Gef-iw5 etps mangroves

J.Incremental Cost Reasoning and Expected Contributions to the Baseline

This project will build on and add significant incremental value to the strong foundation of existing programs in the region:

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  Through the completion and implementation of regional and national mangrove strategies, this project will support the coordination of current mangrove projects across the region and their integration into a broader program. This includes government and non-governmental led programs (see Sections 3G and 4F).
  
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  There are advantages to establishing acceptable shared standards for mangrove conservation and technical support between countries that ensures all policy makers have access to relevant field advances and tools.
  
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  The regional and national policy development and national strategy development and implementation proposed in this project will directly draw on the results from the projects evaluating mangroves – including coverage and ecosystem service value. Similarly, the ecosystem service economic valuations undertaken through this project will build directly on these assessments. All of these results will be integrated into the communication and capacity building tools and programs implemented through this project.
  
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  The implementation of demonstration projects and capacity building across the region will build on the experience and lesson-learned in previous mangrove related demonstration projects across the region. Demonstration projects will, if possible, directly build on existing project work in the region. For example, the Gulf of Nicoya and Gulf of Guayaquil both have existing mangrove conservation and management projects that can be a basis for expanded mangrove demonstration projects.
  
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  The project will test and demonstrate the application of tools developed through the projects active in the region, specifically including the GEF/UNEP Blue Forests project. The project will be well coordinated with the global assessments and tool development within the Blue Forests Project. Further, the focus on policy within this project will assist the Blue Forests project in ensuring the ES toolbox to be created through that project meets the needs of policymakers
  
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  The national project activities (Component #2) supporting policy reform implies collaboration through CI-national offices with other projects not necessarily linked to mangroves, but of direct relevance to threats posed by upstream and downstream processes (in addition to the support to site level management plans contemplated in Component #3) such as urban expansion, aquaculture, charcoal production and agriculture expansion.
  
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  The project builds directly on the strong coordinated conservation, policy and management foundation developed through the CI ETPS initiative. This initiative has established a strong and expansive policy, partner and networking framework across the four countries and this project will expand that core and the strong science base on which to frame conservation strategies, respectively.
  
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  This project will include cash and in-kind support from other current projects within the CI ETPS Initiative (please see counterpart in Section 8B). Actions in the Gulf of Nicoya (Costa Rica) will be supported by IADB; David (Panama) by the Walton Family Foundation (WFF); Uramba-Bahia Malaga (Colombia) and adjacent areas (e.g. Chocó) by the WFF and IADB, and the Gulf of Guayaquil (Ecuador) by IADB during the 2015-2017 period. While the current ETPS projects focus on MPA and fisheries, this project support expanding these efforts to address mangrove conservation and restoration through ridge-to-reef policy and conservation actions. For example, in these sites the ETPS Initiative is strengthening management institutions to resolve long-standing issues related to unsustainable fisheries associated with mangroves. This project will frame those efforts, as they relate to mangrove conservation, in a ridge-to-reef context. Additionally, this project will add the dimension of being particularly focused on mangrove conservation as a critical intermediary ecosystem that bridges terrestrial and marine environments and that provides the multiple ecosystem services noted above.
  

K.Associated Baseline Projects

As the importance of mangroves in the ETPS is increasingly recognized there has been a recent increase in projects addressing mangrove conservation and restoration. (See table below for a summary of recent and ongoing mangrove related projects in the region). Notably there are emerging efforts to evaluate the status and ecosystem value of mangroves at sites, and in some cases nationally, in all the ETPS countries. These projects will provide key information for informing policy, regulation and management of these ecosystems. There are also a growing number of field level demonstration and capacity building projects developing and testing approaches for sustainable use, management and restoration of mangrove ecosystems.

Other than the Mangrove and Sustainable Development Open Initiative lead by the alliance of CPPS, UNESCO and CI, however, there are no regional efforts to coordinate mangrove related conservation, management or policy and especially to address mangrove-related issues that are trans-boundary or regional, including impacts on mangroves and consequences from mangrove losses. Similarly, there are no mechanisms to support cross-learning from the portfolio of mangrove projects in the region.

While policy and field implementation related to mangrove specific conservation in the ETPS countries is variable and largely uncoordinated, there is a growing body of other coastal conservation solutions in the region. The largest and most comprehensive of these approaches has been built over the past ten years by Conservation International, in support of the four national governments and in association with nearly one hundred local and national NGOs and research institutes. This initiative has contributed to the construction of one of the world’s most comprehensive and progressive regional Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks (including a number of mangrove areas) through implementation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape (ETPS) program. This program has included extensive coordinated regional planning, capacity building, knowledge sharing and implementation. Under the framework of the ETPS, the four countries have increasingly cooperated in terms of marine management planning, and in 2013 committed to developing a shared strategy for mangrove conservation in the form of a Regional Mangrove Action Plan under the auspices of the CPPS, and with the technical support of Conservation International and UNESCO. Over the next year, this plan be finalized and officially adopted by the CPPS. The CPPS parties have committed to adopt the strategy and there is significant political willingness within the countries. Effective implementation will then require each country to create a coordinated national mangrove plan that is consistent with the CPPS Regional Action Plan. However, the effective completion and implementation of these national plans is far from certain given the financial and technical resources required.

Ongoing and enabling base-line projects include;

Project	Link/ interaction with project
Title: Securing Livelihoods in the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica through Mangrove Conservation and Restoration. Donor: Swedish Lotto Geography: Chira Island, Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. Period: 2013 – 2014 Budget: USD 0.3M	Under implementation by CI-Costa Rica -Assess the value of mangrove for fisheries, tourism and carbon storage -Develop a pilot with small coastal community, to strengthen capacities of local stakeholders for effective mangrove management (environmental education, tourism related activities, mangrove restoration)
Title: Assessment of the Current Status of Mangroves, its management and its Relationship to Fisheries in Panama. Donor: FIDECO-Natura Geography: Emphasis in 3 sites: (1) Gulf of San Miguel in Darien, (2) Gulf of Montijo in Veraguas, and (3) Chiriquí Gulf in the province of Chiriquí. Period: 2008	Implemented by CATHALAC Beneficiary: ARAP -Determine the current ecological, social and economic status of mangroves in order to contribute to the conservation and sustainable management of the mangroves on the Pacific coast of Panama, specifically in threatened areas of the Gulf of San Miguel in Darien, Gulf of Montijo in Veraguas and Chiriquí Gulf in Chiriquí.
Title: Develop and implement the National Plan for Communication, Education, Awareness and Public Participation (CEPA) for wetlands in Panama. Donor: FIDECO - Natura Geography: National and Panama Bay. Period: 2014-2015	Implemented by Panama Audubon Beneficiary: several communities in the Country, ANAM and Bay of Panama Protected Area. -Overarching objectives: 1) Strengthen the generation of social and environmental production alternatives for the sustainable use of the mangrove, and 2) monitor ecological parameters that ensures the prosperity of the mangroves
Title: Conservation and repopulation of threatened mangrove forest area in the Panama Pacific. Donor: International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), ANAM. Geography: National Period: 2009	Implemented by ANAM authority. Beneficiaries – 331 families in the Manglares de Chame area.
Title: Conservation and management for multiple-use and the development of mangroves in Colombia. Donor: International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Japanese Government, Ministry of Environment of Colombia Geography: National Period: 1995 - 2000	Implemented by the Colombian Association of Reforesters (ACOFORE) (1995-circa 2000) Collaboration of local communities and Regional Autonomous Corporations. -Overarching objectives: 1) Strengthen the generation of social and environmental production alternatives for the sustainable use of the mangrove, and 2) monitor ecological parameters that ensure the prosperity of the mangroves.
Title: Colombian Program for the sustainable use, management and conservation of mangrove ecosystems Leading authority: Ministry of Environment Geography: National	Set up in 2002 by Colombian MADS. -Overarching objective: This national program seeks to inform and develop actions to achieve sustainable use of mangrove ecosystems of Colombia. The program set up the 2002 National Mangrove Priority Action Plan.
Title: Mangrove and Sustainable Development Open Initiative Alliance: UNESCO-CPPS-CI Geography: Southeast Pacific Period: 2013 – 2015 Budget: USD 70,000 (UNESCO: 25K, CPPS: 10K y CI: 35K)	Alliance CPPS-UNESCO-CI established in 2013 The alliance interest includes: environmental legislation and policies related to mangroves, best practices and experiences of conservation and management of mangrove ecosystems. The draft Open Initiative CPPS Regional Mangrove Plan is a product of this project.
Title: Blue Carbon Initiative Donor: Various private foundations, NASA Geography: International Period: 2012 - 2015+ Budget: USD 2M	Under implementation by CI, IUCN and IOC-UNESCO Increase conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems by increasing global recognition of the carbon storage and mitigation capacity of these ecosystems.
Title: Integrated management of marine and coastal resources: A conservation and sustainable use baseline characterization. Alliance: CI-Colombia & OAP (Oleoductos al Pacífico) Geography:  Colombia, National Period: 2015 Budget: USD 0.5M	A new regional conservation proposal developed with a private donor and the CI-Colombia Office to develop conservation agreements with communities. The mangrove component (120k of 500k USD) includes reforestation and a 2007-2015+ mapping exercise to estimate national coverage.