Regional environmental and natural resources management project (RENARM), project no. 596-0150 : project assistance completion report (PACR)

RENARM was designed to test and refine new approaches, especially regionalism, and involvement of regional institutions, NGOs, and NGO consortia in NRM. Central themes included establishment of regional wildlife corridors; linkages between protected areas, buffer-zone development, and environmental education; and regional action plans for forests and coastal zones. Both USAID and implementing institutions developed knowledge and tools to address Central American natural resource issues. This new capacity, along with much overlapping of professional contacts and information-sharing, are among RENARM's major impacts. National parks and reserves in Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras made progress toward effective management. Rapid Ecological Assessments in four protected areas gave managers powerful tools to understand baseline situations and assess the impacts of their actions. At least four new parks were established or existing protected areas extended to provide corridors and buffer zones as a result of RENARM activities spearheaded by PACA and Paseo Pantera, two NGO consortia. Indigenous territories were recognized and mapped, and reserves proposed. The condition of several important watersheds has improved. Natural resource policies changed substantially. Ecologically sustainable economic activities -- e.g., techniques such as contouring and use of nitrogen-fixing plants -- were adopted in the buffer zones of at least four parks. The Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) adopted an "Agenda for Environment and Development" and an agreement on toxic wastes. A regional Biodiversity Treaty gave legal sanction to the biological corridor concept. RENARM also supported development of a regional Tropical Forestry Action Plan; revised forestry laws in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras; and a Safe Pesticide Use program for farmers and homemakers. Much of RENARM's impact was, and will continue to be, felt through research, education, advocacy, and extension organizations supported directly or indirectly by the project. A total of 295 men and 75 women received Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. degrees, or year-long, intensive in-service training; 10 research projects received grants. Many short courses, training modules, and extension networks developed or strengthened by RENARM will continue to function. Demand for continued and repeat courses, even on a paying basis, is a good indicator of the value accorded these courses and the probability of adoption of recommended practices. RENARM stimulated creation of many new community-based environmental NGOs and promoted partnerships with international NGOs. Some U.S. PVOs' skills and practices were enhanced, with impacts that will extend beyond the project and the region (e.g., CARE has made working with local NGOs, its preferred mode of operation). Installed capacity to manage data and make it accessible can be seen in the University of Florida's Mesoamerican Biodiversity Legal Project, in the PACA partners, and especially in CATIE, which reorganized its watershed expertise, established a geographic information system (GIS) network, developed a regional forestry management/demonstration program, and developed a successful outreach network for the Tree Crop Dissemination (MADELENA-III) program. Lessons learned are as follows. (1) RENARM's policy component shifted USAID from a prescriptive to a participatory approach to environmental policy. This point of view was influential in the design of several bilateral natural resources projects. (2) During the project's final year, both implementors and USAID staff reported increased satisfaction with levels of communication and collaboration. The NGO consortia in particular seemed to find their stride in developing regional models of working. (3) The mid-term evaluation made several recommendations of lasting importance about designing multi-national, multi-sectoral projects (see XD-ABJ-687-A). (4) Promoting NGO consortia will succeed only if proper attention is paid to the management requirements of the consortia. (5) RENARM taught USAID a considerable amount about working with NGOs. Large organizations will generally continue with their previous strategies, and many local NGOs are actually ahead of international PVOs on targeting useful local interventions. Heeding the local NGOs' counsel will eliminate the risk of useful activities that nevertheless do not hit key threats head-on. (6) Follow-on activities should include a local NGO umbrella project to provide a forum and access to information and project assistance, and possibly a safe haven for dialogue with local governments. (7) Possibly because the funding period was too short, the National Ecotourism Councils established by Paseo Pasitera served more as laboratories for learning to use ecotourism as a tool for conservation, than as models of successful promotion and coordination. Tourism remains one of the most promising sources of revenue for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Central America. Above all else, the Councils showed that collaboration requires participation by key players who are convinced of the gains to be reaped and do not see the new organization as a threat. The Paseo Pasitera ecotourism project also highlighted different approaches to ecotourism -- a "greening" of mass tourism at heavily visited sites, with a potential to produce significant revenue but also to do significant damage if not controlled, and a "community-based" vision of small-scale visitation as a tool for local sustainable development. RENARM's most effective interventions in the former instance were in linking tourism planning and development with park management support. In the latter case, the MAYAFOR activity highlighted the steps needed for communities to succeed in ecotourism.