Cynthia Perera, Jason Riley U.S. Department of the Interior

CAFTA-DR Implementers Meeting 20-22 January, 2010, Costa Rica

Multi-Sector Roundtable as a Tool for Communication, Collaboration, and Consensus-Building

DOI is a cabinet-level agency consisting of 8 DOI is a cabinet-level agency consisting of 8 Bureaus:Bureaus:

National Park Service National Park Service

Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Service

Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey

Bureau of Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation

Minerals Management Service Minerals Management Service

Office of Surface Mining Office of Surface Mining

Bureau of Indian AffairsBureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI):

• 504 million acres of public lands

• 80,000+ employees

• Serve & Educate over 500 million tourists/yr

• Collect $10+billion in revenues (from energy, mineral, grazing, timber,

recreation, land sales, etc.)

• Provide resources for 30% of U.S. Energy

• World-class Scientific Research (earth processes, natural disasters,

mapping, etc.)

• Endangered & Invasive Species

• Reclaimed 300,000 acres of Abandoned Mine Sites

DOI International Programs around the World:

Protected Area Mgmt Minerals Mgmt

Cultural/Archaeol. Resource Mgmt Abandoned mine land reclamation

Water Resource Mapping Sustainable tourism

CITES / Endangered Species Law Enforcement

Visitor Services & Infrastructure Environmental Education

Recreation Mgmt Renewable Energy Mapping

Fire Mgmt Concessions Mgmt

Multi-Sector Roundtable as a Tool for Communication, Collaboration, and

Consensus-Building

Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala

Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala

•Buffer Zones•Multiple Use Zones (Community Forestry Concessions)•Core Zones (National Parks)

MBR Assets

• Large Intact Tropical Forests • High biodiversity, including largest concentration of jaguars north of Amazon• Wetlands of global significance (Laguna del Tigre NP) • Community-managed Forestry Concessions

MBR Assets

• Thousands of ancient Maya Archaeological sites, including Tikal (most visited) and Mirador (one of largest and oldest)

• Significant potential for increased Sustainable Tourism

Threats to the MBR

• Illegal human settlements• Illegal ranching (“narco-ranching”)• Illegal logging• Wildlife poaching• Archaeological looting• Human trafficking• Drug ttrafficking

Threats to the MBR

And as if that weren’t bad enough,

• MBR had been low priority for Govt of Guat

• Conflict within the Govt of Guat over MBR Mgmt

• Conflict between stakeholders, especially between:

End Results Desired: Conservation and Sustainable Use

Conflict = How to get there?

Multi-Sector Roundtable: Objectives

Create an open forum for the Govt of Guat, NGOs, local communities, and the private sector for:

• Communication / Information Sharing

• Building Consensus

• Enhancing Transparency

• Increasing Efficiencies

To Unite and Battle the real enemy

Multi-Sector Roundtable: How it Functions

• Meetings held every 1-6 months, as needed

• Led by CONAP (lead administrator for MBR)

• Facilitated by local NGO, Balam

• Low cost (e.g., lunches) funded by various sources (e.g., CI, DFID, DOI)

• Roundtable decisions made by its “Board of Directors” (6 representatives from the Govt of Guat, NGO, and local community) – with direct input from Roundtable stakeholders

•

Multi-Sector Roundtable: Membership

• Members signed a “Declaration of Good Intentions” (ground rules) in 2006, along with President Berger• Between 40 – 80 member representatives attend each meeting

Wildlife Conservation Society/Guatemala (WCS)

MBR: DOI Role

• Since 2000, DOI has provided technical assistance to strengthen protected area mgmt in Guatemala, at the request of USAID/Guatemala

• In 2006, the Multi-Sector Roundtable was created (with DOI in advisory role)

• DOI Objectives through the Roundtable: -Provide technical assistance- Lend impartial credibility to the Roundtable and its process

• DOI Funding Sources (to cover DOI travel expenses, equipment purchases, etc):

GHF and FARES (U.S. NGOs)CAFTA-DR, USAID/WashingtonCAFTA-DR, State Department

MBR: DOI Role

DOI formally partnered (MOUs), with:

• Govt of Guat (6 Ministries)

• Colombian Park System (law enforcement advisor)

• WCS and Balam, NGOs (primary implementers)

DOI efforts are jointly planned and implemented with new WCS 3-Yr Governance Program through British Govt (DFID)

General Successes through the Roundtable

• Intra Govt of Guat Conflict Reduced and not working against each other

• Intra Stakeholder conflict reduced, but still tenuous at times

• Enhanced ability to engage Govt of Guat-Petén Governor is a regular leader at these meetings- The Guatemalan President, Vice-President, and several Ministers have attended

• Enhanced ability to leverage funding- Govt of Guat, USG, British Govt, & NGOs, after proving its sustainability

More Specific Successes through the Roundtable

Strengthen Law Enforcement

Multi-Sector Collaboration to:- Multi-Sector Law Enforcement Trainings- MBR Governance & Security Strategic Action Plan -Strengthened community “Comites de Control y Vigilancia”- Field testing of patrol new manuals & protocols- Construct & staff 2 new Control Posts

In 2009, Govt of Guat dramatically stepped up its enforcement activities:

- Expulsion of large narco-rancher- Increased Govt of Guat field staff & funding in the MBR

Roundtable Challenges

Lack of trust

Multi-Sector team building adds another layer to the bureaucratic processes

Government transitions

Roundtable Lessons Learned

Roundtable creates momentum that helps ongoing efforts survive govt transitions

Must have a dedicated and capable facilitator and dedicated point of contact in the central govt

A long-term process

Having an outside influence (e.g., DOI) with no stake in the resources can lend significant credibility, weight, and energy

Multi-Sector Roundtable: Conclusions

Despite the challenges and long-term time frame, the benefits of Multi-Sector Participation in Guatemala include:

• Better Collaboration and Momentum for conservation efforts

• Increased government engagement

• Institutionalizing Multi-Sector relationships builds donor confidence

U.S. DEPARTMENT of the INTERIORU.S. DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR

Thank you!

Cynthia Perera, cperera@ios.doi.govJason Riley, Jason_riley@ios.doi.gov

1849 c St, NW, Washington, DC 20240