ON THE ROAD TO SANTA CRUZ: OAS TECHNICAL WORKSHOP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN JOSE 002710

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: SENV EAGR XS XM CS OAS
SUBJECT: ON THE ROAD TO SANTA CRUZ: OAS TECHNICAL WORKSHOP
AND MODEL FOREST FORUM WEIGH SUSTAINABLE FORESTY, TOURISM
AND AGRICULTURE



1. SUMMARY: On November 2, Regional Environmental Hub
Officer (REO) and Regional Environmental Assistant (REA)
joined Dan Martinez, Economic Advisor and Alternate
Representative for the U.S. Mission to the OAS, Department
of Agriculture official Catherine Karr-Colque, and other
U.S. delegation members to attend the Organization of
American States (OAS) workshop on Sustainable Forestry,
Agriculture and Tourism. The session was held at and co-
hosted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA) in San Jose. The workshop served as a
preparatory meeting for the 2006 Bolivia ministerial meeting
on sustainable development. Discussions clustered around
three themes: building links across sectors, voluntary
initiatives, and innovative financing. Experts present were
asked to identify potential areas of cooperation and
innovative ideas, as well as to identify specific measures
governments could take to foster such cooperation. One such
initiative, the Model Forest Global Forum, was showcased
November 7-10 at the Tropical Agriculture Center for
Research and Teaching (Centro Agronomo Tropical de
Investigacion y Ensenanza-CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica.
End summary.

Sustainability and the Bolivia 2006 Ministerial
--------------


2. The OAS November 2 workshop initiated a preparatory
process towards the First Inter-American Ministerial Meeting
on Sustainable Development to be hosted in 2006 in Santa
Cruz by the Government of Bolivia. The informal, one-day
workshop identified useful steps in promoting sustainable
agriculture, sustainable forestry and sustainable tourism at
policy and project levels for potential areas of
cooperation. In his welcoming remarks, Costa Rican
Environment Minister Carlos Rodriguez emphasized the
challenge of convincing political leaders of the
contribution of the environment to the country's GDP.
Citing the work of noted writer Jared Diamond, Rodriguez
argued ominously that failure to do so jeopardized continued
human existence.


3. The freewheeling discussions at the workshop centered on
three main clusters: building links across sectors,
voluntary initiatives, and innovative financing. The
session grappled with defining sustainable forestry,
agriculture and forestry; replicating best practices; and
incorporating trade and environment concerns in
policy. Major obstacles identified by participants included
forest fragmentation, lack of integration among economic
sectors, and the need to clarify the scope of activities
described as "sustainable". A common weakness among
environmental management plans was the failure to identify
the financial means to implement them, particularly for
small and mid-size producers.


4. Co-host Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA),which provided the meeting space,
delivered an overview of the major agreements reached at its
August 2005 Ministerial meeting. Costa Rica provided a
thorough explanation of the importance of the country's
payment for environmental services program
(www.fonafifo.com). Its delegate recommended a strong
emphasis on objectives meant to be served by mechanisms, and
in taking account of a country's social and economic reality
when considering whether to replicate best practices. The
U.S. emphasized the importance of incorporating civil
society and private partners to this process. The CEC
(Commission for Environmental Cooperation) and the OECD
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
delegation emphasized the importance of governments' role in
promoting access to information, in setting limits to the
proliferation of sustainability programs, and to create new
markets, among others.


5. The organizers' summation stressed the need to manage
ecosystems rather than specific resources, account for
financial sustainability from the outset, and flagged
marketing challenges. The meeting provided ample
opportunity for participants to share experiences, ideas,
and creative approaches to integrating forestry, agriculture
and tourism schemes, with civil society participation.


Generating Sustainability: Global Model Forest Forum
--------------


6. One relevant approach was highlighted at the November 7-
12 commemoration of the International Model Forest Network
Secretariat's (IMFNS) 10th anniversary. The celebration

SIPDIS
brought together representatives from 35 model forests in 17
countries. Its objective was to share experiences and
recall impacts, challenges and opportunities of their
network at local, national, regional and global levels. The
IMFNS was established in 1995 in Canada to support the
development of a global network of model forests that would
foster international exchange of ideas on sustainable forest
management. The Secretariat aimed as well to facilitate
international cooperation and support ongoing multilevel
discussions related to sustainable forest management. The
IMFNS carries out its work through site-level support,
training, and extension activities; facilitation of
networking among model forests; regional, national, and
international meetings and workshops; and communications and
advocacy.


7. As one of the pillars of sustainable forest management,
sustainable economic development is a priority for many
resource-dependent communities. Stakeholders of model
forests expect an economic dividend, but they need to be
able to make informed choices, relying on information on
alternate methods, non-traditional resources uses, and more
sustainable natural resource extraction processes, among
others. The Forum showcased a variety of products from
Model Forest projects, from Argentine textiles to Costa
Rican nuts and Thai lamps.


8. The term "model forest" was first used in 1991 to
describe a program developed by the Government of Canada to
develop broad-based voluntary partnerships within large
forested landscapes that could translate sustainable forest
management policies into practice. The approach to a model
forest must be flexible given varying conditions among sites
and regions, but all model forest must share six key
attributes to encourage program coherence and networking
opportunities: an inclusive and dynamic partnership; a
commitment to sustainable forest management; a landscape
large enough to represent an area's diverse forest uses and
values; a governance structure that is representative,
participative, transparent, and accountable; a program of
activities reflecting partner needs and values; and a
commitment to knowledge-sharing and networking on all
levels. There are currently 40 model forests in the world,
out of which 10 are in Latin America. All three model
forests in the United States dropped out of the program
three years ago due to funding and coordination problems.


9. Comment. The OAS workshop was billed as the beginning
of a process which would continue through a virtual forum
and a follow-up meeting in Washington, which would
contribute towards the final preparatory meeting leading to
the ministerial. Representation at the meeting was broad,
but not deep and few NGOs participated. One of the
challenges of the OAS discussions is the preparation of a
statement that would help guide government efforts on the
ground, and efforts at the meeting to build consensus on
definitions and common obstacles are steps in that
direction. The technical demands of programs like the Model
Forest Initiative could be useful in identifying the
metrics, enforcement capacity, and economic incentives
needed to implement and track future progress. Such
guidance could prove particularly valuable for many
countries in weighing the potential benefits from
sustainable economic activity in the context of
proliferating free trade agreements in the Western
Hemisphere. End comment.


10. The final report with some possible next steps of the
meeting on sustainability in agriculture, forestry and
tourism will be included in the website created for the
Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development in 2006
(http://www.oas.org/osde/MinisterialMeeting/R eunionInterAm_e
ng_Wkhp3.htm). For more information on the IMFNS please
visit www.imfn.net. For questions or comments please
contact Cinthya Alfaro, Environmental Assistant for the
Regional Environmental Hub for Central America and the
Caribbean, at alfarocg(at)state.gov, or 506-519-2392.

LANGDALE