Gef-iw5 etps mangroves

H.Alternatives to the Business-as-Usual Scenario

Four alternative scenarios to the proposed project are suggested;

(A1) The project works only at a regional scale to consolidate the development and application of the Regional Mangrove Strategy across the four countries. This would ensure that the Plan is well founded but would lack the coinciding support for adoption of the Plan within national frameworks and the feedback from the project at national and local levels for improvements, monitoring and evaluation. Trans-boundary learning would be limited without engagement at national levels and through on-the-ground actions.

(A2) The project works only at national levels with policymakers to improve existing frameworks. This would focus on strengthening the individual policies of each country for ridge-to-reef planning but would lack the support afforded by centralized regional planning, development of shared objectives and Action Plans. Possible incremental advantages to the project are lost such as international counterparts, opportunities for technical inputs and inter-country commitments, as well as bottom up context and relevance for policy from the demonstration sites.

(A3) The project works only at local scales for site level conservation incentives that benefit mangroves and local communities. Although these actions have great value for particular communities in the short-midterm, important root causes of mangrove degradation such as limited ridge-to-reef planning are not well addressed or considered beyond the jurisdiction of local management plans and potential for amplification of small scale success stories across the region is limited and lacks a mechanism for endorsement by authorities. The site level conservation actions may also only provide a piecemeal approach that though addressing relevant issues at the local level, lacks the more holistic and strategic approach of a national or regional plan.

Proposed project approach:

An integrated regional, national and local approach adopted by this project is considered more effective to generate long term sustainability of project benefits and a more cost effective seed investment to consolidate, and replicate positive results across the ETPS region;

(A4) The probability of regional concerted actions for mangrove conservation in the ETPS region is advanced significantly by means of a CPPS Open Mangrove Initiative Plan and Strategy ratified between the four ETPS countries (including Costa Rica as a non-CPPS party to the CPPS). CI with regional and country field teams, UNESCO-Quito and CPPS having complementary roles and skill sets work together to convene a high level technical working group uniquely positioned towards improvements in national ridge-to-reef planning for the region. This also includes integrating relevant elements of the Regional Ramsar Coral and Mangrove Strategy with the CPPS Regional Open Initiative for Mangrove Conservation and encouraging complementarity between projects across the region. As a result tools and scenarios for sustainable societies that depend upon mangrove resources are generated and provided as directed resources for national policy makers and relevant key stakeholders as part of project knowledge management. Key thought leaders developing policy in each country engage in at least two trans-boundary ETPS and one international learning opportunity provided by the project improving the chances that successful examples in other regions (e.g. concession programs, alternative livelihoods, FIPs) are replicated generating feed-forward benefits to communities at local sites over larger geographic scales.

At the same time the project team via CI-national offices, UNESCO links and field teams with over 10 years of local experience will collaborate with government OFPs and key stakeholders to characterize policy gaps and investigate possible ways to mainstream ridge-to-reef planning into national strategies within the context of the regional Plan. This considers upstream teleconnections that indirectly impact mangrove and other wetland areas in the coast such as pollution, interruption of watershed flows etc. These exercises contribute to improvements in a least two national action plans that improve mangrove coverage and legislation that strengthens mangrove protection in at least two ETPS countries.

At least two demonstration projects are undertaken at coastal sites selected between CI-country teams, district authorities and government OFPs. These consolidate grass-root community led on-the-ground conservation actions and linked sustainable business models in priority mangrove areas. Local communities benefit from capacity building and project results are broadly distributed through a knowledge-sharing platform created as part of the project. The mid-long term reversal of trends in mangrove degradation across the ETPS region favors local economies and alternate sustainability-based livelihoods, bolsters socio-ecological resilience in coastal systems to hazards and augments remedial carbon sequestration across the Eastern Pacific rim.

I.Cost Effectiveness Analysis

The project strategy adopts a multi-scale approach (regional, national and local) working in parallel between ETPS countries and project partners as being more cost effective than addressing any one country or scale. This works towards improvements in national policies and financing mechanisms that can generate benefits beyond the original GEF seed investment for mangrove conservation. Qualitative analysis of the proposed alternative to the BAU suggests that:

(1) Shared and centralized technical inputs and the concerted implementation of project actions across four countries are more effective than individual isolated and potentially duplicated efforts by country. This is supported under a common regional framework and has continuity through an Open Mangrove Initiative Steering Committee sustained by CPPS with participating countries.

(2) Complementary roles that play to institutional strengths of the project partners multiply the return on a medium sized GEF-IW investment split across four countries. CPPS brings an established and formalized governance process through the regional Plan, leveraging for international ETPS agreements and existing long-term investments with renewable funding towards linked integrated coastal zone management in the region. It would not be as cost effective to integrate into the necessary government channels without the facility provided by CPPS. UNESCO brings technical expertise, credibility for regional and national processes under its international mandate establishing and evaluating World Heritage and Man and Biosphere Reserves. It coordinates and connects with a wide network of institutions relevant for the trans-boundary learning experiences and brings a shared communications platform to the project. Conservation International through the coordinated CI-ETPS CI-Global Marine, CI-Costa Rica, CI in Panama, CI-Colombia CI-Ecuador offices provides an unmatched level of national context, capacity, networking with local partners and relevance for concerted conservation actions in the ETPS region, including a presence in local sites for on-the-ground tangible improvements, feedback into policy. The project partners and national governments (OFPs with supporting institutions) also provide cost-match and in-kind support for activities and have the facility to construct their agendas in support of the ETPS region around the GEF project for increased effect.

(3) Capacity building and transferable technical tools at the regional and national level have considerable potential to enable and leverage other opportunities. The trans-boundary interchanges between policy makers aim to encourage a diversity of options for a "feed-forward" multiplying effect where the most useful examples and experiences can be extrapolated to other areas and national planning frameworks.

(4) The project approach aims to encourage adoption of conservation principles by way of small business incentives or concessions where benefits are evident to the community. By improving individual and community returns the incentive for illegal or undesirable practices is reduced encouraging auto-stewardship as an alternative to increased vigilance costs and possible infringement of liberties. This option involves at least 2 of the 4 ETPS countries recognizing that in some countries it would not apply given existing mangrove protection laws.