Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANTANANARIVO687
2007-07-12 13:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Antananarivo
Cable title:  

MADAGASCAR ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM AT RISK

Tags:  SENV TBIO EAGR ECON EAID PGOV MA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAN #0687/01 1931332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121332Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0051
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0064
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0012
UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000687 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT PLEASE DISSEMINATE TO EST COLLECTIVE
DEPT FOR AF/E - RMEYERS AND OES - ESHAW
FOR AFR/EA/SD - BHIRSCH, TRESCH
FOR EGAT - ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
FOR EGAT/NRM - DHESS, DROBINSON, CKOSNIK
ADDIS ABABA FOR REO LISA BRODEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO EAGR ECON EAID PGOV MA
SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM AT RISK

Ref: A) ANTANANARIVO 0450

B) ANTANANARIVO 0506

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000687

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT PLEASE DISSEMINATE TO EST COLLECTIVE
DEPT FOR AF/E - RMEYERS AND OES - ESHAW
FOR AFR/EA/SD - BHIRSCH, TRESCH
FOR EGAT - ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
FOR EGAT/NRM - DHESS, DROBINSON, CKOSNIK
ADDIS ABABA FOR REO LISA BRODEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO EAGR ECON EAID PGOV MA
SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM AT RISK

Ref: A) ANTANANARIVO 0450

B) ANTANANARIVO 0506


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: USAID continues to play a vital leadership role
among environment donors in Madagascar seeking to advocate and
implement sound conservation and natural resource management
policies. Review of the third phase of the environment program has
been protracted and did not result in clear decisions about key
strategic and operational issues by the Environment Ministry. While
protected areas have been expanded, success to date is fragile -
notably with pressure from China to obtain protected hardwoods to
use in construction for the 2008 Olympics. END SUMMARY.

Environment Donors Concerned
--------------


2. (SBU) USAID, who serves as the President of the Environment
Donors, convened financial and technical partners on July 5 from GTZ
(the German cooperation enterprise),the French Embassy, World Bank,
UN Development Program, Conservation International, World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF),Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA),
and USG funded contractor International Resources Group. Under
USAID leadership, the donors discussed a strategy for engaging
Environment Minister Bernard Koto and his senior team to address
some key decisions required to move forward the environment program.
In particular, the mid-term review of the "Environment Program 3"
has undergone a cumbersome and drawn-out review process lasting four
months that did not lead to decisions about key strategic and
operational issues clearly defined by the donors at the outset of
the review. President Marc Ravalomanana's commitment to
conservation remains strong, members noted, but there is a
disconnect between political will and the Ministry's current
ineffectiveness.


3. (SBU) Under Minister Koto, who was named after the January

inauguration of President Ravalomanana, there are over 20 senior
positions that remain vacant or are occupied by "acting" personnel
who are unmotivated. USAID and other donors working in several
environment areas emphasized a general lack of leadership and
capacity within the Ministry at the central and regional levels. As
with all GOM initiatives, lack of capacity is a crucial challenge,
obliging donor organizations to invest a lot of time with their
interlocutors.


4. (SBU) A former USAID Environment Program Malagasy employee who
took a job at the Presidency has told us discreetly that his job to
"coach" the Ministry has been difficult due to the lack of
willingness to function as a team and lack of authority to move
forward on hard decisions. Like other Madagascar Action Plan (MAP)
Advisors at the Presidency, he endeavors to conduct teambuilding
exercises, assign tasks, create work plans, and assure follow-up.
Only a few months into the job, our former colleague is growing
frustrated with the lack of planning and a clear operational action
plan and decision making authority to implement the Environment
commitment of the MAP.

Positive Track Record, But Limited Momentum
--------------


5. (SBU) As reported in Post's Mission Strategic Plan (MSP),
Madagascar has made significant progress in some aspects of
environment policy and field-level implementation, notably in the
expansion of protected areas from 1.7 million to 3.7 million over
the last two years. Under USAID leadership and with active work of
other donors, Madagascar has also slowed rates of deforestation and
improved zoning laws and land use plans to facilitate the
establishment of conservation areas linked to rural development
activities. However, results to improve livelihoods have been
limited due to inadequate collaboration between environment and
other sector programs.


6. (SBU) Donors are concerned about the present lack of a clear
action plan to address the key policy and strategic decisions to
allow the environment program to continue to attain the results as
defined in the MAP. Senior leadership within the Ministry has
focused their exclusive attention over the last month on illegal
exploitation of rosewood at the expense of other key actions. Donor
coordination and harmonization, the role of the Ministry, is left
for environment donors - most notably USAID - to conduct on their
own.

Dialogue Reopens between Donors and Ministry
--------------


7. (SBU) Under the leadership of USAID, a series of meetings were
held with the Minister and his staff the week of July 9 to voice
donor concerns. A joint letter (copy sent to AF/E Desk) was
presented to the Minister that expressed the donor's strong
recommendation to develop a two-month plan that would advance
strategic decisions and resolve current problems. This initiative
has served to reopen dialogue between the Ministry and the donors,
resulting in some initial steps with a commitment to ongoing
discussions.


8. (SBU) A new organizational chart for the Ministry was presented
to the Council of Ministers on July 10 that reorganized the Ministry
based on the four challenges of the Environment Commitment of the
MAP. This allowed the Ministry to move forward with the nomination
of the seven Directors at the central level and the 22 Regional
Directors. While this is the first step to constitute a functioning
Ministry, the donors continue to be concerned by the selection of
some Directors who do not appear to have the leadership or
management capacity required.

Key Challenges Emerging
--------------


9. (SBU) Against this backdrop, the GOM faces key challenges in the
environment sector. The Environment Ministry must compete with many
other MAP "commitments" to obtain adequate funding for its agenda -
and will continue to rely on donors. The World Bank noted
coordination is urgently needed between GOM officials adjudicating
small mining concessions and the Environment Ministry's current and
planned protected areas. The Bank added that trafficking in
endangered hardwoods has increased dramatically in the last six
months - reportedly to supply construction in Beijing for China's
2008 Olympic Games. Overall, Madagascar's environmental successes
are fragile, and Minister Koto must do more to "sell" his Ministry's
agenda at the Council of Ministers.

COMMENT
--------------


10. (SBU) While not yet in crisis, Madagascar's ambitious but slowed
down environment program is a symptom of inefficient governance
structures and an acute lack of talented and dedicated civil
servants. Without the long-term commitment of USAID, German,
French, World Bank, UNDP environment programs, and international
conservation organizations, Madagascar's unique and fragile
ecosystems would not be adequately protected for conservation or the
many economic services these areas provide to communities. END
COMMENT.

SIBLEY