the gran reserva chachi rewarding indigenous communities for forest conservation on communal land...

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Rewarding Indigenous Communities for Forest Conservation on

Communal Land

Luis SuárezConservation International Ecuador

Designing “Pro-Poor” Rewards for Ecosystem ServicesMadison, 7-8 April 2008

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Context:

• Hotspot (Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena)

• High levels of poverty

• High deforestation rate

• Significant threats: Timber extraction and oil palm plantations

• > 60% of all timber produced in Ecuador comes from this region

• High opportunity costs for conservation

• Little local benefits from resource exploitation

The Gran Reserva ChachiRationale:

• Conservation priority areas have people in them

• Conservation means working with people

• Conservation must become economically attractive to be viable

• Communities must have the ability to conserve:

- Rights

- Resources

- Capacity

The Gran Reserva ChachiProcess:

• Participatory design:

- Prior informed consent (assemblies)

- Reserve area & location

- Rules definition (use & limitations)

- Economic incentive (opportunity costs & needs)

• Trial phase (2-4 years):

- Incentive mechanism operation

- Distribution of benefits

- Implementation & enforcement of rules

Characteristics:• Reserve area:

7,200 ha (Strict Protection Zone)

• Buffer (multiple use) area:11,500 ha

• Communities involved:3 Chachi Centers~ 300 families~ 30,000 ha (total area)

• Incentive: $5/ha/year + salaries for reserve guards

• Other costs:Monitoring & technical assistance

The Gran Reserva Chachi

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Current status:

• Communities are interested in the maintenance of the Reserve

• Compensation is improving living conditions (health, education & organization)

• The Conservation Agreement is providing a framework for engagement on related themes:

- Institutional strengthening

- Capacity building

- Social control and transparency

• Strong community support for agreement renewal

• Interest of neighboring communities to develop similar agreements (replication & enlargement)

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Main achievements:

Conservation

• 7.200 ha protected in the buffer zone of a key Ecological Reserve

• Globally endangered species protected:– Long-Wattled Umbrellabird– Great Curassow– Brown-Headed Spider Monkey

• 8 local reserve guards trained

• Patrol mechanisms established

The Gran Reserva ChachiMain achievements:

Local development

• Enterprises established in 2005 are still functioning (e.g. gas station, store)

• Households infrastructure has improved (e.g. piped water, zinc roofs)

• Community members have access to medicines & to financial support for emergencies

• Children have access to school materials

• Techniques to improve cacao production have been implemented

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Main achievements:

Transparency

• The leadership of the Centers has been legalized

• Social control has improved (e.g. reporting the incentive management in assemblies)

Distribution of benefits

• Marginalized groups are direct beneficiaries of the incentives (e.g. women enterprises)

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Main achievements:

Sustainability

• Seed capital raised for a Trust Fund (~$150k of $2 million

needed; commitment for $150k more)• Interest from different donors & sources (GCF,

CSP, GTZ, USAID, Coldplay, Forest Trends)

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Challenges:

Conservation

• Reduce the pressure of timber companies & middlemen

• Prevent the invasion of the Reserve by other communities

• Strength Reserve ownership by the Chachi communities

• Improve patrolling and enforcement of rules (e.g. denouncing illegal logging or hunting in the Reserve)

• Implement an environmental education and communication program

The Gran Reserva Chachi

Lessons learned:

• Changes in the way the Chachi manage their natural resources take time

• A strong technical support and follow-up in the field is a key factor

• Sanctions must be applied if the agreement is broken

• Pressure groups interested in timber are constantly working to break the agreements by dividing local communities (individual vs. collective benefits)

• External factors may negatively affect conservation agreements

The Gran Reserva ChachiConclusions:

• Conservation Agreement is an economic tool that provides direct and stable benefits (income) to resource owners

• It allows conservation to be economically viable and competitive in relation to unsustainable uses (e.g. forest exploitation and conversion)

• It provides a framework for making conservation feasible for local communities (e.g. rights, resources, and capacity)

• It creates a direct link between conservation and poverty reduction

• It seems to be an efficient, fair and effective mechanism for community conservation

Thank you !