establishment and initial operations of a NGF to be set-up and managed by the Foundation. The NGF will be established in the first year of the project and will have three principal sources of funding: (i) an endowment which generates income which can be used for the NGF's operating - 3 -  costs and to finance projects; (ii) sinking funds which disburse their entire principal and income over a fixed period of time; and (iii) revolving funds which receive funds on a regular basis and provide a continuing source of funding for projects and the NGF's operating costs. The NGF will provide competitive grants to community organizations and their partner agencies (NGOs, local governments, private businesses or others) for a range of projects related to conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the Sierra Nevada ecoregion. 5. Financing Total ( US$m) IBRD AND GOVERNMENT OF COLOMBIA 5.0 LIL AND 0.5 COUNTERPART FUNDS AGENCE FRANCAISE DE DEVELOPMENT 1.0 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY 9.0 NETHERLANDS MINISTER FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION 0.6 LOCAL COMMUNITIES 0.4 OTHER SOURCES 2.4 Total Project Cost 19.0 6. Implementation The project will be implemented over a period of five years (2001-2005). The Fundaci6n Pro-Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a private non-profit organization, will be the recipient of the GEF Grant and the project executing agency. The project management is fully integrated into the structure and management of the Foundation with a project coordinator based in its Program Office. The Foundation will continue its long established practice of working in close collaboration with local community organizations, NGOs, indigenous authorities, municipal and departmental governments, and regional and national institutions including universities, research institutes such as Alexander von Humboldt, Regional Autonomous Corporations (the regional environmental authorities), and the National Parks Unit. The project's focus is outward to the communities and organizations in the ecoregion with more than half the project funds destined to finance projects proposed and implemented by community organizations and their partners such as NGOs and local governments. The Foundation has established strategic alliances with three key institutions with whom it will work closely to carry out the program and project: the National Parks Unit, National Federation of Coffee Producers, and the von Humboldt Institute. The Regional Environmental Council for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a broadly representative body of key stakeholders which is chaired by the Minister of the Environment, will provide oversight in its capacity as the coordinating and consultative body for implementation of the SDP. Oversight and guidance by indigenous authorities will be ensured through the Committee for the SDP (Comite Directiva) created at their request in March 1998, and the more recently established Cabildos Territorial Council. 7. Sustainability The achievement of long term sustainability is underpinned by the consolidation of the Non Government Fund and the emphasis on strengthening capacity of local and regional institutions and communities. The three-component strategy is designed to build on the institutional capacity of community organizations so they can become leaders of self-managed sustainable processes in the Sierra, as well as strengthening - 4 -  the relatively new regional coordination mechanisms such as the Regional Environmental Council and the Cabildos Territorial Council. Likewise, the strategic alliances with key national and regional actors is another element that will contribute to sustainability. Replication within the ecoregion and elsewhere will be supported by the project's emphasis on knowledge generation and dissemination. The most important risk factor to sustainability is the presence of armed actors in the region, and in the country. 8. Lessons learned from past operations in the country/sector Key lessons incorporated into the project design include:an integrated approach (ecological, social, cultural and economic dimensions) which considers the entire ecoregion but focuses action in key areas; a participatory strategy to involve a variety of stakeholders; the participation of indigenous groups and sharing of their beliefs and knowledge, which have been extensively studied and shown to be consonant with conservation, with the rest of the inhabitants of the Sierra. the sharing and dissemination of knowledge to increase community consciousness and support to conservation efforts.design of the NGF was done in consultation with key stakeholders in Colombia and the ecoregion, and took into account the recommendations of the GEF Council's Evaluation of Experience with Conservation Trust Funds (1998). 9. Program of Targeted Intervention (PTI) N 10. Environment Aspects (including any public consultation) Issues There are no major adverse environmental impacts expected as a result of this project which is focused on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; no separate Environmental Assessment or Management Plan was prepared. Procedures for screening and assessing the potential environmental impact of subprojects are included in the Fund's Operating Manual. Stakeholders were consulted throughout the project preparation process. 11. Contact Point: Task Manager Elsie B. Garfield The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone: 202-473-5007 Fax: 202-522-3540 12. For information on other project related documents contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-5454 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http:// www.worldbank.org/infoshop Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not be necessarily included in the final project. - 5-  This PID was processed by the InfoShop during the week ending April 20, 2001. - 6 -