DRAMATIC FUNDING INCREASE FOR COLOMBIA'S NATIONAL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000384 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON SENV CO SUBJECT: DRAMATIC FUNDING INCREASE FOR COLOMBIA'S NATIONAL PARKS REF: 08 BOGOTA 04226 ¶1. SUMMARY. The GOC increased the budget of its National Parks Authority (NPA) by 40 percent, amounting to the largest investment ever in Colombia's national parks. Colombia has 54 national parks (including reserves and sanctuaries) that amount to 10 percent of Colombian territory, and the NPA plans to designate 15 new sites within the next three years. NPA representatives expressed pleasure at the increase, but noted that the extra resources -- which increased the NPA budget to USD 20 million -- are insufficient to address the broader issues of displaced communities and illicit crop production that plague the national park system. This financing ensures an NPA presence in each park, but represents a fraction of the funds that NPA needs to manage and protect such a vast network of parks and protected areas. END SUMMARY. NPA With Greater On-The-Ground Presence -------------- ¶2. In January 2009 the GOC increased the budget of its NPA to USD 20 million, up from USD 14 million in 2008. The NPA will use the money to invest in park security and to reduce illegal activities. Emilio Rodriguez, technical director of the NPA, told us that historically it was impossible for NPA to have a presence in every park due to staffing deficits, and that the new financing will ensure that a NPA official resides in or near each park. The NPA presently has 400 direct employees responsible for all aspects of park management (e.g. park designation, administration, maintenance and enforcement),a minimal force for a system that covers 11,000,000 acres, or 10 percent of the national territory. NPA officials do not have criminal law enforcement authority, but collaborate with Colombia's Environmental Police (reftel) to counter illegal activities in parks. Without on-the-ground NPA presence, such enforcement is practically non-existent. Need To Address Social Issues In Parks -------------- ¶3. Rodriguez cautioned that the funding would still not enable the NPA to manage broader social problems, such as displaced communities and illicit crop production, that are extensive within the parks. He highlighted that 30 out of 54 parks contain displaced or indigenous communities whose activities (logging, mining, cattle breeding) run counter to the NPA's environmental objectives. Rather than focusing on strategies to best protect, administer and maintain park biodiversity, the NPA often entertains a social policy function, collaborating with GOC bodies on issues such as the relocation of displaced communities and alternative development strategies. The NPA role is further complicated by coca cultivation in parks, which is estimated to extend to 35-40 percent of the system. Rodriguez said the NPA does not have the personnel nor financial resources to properly manage the parks environmental issues, much less the social ones. Expansion Plans Continue -------------- ¶4. Despite the resource limitations, the GOC continues to expand the system and plans to designate 15 more parks within the next three years. The NPA estimates that Colombia has 180 different ecosystems and its intent is to protect a portion of each ecosystem. Rodriguez said the NPA plans to announce Bahia Malaga (Valle del Cauca),Playona Acandi (Choco) and the Paz de Ariporo Wetlands (Casanare) as parks within the next few months. Comment: Increased Funding: Only A Drop In The Bucket -------------- -------------- ¶5. The budget increase is a step forward, but it still does not strengthen NPA capacity to manage and effectively protect the parks. The isolation and difficult terrain of numerous parks invites social problems that the NPA is not equipped to address, and that distract from the NPA's principal mandate of protecting Colombia's biodiversity. In lean budget times, the extra resources are a real boon and demonstrate the increased GOC focus on environmental issues. But they are far from sufficient, and the NPA must continue to look beyond the national budget to the donor community if it is to become more than a skeletal organization, expert at selecting and designating parks, but without resources to accomplish its other objectives. BROWNFIELD