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PROJECT Development Facility

Request for Pipeline Entry Approval

FINANCIAL Plan (US$)
GEF Contribution
Project (estimated) / 5,000,000
Cofinancing
(estimated) / 5,000,000
PDF A*
PDF B** / 350,000
PDF C

Sub-Total GEF PDF

/ 350,000
Cofinancing PDF (estimated)
IDB / 360,000
National Contribution / 30,000
Sub-Total
PDF Cofinancing: / 390,000
Total PDF Financing for the Project: / 740,000

AGENCY’S PROJECT ID: GU-X1001

GEFSEC Project ID: 2687

COUNTRY: Guatemala

PROJECT TITLE: Improvement of management effectiveness in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR)

GED AGENCY: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

OTHER EXECUTING AGENCIES: n/a

DURATION: 4 years

GEF FOCAL AREA: Biodiversity

GEF OPERATIONAL PROGRAM: OP3

GEF STRATEGIC PRIORITY: BD-1, BD-2, BD-4

ESTIMATED STARTING DATE: April 2005

ESTIMATED WP ENTRY DATE: December 2005

PIPELINE ENTRY DATE: March 2005

Governments Endorsement Registry: (Operative Focal Points)

Juan Mario Dary F., Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources (19/10/04)

This proposal has been prepared in accordance with the GEF policies and procedures and meets the standards of the GEF Project Review Criteria for approval.


Janine Ferretti

IA/ExA CoordinatorMichele Lemay

Janine FerrettiProject Contact Person

E-MAIL: (copy )E-MAIL:

______

Date: 04 Feb 2005

PART I -PROJECT CONCEPT

A. SUMMARY

1.1The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) was established in 1990 by the Government of Guatemala with three fundamental objectives: (i) to conserve the biodiversity and maintain the ecological integrity of the Selva Maya; (ii) to conserve the cultural heritage and use it appropriately; and (iii) to manage and make sustainable use of the natural resources and the cultural heritage through the participation and support of society (2001-2006 Master Plan for the MBR). Spanning 2,112,940 ha of the northern part of the Petén, the MBR is Central America’s largest protected area and the core of the most extensive tropical forest reserve in Mesoamerica. As such, it plays an important function in the connectivity of the other natural areas that constitute it, and thus allows for the functioning of unique ecological processes that determine the survival of species that need extensive areas as habitat (CONAP, 1999).

1.2The MBR is a part of the protected areas that make up the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas (SIGAP), which is managed by the National Council for Protected Areas (Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, CONAP). The MBR covers approximately 19% of Guatemala’s territory and approximately 75% of the country’s protected areas are contained within the MBR. Despite its importance and the efforts made to manage it, the MBR is seriously threatened. Oil exploration and production, together with forest fires caused by crop-farming and stock-raising, constitute serious threats (MBR Master Plan, 2001). While these and other structural causes can only be modified in the long run, there are some factors that have been identified by various actors and which, if addressed comprehensively, will make it possible for the original function of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the MBR to be successful.

1.3The Government of Guatemala has requested a US$10 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the first phase of a Sustainable Development Program for the MBR (GU-L1002), which is currently under preparation. The proposed GEF project is intended to complement the components and activities of that Program, thus adding incremental global benefits from the conservation of biological diversity in the forest ecosystems.

1.4The development objective of this project is to support the conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity in the MBR based on strengthening the institutional and local capacity for its management. The global objective is enhanced conservation of the biodiversity of regional and global importance in the MBR. The specific objectives and the main results expected are summarized below.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES / EXPECTED RESULTS
Specific objective 1: To establish the institutional arrangements needed for the effective, sustainable, and participatory management of biodiversity in the MBR. / (a) formal and legal mechanism for the management of the MBR strengthened and directing the development of activities in a participatory manner;
(b) improved individual institutional capacity for the different actors involved in the MBR;
(c) actions for co-administration in the MBR that include financial mechanisms among different actors functioning and continuously improving.
Specific objective 2: To strengthen the integrated management of biodiversity in the MBR. / (a) productive alternatives compatible with the management categories and with biodiversity conservation developed in the MBR;
(b) forest concessions performing self-sufficiently and strengthened for the effective management of biodiversity;
(c) sustainable low-impact tourism initiatives developing based on master plans for each area, including the specific regulations of the site;
(d) system of incentives and mechanisms for financing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity strengthened and in execution.
Specific objective 3: To support the design and implementation of policies, standards and other instruments for managing the MBR. / (a) current legal status and land use conflicts in places without this information established, making it possible to take the actions required to complete their registration;
(b) legal gaps for management of the MBR identified, and proposals for reworking them made;
(c) proposals to harmonize the policy, regulatory and planning instruments that regulate the MBR developed;
(d) zoning scheme strengthened to optimize the conservation and management of the MBR;
(e) state agencies and non-governmental organizations adopt, disseminate, and implement policies and regulations that support the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the MBR.
Specific objective 4: To strengthen the generation and handling of information for the adaptive management of the MBR. / (a) prioritized research plan developed to strengthen the knowledge and management of the MBR;
(b) the current planning instruments have up-to-date information that makes possible their evaluation and guides their future development;
(c) information that relates the development of activities and the ecological integrity of the MBR is automated, systematized, and georeferenced for use by decision-makers on various levels;
(d) mechanisms established for wide dissemination and socialization of the information;
(e) the Project has information for monitoring and evaluation.

B. COUNTRY OWNERSHIP

B.1 COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY

1.5Guatemala ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on June 10, 1995.

B.2 COUNTRY DRIVENNESS

1.6The Environmental Profile for Guatemala (PAG, 2004) and the Guate Verde Program[1] coincide in identifying several structural causes that lead to the loss of biodiversity in the country’s protected areas. The loss of biodiversity is linked directly to the quality, quantity, and connectivity of natural habitats, and in this context, deforestation is reported as the principal cause of the overall loss of habitat. In the case of Guatemala, this loss is the result of migration and the expansion of subsistence farming and livestock-raising, encouraged by the policies for colonization of lands more suitable for forestry (including slash-and-burn as an everyday practice for preparing the land); population increase and the consequent demand for resources including firewood for fuel; and lack of security in land tenure. All of these factors combined bring about changes in land use not consistent with soil conditions.

1.7Along the same lines, the National Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Guatemala[2] has identified six interrelated problems that should be addressed by the Government of Guatemala, and which are linked to the loss of biodiversity: the absence or lack of clarity in property rights; misuse of natural resources; the limited valuation of biodiversity and of the goods and services related to it; the lack of knowledge of and adequate information on biodiversity management; and major pressure brought to bear on the biodiversity due to extreme poverty.

1.8One action proposed for addressing these interrelated problems has been the creation of a set of protected areas grouped in the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas (SIGAP) under the direction of the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) (both in the context of Decree 4-89, later amended by Decree 110-96) as a fundamental strategy for attaining the objectives of the CBD. The SIGAP is guided by a National Policy and Development Strategies (SIGAP, 1999), while CONAP has an Institutional Strategic Plan (CONAP, 1999). Both documents set forth those aspects of the system that should be improved in order to achieve SIGAP’s purposes of conservation and sustainable use of protected areas.

1.9To prevent further fragmentation of the entire network of protected areas, the SIGAP estimates that one possible strategy is the creation of Conservation Regions that help concentrate both the knowledge and the resources to be invested, so as to make it possible to upgrade management, draw lessons learned, and replicate successful models in other conservation regions. The largest conservation region is the Petén (Region VIII) where the MBR is located. It includes approximately 75% of the SIGAP. One finds different management categories within the MBR, created by Decree 5-90, which is the largest protected area in the country.[3] Approximately 36% of the MBR (767,000 ha) is included in core zones including four national parks. In a consolidated analysis of criteria such as biodiversity, viability, and representativiness, three of the 10 bioregions given highest priority by Guatemala’s National Biodiversity Strategy are in the MBR. The reserve has a 2001-2006 Master Plan, approved by Resolution No. ALC 031/2001, which is the guiding document for developing medium-term actions and has served as the basis for the preparation of the proposed GEF project.

1.10In addition, the components of the proposed GEF project fit within the following objectives of the Regional Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Mesoamerica, which was drawn up by the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD, 2003): (i) increasing the knowledge base regarding the Mesoamerican biodiversity as a basis for decision-making; (ii) developing initiatives for the protection, recovery and sustainable use of the representative and priority ecosystems, habitats and species of the region; (iii)promoting the valuation and sustainable use of biodiversity as a contribution to enhance the quality of life of the Mesoamerican society; (iv) strengthening the regional institutional framework and harmonizing the instruments for effective management of biodiversity in Mesoamerica; and (v) establishing programs in the region to reduce threats to biodiversity.

C. PROGRAM AND POLICY CONFORMITY

C.1PROGRAM DESIGNATION AND CONFORMITY

1.11The proposed GEF project fits within the biodiversity focal area and responds to the guidelines established by Operational Program OP-3 Forest Ecosystems, whose objectives are: (i) in situ conservation or protection, which will be sought based on protecting mature primary and secondary forests, establishing and strengthening conservation areas, focusing efforts on tropical and temperate ecosystems that are at risk; and (ii) sustainable use and management of the forest, which will be sought by combining productive, socioeconomic, and biodiversity conservation goals.

1.12Aspects of the project also conform with the provisions of OP2 (Coastal, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems) in that they will help consolidate efforts to conserve significant aquatic ecosystems found in the core areas of the MBR such as relict mangroves and other wetlands.

1.13The focus of this project is compatible with the characteristics of the portfolio of GEF projects for Guatemala in the focal area of biodiversity, including: (i) conservation of biodiversity of global importance through its sustainable use, generating local benefits; (ii)identifying and removing barriers that impede the development and compatibility of sustainable production and conservation systems; (iii) participation of the local communities and civil society in defining and carrying out the conservation strategy; (iv)implementation of a broad spectrum of protected areas with their respective management categories for a more comprehensive conservation strategy; and (v)decentralized environmental management at the regional and local levels as an indispensable element for successful biodiversity conservation.

1.14The project is consistent with the following strategic priorities, detailed in the document GEF/C.21/Inf.11 "Strategic Business Planning: Direction and Targets":

BD-1: Catalyzing the Sustainability of the Protected Areas: It is expected that the results will contribute to the consolidation of a shared management model for a large part of the protected areas of Guatemala, so as to capitalize on the lessons learned from prior experiences, correct the weaknesses, fill in the gaps, and replicate it in all the other protected areas in the system.

BD-2: Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Production Landscapes and Sectors, and BD4: Generation and Dissemination of Best Practices: At present two productive activities are of special note (forestry and tourism), and stand to improve in terms of both the benefits they generate and the parallel effects of maintaining the ecological integrity of the MBR and the protected areas that constitute it. Nonetheless, parallel actions are required to systematically develop other productive activities that are sustainable and compatible with conservation, at the same time as various incentives are put in place that favor the many purposes based on the existing management categories, to address efficiently the causes and impacts related to biodiversity loss.

2.PROJECT DESIGN

A.Problem analysis

1.15The likelihood that the MBR can attain its conservation objectives and contribute significantly to global biodiversity is largely due to its vastness which maintains whole ecosystems and sustains flora and fauna that could not survive in small isolated forest reserves altered by human activity (Perfil Ambiental de Guatemala, 2004). As it contains 75% of the country’s protected areas, the MBR is particularly well-suited to working out the problems and realizing the opportunities for effective management of the SIGAP.

1.16Organization of the MBR. Three types of zones have been established for managing the MBR, each with its own legal guidelines under which they have been managed since they were created (Master Plan, 2001):

(i)Core Zones (CZs), accounting for 36% of the territory (767,000 ha): these are wilderness and archeological areas in which the natural processes, including biological evolution, continue undisturbed, and where, for ecological, scientific, and cultural reasons, there should not be any perennial human settlements, or farming or animal husbandry. Two of these CZs (Sierra de Lacandón and Laguna del Tigre) have their own internal zoning regulations, given the need to reconcile the presence of human settlements dating back to before the creation of the MBR with the conservation objectives. These CZs are the Protected Biotopes of Cerro Cahui, Laguna del Tigre Río Escondido, Naachtun-Dos Lagunas, and San Miguel-La Palotada, and the Mirador-Río Azul, Laguna del Tigre, Sierra de Lacandón, and Tikal National Parks.

(ii) Multiple-Use Zones (MUZs) account for 40% of the territory (848,000 ha): To meet their objectives of sustainable use and conservation of natural and cultural resources, the MUZs have management units that have been assigned to organized communities and industry, so that they can make sustainable use of the existing natural resources, in keeping with their commitment to ensure the integrity of the conservation elements. Similarly, for the purpose of maintaining the connectivity of the genetic flow of biodiversity with the CZs, three biological corridors have been established: Laguna del Tigre-El Mirador, Tikal-Río Azul, and Sierra del Lacandón-Laguna delTigre. Within the MUZs one finds special use zones (SUZs), which have special natural and cultural characteristics, adjacent to the CZs, which help improve their viability, and, therefore, their management should be guided by the conservation objectives contained therein.

(iii) Buffer Zones (BZs) account for 24% of the territory (467,000 ha). Their function is to reduce development pressure on the MBR by stabilizing the appropriate uses of lands and natural resources in the area adjacent to the MUZs, and in keeping with the conservation purposes. The activities in the Buffer Zones are geared to the near-by communities through environmental education and rural extension programs, to support sustainable forms of land use that do not depend on exploiting the natural resources of the MBR, instead favoring their conservation.

1.17Biodiversity of regional and global significance. The MBR is one of 391 “Biosphere Reserves” recognized internationally by UNESCO and one of seven which has also been declared a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site. It also has a wetland complex (Laguna del Tigre) that is included in the RAMSAR list because of its international importance. In effect, the MBR protects a vast diversity of ecosystems, some of which are relatively undisturbed such as the Mirador-RioAzulNational Park. For example, a single protected area within the MBR contains a considerable variety of flora, with approximately 200 tree species and wildlife, including 27 species of mammals, 97 species of reptiles, 427 species of resident and migratory birds, 32 species of amphibians, and 30 genuses of fish, including 112 species in one specific body of water (CONAP, 2004; ParksWatch-Tropico Verde, 2001). In addition, it is noted that the lowest lands of the Selva Maya – where the MBR is situated – is a center of endemism of major global importance. In effect, 7.1% of the mammal species, 3.8% of the bird species, 25.6% of the reptile species, and 28.9% of the amphibian species found in these lands are endemic, ranking it 18th, 15th, 17th, and 20th, respectively, among the leading conservation hot spots worldwide for the groups noted. The MBR is the largest single territory for these endemic species (Radachowsky, 2002, p. 8, Endemism in the Maya Forest). Several of the species found in Sierra del Lacandon, El Mirador-Rio Azul and Laguna del Tigre National Parks are included in IUCN’s Red List as threatened or vulnerable (ParksWatch-Tropico Verde, 2001). Culturally, there are vestiges of the ancient Mayan culture, with more than 175 Mayan cities reported (eg. Tikal, Yaxhá, Mirador, Aguateca), and at the same time a valuable living cultural heritage made up of the Maya-Itzá and Q'eqchí groups, as well as the ladino (campesino) culture of the department of Petén, Guatemala’s largest (MBR Master Plan, 2001).