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 !