Strengthening of Regional Management for the Sustainable

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 002448 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PASS USAID TO LAC/RSD, LAC/SAM, G/ENV, PPC/ENV TREASURY FOR USED IBRD AND IDB AND INTL/MDB USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE: LIZ MAHEW INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY INTERIOR PASS USGS FOR INTERNATIONAL: J WEAVER JUSTICE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: JWEBB EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL: CAM HILL-MACON USDA FOR ARS/INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH: G FLANLEY NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL: HAROLD STOLBERG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID TBIO ECON SOCI XR BR SUBJECT: Strengthening of Regional Management for the Sustainable Use of Amazonian Biodiversity -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) carried out the "First Meeting of National Coordinators for the Project 'Strengthening of Regional Management for the Sustainable Use of Amazonian Biodiversity'" in Brasilia (Brazil) October 25-27, 2006. The following spot report details the IDB financed project as well as providing general guidance on the project and points of contact that may be of interest to ESTH officers in South America. End Summary. -------------- Understanding the Project -------------- ¶2. On July 25, 2005, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a Technical Assistance Agreement to execute the project "Strengthening of Regional Management for the Sustainable Use of Amazonian Biodiversity." A total of US$2.4 million will be allocated for the project, of which US$1.9 will come from IDB, US$0.3 million from ACTO, and US$0.2 million from each Amazon Basin country. The execution period for the project is 3.5 years. The project aims to coordinate and broaden knowledge about regional biodiversity in the Amazon and its potential uses, supporting conservation and sustainable use with cooperation among the Amazon Basin countries. ¶3. The project is made up of three components and in general consists of the hiring of technical experts to formulate action plans in the region: A) Formulating a strategic framework and regional action plan on biodiversity - US$122,000 1) National consultants (8) for "Country Studies on Amazonian Biodiversity Management." Consultations will prepare a Country Study on topics related to the Management of Amazon Regional Biodiversity in each of the ACTO Member Countries to serve as input in executing the Project "Strengthening of Regional Management for 
the Sustainable Use of Amazonian Biodiversity." 2) Expert to formulate the "Regional Amazonian Biodiversity Action Plan." Expert will prepare an Action Plan on Biodiversity in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Region based on strategies recently approved in Brazil and the Andean countries (Regional Biodiversity Strategy of the Andean Tropic Countries) and on the provisions set forth in the Agreement on Biological Diversity. B) Strengthening the capacity of coordinating applied research and generating public information accessible regionally - US$820,000 1) Expert to formulate the "Strategy on Science & Technology for the BRASILIA 00002448 002 OF 003 Amazon region." This expert will prepare a Strategy on S&T for the Amazon region, based on the participation of relevant organizations and institutions of ACTO Member countries, in coordination with the Amazon Universities Association (UNAMAZ) 2) Expert in Mechanisms for the Sustainable Use of Amazonian Biodiversity ("Intellectual Property Rights"). This person will establish a consensual proposal of a regional protocol with clear mechanisms in regard to intellectual property rights over Amazon biodiversity. C) Strengthening the capacity for coordinating and supporting conservation in priority areas - US$928,000 1) CITES Expert in "Monitoring and Control of Amazon Biodiversity Trafficking." Participant will help formulate a strategic cooperation system among countries to monitor and control Amazon Biodiversity trafficking 2) Expert in on-site biodiversity conservation management (expert in "Protected Areas"). Expert will establish a mechanism for political coordination and financial management within ACTO's work agenda to facilitate and promote the establishment of 'corridors' and protected areas in transborder areas in the Amazon 3) Expert in "Environmental Impact Studies of Regional Infrastructure." This expert will carry out an analysis of the risks posed to biodiversity as a result of infrastructure construction in the Amazon region. -------------- Country Studies -------------- ¶4. During the First Meeting of National Coordinators, held in Brasilia October 25-27, 2006, each Amazon Basin country presented preliminary information on their biodiversity management strategies. Presentations covered the following topics: -- General description of the country and the Amazon region; -- Regulatory framework -- Environmental management and biodiversity institutional features -- Country's biodiversity conservation strategy -- Science and technology for the Amazon -- Biodiversity traffic control -- Priority actions for Amazon biodiversity conservation in protected areas -- Infrastructure development in the Amazon Region -- Information systems and database on the Amazon A formal Country Study with these issues covered in depth will be prepared by each country and will be validated during a "national event of analysis and discussion with relevant actors of both public and private sectors." -------------- Country Participants BRASILIA 00002448 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶5. The following people represented the respective countries: -- Ecuador - Dr. Alfredo Carrasco, Vice-Minister of the Environment (National Coordinator) -- Guyana - Paulette Bynoe (Project Consultant) -- Peru - Maria Luisa Del Rio Mispireta, Director of Natural Resources Department of CONAM; CBD Focal Point for Peru -- Suriname - Henna Uiterloo (National Coordinator) -- Venezuela - Cesar Molina, representing the "Oficina Nacional de Diversidad Biolsgica" -- Colombia - Freddy Vargas (Project Consultant) -- Brazil - Paulo Kageyama, Director of MMA's National Program for the Conservation of Biological Diversity -- Bolivia - Patricia Ergueta, national consultant CHICOLA