Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CARACAS511
2009-04-23 15:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:  

CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL GIVES UP ON VENEZUELA

Tags:  ECON PGOV PREL ETRD EINV EAGR SENV VE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7519
PP RUEHHM RUEHPB RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHCV #0511/01 1131555
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231555Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2947
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEAEPA/EPA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000511 

SIPDIS

HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
COMMERCE FOR 4332/MAC/WH/JLAO
TREASURY FOR RJARPE
NSC FOR RKING
SECSTATE PASS AGRICULTURE ELECTRONICALLY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2019
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL ETRD EINV EAGR SENV VE
SUBJECT: CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL GIVES UP ON VENEZUELA

REF: A. CARACAS 471

B. 2007 CARACAS 1755

CARACAS 00000511 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Economic Counselor Darnall Steuart for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000511

SIPDIS

HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
COMMERCE FOR 4332/MAC/WH/JLAO
TREASURY FOR RJARPE
NSC FOR RKING
SECSTATE PASS AGRICULTURE ELECTRONICALLY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2019
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL ETRD EINV EAGR SENV VE
SUBJECT: CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL GIVES UP ON VENEZUELA

REF: A. CARACAS 471

B. 2007 CARACAS 1755

CARACAS 00000511 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Economic Counselor Darnall Steuart for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: NGO Conservation International closed its
doors in Venezuela on March 31 saying it wanted to focus on
countries where it can have an impact on host government
environmental policies. The Venezuelan head of another
US-based NGO, The Nature Conservancy, said the government
would gladly sacrifice US NGO's expertise if they dare to
adopt higher profiles in Venezuela as "the anti-yankee
discourse is more important to the government than its work
on the environment." Nationalization of private nature
reserves, ostensibly to increase agricultural production,
along with the government's plans to take control of all
international funding for NGOs (Ref A) also raise serious
concerns in the sector. Claims that Chavez would be
Venezuela's "first green president" now ring hollow. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL LEAVES VENEZUELA
--------------


2. (C) Econoff met with Ana Liz Flores (protect throughout),
Executive Director of the Venezuelan chapter of US NGO
Conservation International (CI),on April 2. Flores said
that while CI officially closed on March 31, its
administrative operations in Venezuela will continue until
May 31, 2009. After May, CI has not yet determined what will
happen to 44 of its 45 projects in Venezuela. To her
knowledge, Venezuela will be the only office CI will close in
Latin America. CI's Venezuelan partners told the press March
28 that CI's decision was "an enormous loss" for Venezuela,
leaving more than 100 environmental experts with nowhere to
go for funding. (NOTE: By some measures, Venezuela is one

of the world's top 20 most biodiverse countries and is often
found among top ten lists for countries with the largest net
forest loss per year (Ref B). END NOTE.)


3. (C) Flores lamented the CI departure, noting that once it
is gone, it will be impossible for CI to re-enter Venezuela
as long as Chavez is in office. (NOTE: The World
Conservation Society has been trying to obtain permission to
begin operations in Venezuela for over a year from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has failed. END NOTE.) She
added that the proposed "Law on International Cooperation",
which would allow the central government to manage and
distribute all international funding for NGOs, would be
"devastating" to environmental efforts in Venezuela. She is
hopeful the law will not pass as the government has no
systems in place to implement its provisions.


4. (C) Flores contended that CI Headquarters does not
understand that it is still possible to "get things done in
Venezuela." CI Venezuela's "low profile, take no credit for
any project" approach frustrated CI headquarters. She said
CI Venezuela had to take this approach or the government
would not have allowed CI to continue its work. CI
Headquarters was also disgruntled with its inability to work
with the Venezuelan government on programs or policy. She
noted that the Ministry of Environment is staffed by radical,
anti-US politicians focused on ideology with no funding for,
or understanding of, environmental programs. The Venezuelan
Park Service INPARQUES changed directors six times in the
last 12 months, she added, and there are rumors it will be
eliminated and not replaced. Flores said that in spite of
this, CI Venezuela was starting to discover effective ways to
bypass the central government and she deeply regreted CI's
decision to leave.

-------------- --------------
VENEZUELA STILL A PRIORITY FOR THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Econoff met with another major US-based environmental
NGO, The Nature Conservancy (TNC),March 4. In spite of
serious issues with the Venezuelan Government and a recent

CARACAS 00000511 002.2 OF 003


drop in donations, the Venezuela Country Representative for
TNC, Lila Gil (protect throughout),views Venezuela as a high
priority. She said TNC is the only major environmental
organization left in Venezuela and it will stay as long as
the government allows. If TNC were to leave Venezuela, Gil
feels most foundation money would leave with it. She
explained that foundations do not trust the Venezuelan
government and would not fund projects without an
internationally recognized NGO to manage the money.
Additionally, after years of effort, in 2008 TNC completed an
extensive conservation plan for government-owned petroleum
company, PDVSA. Although PDVSA refused to allow TNC to
publish the plan, and its participation in the study was
highly criticized by Chavez supporters, Gil pointed to this
unusual example of cooperation with a government entity as
another reason TNC plans to stay in Venezuela.


6. (C) Gil also emphasized the importance of keeping a low
profile as a US-based NGO. She said that unlike TNC's
offices in Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia, TNC cannot lobby the
Venezuelan government directly due to its US connection. Gil
added that "The New York Times" contacted her several months
ago about doing a story on TNC's work in Venezuela, but TNC
refused out of fear of government retaliation. She suggested
that if TNC adopted a higher profile, the Venezuelan
government would gladly sacrifice TNC's expertise and funding
in order to make an "anti-yankee" statement.

-------------- --------------
LAND NATIONALIZATIONS HAVE NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Professor Edgard Yerena (protect throughout),
biologist and specialist in environmental policy at public
university Simon Bolivar, told Econoff on February 18 that as
a direct result of government policies, Venezuela has
experienced a dramatic increase in deforestation in the last
ten years. Yerena conceded, however, that the government
does not publish official figures on deforestation and,
lacking government support, experts in the sector have had
difficulty coming up with hard data on the extent of the
damage. He also noted that ecologists contend there has been
a dramatic increase in oil spills and mining mishaps, but it
is equally impossible to get official data in these areas.


8. (C) Although 15 percent of Venezuela is theoretically
protected under the INPARQUES national park system, he said
most of the parks are abandoned and even the government
builds in them. He said the government's permissive attitude
and failure to protect the parks promotes land invasions.
Cutting down trees in national parks helps reinforce
squatters' ownership claims in the government's eyes.
Additionally, Yerena added, on large estates or "Hatos",
deforestation proves to the government that the land is being
used to produce food and lessens the risk of nationalization
due to lack of production.


9. (C) Yerena noted the government nationalized large swathes
of the 148,000 acre Hato Pinero estate in spite of the
owners' arguments that they were not producing crops because
the estate contains one of the country's most important,
privately owned wildlife reserves. The government only
recognizes that large land owners have a right to 10 percent
of their estates. Without real property rights, Yerena
opined, it no longer makes sense for estate owners to invest
in their eco-tourism infrastructure and many have stopped
employing guards that have kept poachers at bay for years.
(Note: The President of the government's National Institute
of Lands claimed on March 29 that the Institute had reviewed
14.8 million privately owned acres and found 90 percent of
them should belong to the "nation". Within 15 days starting
April 21, the Institute plans to "reclaim" 71,000 acres. End
Note.)

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


10. (C) There seems to be a consensus among environmental
NGOs and academia that it is nearly impossible to work with

CARACAS 00000511 003.2 OF 003


the central government on environmental issues. Although
hard data is in short supply, the current administration's
policies appear to have stepped up the pace of environmental
degradation in one of the most biodiverse countries in the
world. Neglect of national parks and lack of funding, as
well as government actions that threaten NGOs and encourage
deforestation, have lent little credence to claims that
Chavez would be the "first green President" in Venezuela.

CAULFIELD