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Poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation in islands with high biodiversity value: sustainable development planning and management in the Galapagos (Ecuador) and Socotra (Yemen) archipelagos
[last updated January 20, 2005 12:45 PM]
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General Information
Partnership website(s) |
Expected TimeframeJanuary 2004 - January 2008 |
Partners
Governments:
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Major Groups:
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UN System:
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Other intergovernmental organizations:
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Other:
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Thematic Focus
Primary Themes:
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Secondary Themes:
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Geographic Coverage
Geographic Scope: Global
Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented: Ecuador, Italy, Yemen |
National Focal Points
This partnership has not made any contact with the national focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
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Goals and Objectives
Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
Goal: improve living standards among islands¿ residents while sustaining conservation of unique biodiversity.
Main challenge: foster the role of residents in setting planning agendas and participating fully in their islands' development.
Objective 1: provide opportunities for horizontal know-how transfer among relevant professional staff from both archipelagos, and to promote the involvement of the islands' residents in planning processes together with their participation in the sustainable development of the islands.
Low levels of awareness on the relationships linking the conservation of ecosystems, natural resources and biological diversity and the generation of concrete and sustainable development opportunities, is an issue to be addressed, at different levels, in both archipelagos. This extends to officials, community leaders as well as the local business community. There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacities of relevant institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the overall management of the island's resources.
Objective 2: contribute to the consolidation of relevant institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development, by promoting inter-linkage and information exchange between relevant institutions and administrations, as well as boosting their capacity to dialogue with local communities, NGOs and the general public.
Main challenge: foster the role of residents in setting planning agendas and participating fully in their islands' development.
Objective 1: provide opportunities for horizontal know-how transfer among relevant professional staff from both archipelagos, and to promote the involvement of the islands' residents in planning processes together with their participation in the sustainable development of the islands.
Low levels of awareness on the relationships linking the conservation of ecosystems, natural resources and biological diversity and the generation of concrete and sustainable development opportunities, is an issue to be addressed, at different levels, in both archipelagos. This extends to officials, community leaders as well as the local business community. There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacities of relevant institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the overall management of the island's resources.
Objective 2: contribute to the consolidation of relevant institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development, by promoting inter-linkage and information exchange between relevant institutions and administrations, as well as boosting their capacity to dialogue with local communities, NGOs and the general public.
Targets and Progress
Partnership targets- Horizontal know-how transfer among key professional staff from both archipelago, through the design and implementation of an integrated programme for exchanging study visits, formal and informal training programs on site and in Italy, implementation of joint projects on site.
- Coordination of partners, exchange of data, joint research campaigns and field work, joint training of local scientific experts; consolidation of data base, setting up of open GIS base in pilot region, training in GIS/DSS implementation; expansion of environmental observation stations within the region. - Regional and global networking, focus on networking between island ecosystems planning and management institutions and scientific organisation (i.e. IUCN-supported partnership among the islands of the eastern Pacific). - Development of pilot integrated system for decision support involving local actors; application of pilot Decision Support System, planning for transfer, replication. The |
Progress against targets* Technical project formulation mission to Ecuador and Yemen in Jan and Feb 03, including preparatory meetings with Ministers of Tourism in Yemen and in Ecuador, UNDP teams in Yemen and Ecuador, UNDP-DDC (Drylands Development Centre) Director, IUCN, University of Rome.
* Partnership fact sheet completed and funding approved as integral part of Italy-funded UNDP project YEM.01.004. * Management team in place and first visit to Ecuador by Yemeni team planned for March 2003. * Co-funding (Italy-UNDP) for Yemen and Ecuador projects approved and implementation started in Yemen as aprt of the ongoing UNDP Socotra Programme, and close to inception in Ecuador as part of a new UNDP project. |
Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
- Human resources development/training
- Education/building awareness
- Institutional strengthening, including local participation
- Technology transfer/exchange
Effective exchange of experiences, inter-institutional networking, analysis and the identification of lessons learned will be ensured by taking advantage of the coordinating capacity of UNDP and IUCN. The know-how exchange and joint training programme will focus on key topics of common interest, and especially in those fields where the experience of Ecuatorian experts can be transferred to Yemen-Socotra, and vice versa.The main areas of collaboration and joint capacity building will include, but will not necessarily be limited to:
* National Park Management (including Marine Reserves)
* Tourism Development, Visitor Management, Nature Interpretation, Training for Nature Guides
* Control of the introduction of invasive species
* Research, bio-prospecting, filming and photographic permits and agreements
* Immigration Controls
* Renewable Energy
* Legislation
* Local Governance
* Development of a Systemic decision Support System for relevant institutions
Expected arrangements for technology transfer will also include the establishment of a methodological and procedural framework, on-the-job training on pilot partnership projects, inter-institutional cooperation. The training and capacity building program will be implemented through the following main mechanisms:
* Exchange of two study/educational short visits for high-level decision-makers from Yemen to Ecuador and vice versa.
* A set of 2-3 long months stages of professional staff from Socotra, in Galapagos. Yemeni professionals will participate in relevant work with their Ecuatorian counterparts and will attend formal training courses to be arranged by recipient institutions with support from the project.
* A series of 1 month on-the-job tailor-made training courses to be held by professional staff from Ecuador, for Yemeni staff in the Socotra archipelago.
* Joint training for professional staff from Ecuador and Yemen to be held in Rome, Italy, with support from the University of "La Sapienza".
* Joint participation to relevant regional and global conferences for key professional staff from Ecuador and Yemen, to foster know-how transfer and capacity building.
The development of a detailed training programme will be led by the UNDP Yemen (focal point: SCDP Manager, Edoardo Zandri, edzandri@aol.com), with support from the UNDP Ecuador (Galapagos Programme Manager, Miguel Segur, miguel.segur@undp.org) through the formation of a small working group including the following focal points:
* Mohammed Mashjary, EPA Chairman, Min. of Tourism and Environment (Yemen)
* Tarek Abdul Hawa, Site Coordinator, UNDP SCDP, (Socotra Yemen)
* Abdelrahman El Eryani, SCDP National Manager (Yemen)
* Elicer Cruz, Manager, Servicio Parque Nacional Galapagos, Min. del Ambiente (Ecuador)
* INGALA Manager, INGALA - to be appointed (Ecuador)
* Miguel Pellerano and Eduardo Guerriero, IUCN South America and Ecuador Programme (Ecuador)
* Juan Roberto Shiess, Presidente, Camera de Turismo de Galapagos (Puerto Ayora, Ecuador)
* Arturo Izurieta Valere, Gerente, UNDP-GEF Invasive Species Project, (Galapagos, Ecuador)
* Roberto Argano, Prof., University of "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy (Italy)
The above team will jointly develop the detailed training programme on the basis of the outline provided in this document, and which was jointly discussed in Yemen/Socotra and Ecuador/Galapagos by the UNDP SCDP manager with all the above focal points.
Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
Sustainable conservation of biodiversity
Sustainable development of islands
Strengthening capacities of institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the management of island resources
Consolidation of institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development Relevant Sections of Agenda 21
Sustainable development of islands
Strengthening capacities of institutions and society to work in a systemic and cross-sectoral fashion to improve the management of island resources
Consolidation of institutional capacities in the systemic planning and management of sustainable development Relevant Sections of Agenda 21
Combating poverty; Conservation of biological diversity; Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building
Relevant Sections of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 Integration of economic, social and environmental objectives; Sectors and issues; Means of implementation
Relevant Sections of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation Poverty eradication ; Protection and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development ; Sustainable development of small island developing States ; Means of implementation
Coordination and Implementation
Coordination Mechanism of the PartnershipThe UNDP Country Office in Yemen is in charge of PP coordination and implementation, in collaboration with UNDP office in Ecuador. The UNDP will ensure the monitoring of progress of the initiatives as related to specific indicators (in particular the principles and the Millennium Development Goals).Upon UNDP¿s request, the IUCN and "La Sapienza" University of Rome may provide technical advice and support for selected project components such as training and institutional capacity building, data base creation, and will facilitate access and interlinking between databases of various institutions. In particular, the IUCN will: - support the development of the DSS, together with selected experts of "La Sapienza" of Rome.- ensure that the same DSS experts(s) and methodology are used in both archipelagos. - facilitate access to existing databases (on biodiversity, water, climate change and other regional and global environmental and socio-economic data).- advise on conservation strategies and policy, advocacy and sustainability."La Sapienza" University of Rome may provide:- specialized support to the scientific research component in the environmental, biodiversity conservation, general technology and socio-economic sectors. - technical and scientific training and technology transfer opportunities through tailor-made joint training courses and studies to be implemented in both archipelagos.
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Implementation Mechanism of the PartnershipThe Funding Agency (DGCS, Italy) has assigned responsibility for the implementation of this initiative to the UNDP Yemen Country Office / Socotra Programme team, in view of the more advanced stage of implementation of the Italy-UNDP partnership in Yemen. This will in fact provide an opportunity for a more timely initiation of project activities, to the benefit of all partners involved.The coordination by UNDP and the involvement of reference institutions such as IUCN and the University of "La Sapienza" as core partners, will ensure adequate monitoring standards (Logical framework with indicators and targets) and effectiveness of modalities which will be developed and evolve over the course of project implementation. Progress reports will be provided to all partners on a regular basis as part of UNDP project YEM.03.004. Information to the public will be mainly disseminated through updating the present sheet and posting it in existing websites, e.g. www.socotraisland.org, www.iucn.org, www.galapagospark.org, as well as those of other partners.
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Resources
Funding Currently AvailableAmount in US$: 296000
Source(s): Government
DGCS, Italian Government |
Non-financial resources availableType(s):
Source(s):
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Funding SoughtRequired Amount in US$:
Source(s) already approached:
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Non-financial resources soughtRequirement(s):
Source(s) approached and details:
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Additional Information
Additional Relevant Information
Background:
Islands with high biodiversity value face unique problems. They attract considerable international support for the conservation of their biodiversity, but very little support for the development of their human inhabitants. This can result in conflict between the interests of the residents and conservation activities. For example, according to 1998 census data, the Galapagos islands (Ecuador) have a population of 15,311, of whom about 65% are recent immigrants from the mainland. Each year the island is visited by about 65,000 tourists. Very little revenue from the tourists accrues to the islands: almost all remains with tour operators who arrange for tourists to go straight from the airport, to tour boats and later back to the airport. The population of Socotra (Yemen) is about 44,000. The Socotri are mostly semi-nomadic pastoralists. Their livelihoods also depend upon fishing, date palm growing, and very simple small scale agriculture. Over the years they have developed traditional ways of conserving the natural resources that they depend upon. However, Socotra is now opening up to tourism with improved air services and planned tourist infrastructure. It will be important to ensure that ecotourism is organized to bring benefit to island residents while avoiding unsustainable pressures on services such as water and health.
The PP programme builds upon prior experiences acquired through the Socotra Archipelago Conservation and development Programme (SCDP), Yemen. Such a program is implemented with the EPA (Ministry of Tourism and Environment) and in partnership with all relevant government institutions in the Socotra Archipelago. The SCDP is supported by the Government of Italy, Netherlands, UNDP also with technical assistance and in kind donations from the government of Poland. The Programme aims at addressing primary needs of the local population, in close co-ordination with ongoing biodiversity conservation efforts of the EPA.
Expected results:
* Development of an exchange program among relevant local professional staff involved in key sectors for the development and conservation of the two archipelagos. These will include, but will not necessarily be limited to: park management staff, tourism sector, control of introduced species, immigration controls, research and bio-prospecting, legislation, renewable energy sector, local governance.
* Pilot Decision Support Systems (DSS) for best governance of the sustainable development process, to be used by decision makers at local, national or regional levels, developed and implemented for the Socotra and Galapagos archipelagos. Such DSS will be based on the collection, organization and consolidation of socio-economic, physical and environmental data. The DSS development process will include geo-referenced and dynamic databases, predictive models, trained staff, a general plan for system management of the archipelagos some detailed operational plans for pilot project applications. Essential aspects will include: collection and completion of objective and geo-referenced socio-economic and biophysical natural resource data (geology and geophysics, land use, land cover, hydrology, climate and meteorology, pollution transport); development of relevant database and GIS applications; development and implementation of analytical, simulating and predictive models for the relevant problems and ecosystems; training and involvement of local scientists and experts for knowledge exchange and transfer.
* Integration of the above database/GIS applications and analytical/simulating/predictive models into a DSS for the planning and sustainable management of the archipelago's ecosystems, in the light of an integrated undertaking of poverty alleviation and environmental conservation priorities.
* Capacity building of DSS system users (policy makers, stakeholders).
Implementation of the above pilot activities will contribute to sustainable development through professional training, institutional capacity building, environmental safeguarding and biodiversity conservation in targeted island ecosystems
The results of the above will lead to the harmonisation and steering of sustainable development paths in other areas, as the pilot -systemic approach- projects are replicated elsewhere in comparable island ecosystems, eventually facilitating informed decision-making related to sustainable human development and environmental protection.
A process will be started of poverty alleviation, building upon outcomes from the above system planning and management initiatives, contributing to bridging the digital divide, training in scientific and technology fields and capacity building of individuals and institutions for sustainable livelihood promotion.
Through this programme, important synergies will be identified with activities already promoted by the partner organizations (UNDP, IUCN, "La Sapienza"), linking with their networking processes (e.g. IUCN islands of the Easter Pacific network, global national parks network, etc.), as well as other relevant regional and global processes in the field of systemic integration between sustainable development and biodioversity conservation.
The Present Information Sheet was developed on the basis of the initial draft (jointly developed by DGCS, UN-DDC, SCDP) and subsequent direct consultation with stakeholders in Galapagos, Ecuador and Socotra, Yemen during joint UNDP-DGCS missions held in January 2003 and led by A. Guillet of DGCS Rome, and assisted by the SCDP Manager, E. Zandri.
The Minister of Environment of Ecuador and the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Yemen have provided their formal and informal patronage and support for the initiative.
Additional partners potentially interested: Netherlands, GEF
Islands with high biodiversity value face unique problems. They attract considerable international support for the conservation of their biodiversity, but very little support for the development of their human inhabitants. This can result in conflict between the interests of the residents and conservation activities. For example, according to 1998 census data, the Galapagos islands (Ecuador) have a population of 15,311, of whom about 65% are recent immigrants from the mainland. Each year the island is visited by about 65,000 tourists. Very little revenue from the tourists accrues to the islands: almost all remains with tour operators who arrange for tourists to go straight from the airport, to tour boats and later back to the airport. The population of Socotra (Yemen) is about 44,000. The Socotri are mostly semi-nomadic pastoralists. Their livelihoods also depend upon fishing, date palm growing, and very simple small scale agriculture. Over the years they have developed traditional ways of conserving the natural resources that they depend upon. However, Socotra is now opening up to tourism with improved air services and planned tourist infrastructure. It will be important to ensure that ecotourism is organized to bring benefit to island residents while avoiding unsustainable pressures on services such as water and health.
The PP programme builds upon prior experiences acquired through the Socotra Archipelago Conservation and development Programme (SCDP), Yemen. Such a program is implemented with the EPA (Ministry of Tourism and Environment) and in partnership with all relevant government institutions in the Socotra Archipelago. The SCDP is supported by the Government of Italy, Netherlands, UNDP also with technical assistance and in kind donations from the government of Poland. The Programme aims at addressing primary needs of the local population, in close co-ordination with ongoing biodiversity conservation efforts of the EPA.
Expected results:
* Development of an exchange program among relevant local professional staff involved in key sectors for the development and conservation of the two archipelagos. These will include, but will not necessarily be limited to: park management staff, tourism sector, control of introduced species, immigration controls, research and bio-prospecting, legislation, renewable energy sector, local governance.
* Pilot Decision Support Systems (DSS) for best governance of the sustainable development process, to be used by decision makers at local, national or regional levels, developed and implemented for the Socotra and Galapagos archipelagos. Such DSS will be based on the collection, organization and consolidation of socio-economic, physical and environmental data. The DSS development process will include geo-referenced and dynamic databases, predictive models, trained staff, a general plan for system management of the archipelagos some detailed operational plans for pilot project applications. Essential aspects will include: collection and completion of objective and geo-referenced socio-economic and biophysical natural resource data (geology and geophysics, land use, land cover, hydrology, climate and meteorology, pollution transport); development of relevant database and GIS applications; development and implementation of analytical, simulating and predictive models for the relevant problems and ecosystems; training and involvement of local scientists and experts for knowledge exchange and transfer.
* Integration of the above database/GIS applications and analytical/simulating/predictive models into a DSS for the planning and sustainable management of the archipelago's ecosystems, in the light of an integrated undertaking of poverty alleviation and environmental conservation priorities.
* Capacity building of DSS system users (policy makers, stakeholders).
Implementation of the above pilot activities will contribute to sustainable development through professional training, institutional capacity building, environmental safeguarding and biodiversity conservation in targeted island ecosystems
The results of the above will lead to the harmonisation and steering of sustainable development paths in other areas, as the pilot -systemic approach- projects are replicated elsewhere in comparable island ecosystems, eventually facilitating informed decision-making related to sustainable human development and environmental protection.
A process will be started of poverty alleviation, building upon outcomes from the above system planning and management initiatives, contributing to bridging the digital divide, training in scientific and technology fields and capacity building of individuals and institutions for sustainable livelihood promotion.
Through this programme, important synergies will be identified with activities already promoted by the partner organizations (UNDP, IUCN, "La Sapienza"), linking with their networking processes (e.g. IUCN islands of the Easter Pacific network, global national parks network, etc.), as well as other relevant regional and global processes in the field of systemic integration between sustainable development and biodioversity conservation.
The Present Information Sheet was developed on the basis of the initial draft (jointly developed by DGCS, UN-DDC, SCDP) and subsequent direct consultation with stakeholders in Galapagos, Ecuador and Socotra, Yemen during joint UNDP-DGCS missions held in January 2003 and led by A. Guillet of DGCS Rome, and assisted by the SCDP Manager, E. Zandri.
The Minister of Environment of Ecuador and the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Yemen have provided their formal and informal patronage and support for the initiative.
Additional partners potentially interested: Netherlands, GEF