Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources for community well-being

FAO

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources for community well-being

The example of Ecuador’s Napo Province

Year of publication 2020

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 15 p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Edition 1

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) During the 2015-2020 period, the Ecuador country office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) implemented the "GEF Conservation and Well-being in Napo project". This initiative was part of an agreement between the provincial government of Napo and Ecuador's Ministry of Environment, and was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with contributions from public and private organizations and civil society. Working directly with almost 2 800 families grouped in 16 associations and 25 indigenous and farming communities, the project helped to make environmental conservation into a development opportunity. Thanks to strong inter-institutional cooperation, and in partnership with five municipalities in the province of Napo, excellent results were achieved in terms of conservation, namely: i) the establishment of conservation agreements for 7 369.3 hectares and about 57 000 hectares under plans for co-management; ii) a 17 percent decrease in the provincial rate of deforestation; and iii) estimated emissions reduction of 3 998 945 Mg CO2eq and an increase in carbon sequestration of 57 990 Mg CO2eq. Likewise, progress was made in production sustainability: i) 1 370 families incorporated good agricultural practice (GAP) in almost 2 000 hectares of cocoa, naranjillas and pastures, and added value in these chains (fine flavour cocoa with organic certification, naranjilla juice, among others); and ii) seven sustainable community tourism initiatives were strengthened, as were bio-enterprises in five products (guayusa, vanilla, orchids, palm fibre, tikaso), which generated an increase in income ranging from 25 percent to doubling in certain cases. This made it possible to internalize and cover production costs, guaranteeing better indicators of cost effectiveness in the medium term.

Language English

Also available in:

Spanish

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Final evaluation of “Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, forests, soil and water to achieve Good Living/Sumac Kawsay in the Napo Province (FSP)”
Project code: GCP/ECU/082/GFF GEF ID: 4774
2020

Also available in:

Spanish

The project Conservation and sustainable use of natural resources as a mean to achieve Sumac Kawsay (Good Living) in the province of Napo, co-executed by FAO, the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador and the Decentralized Autonomous Government of Napo, aimed at promoting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, reversing land degradation and deforestation and contextually increasing and improving the supply of goods and services from agriculture, livestock, and forestry. The project has contributed significantly to these objectives, achieving: i) adequate support for different productive and conservation activities; ii) an initial impact on the conservation of forests and soils and on the restoration of various areas of the natural ecosystem in Napo and; iii) generated a net benefit, whether economic or social, for several hundred families. The final evaluation recommends a brief extension so that the project can implement measures for the sustainability of its results and develop a capitalization strategy of lessons learned and communication.
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Final Evaluation of the Project “Sustainable Community-Based Management and Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystems in Cameroon”
Project evaluation - Main report
2018

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Mangrove ecosystems provide a wide range of resources and services for people's livelihoods, which at the same time give rise to strong economic, social and demographic pressure. To address these challenges, the GEF project "Sustainable community-based management and conservation of mangrove ecosystems in Cameroon” developed strategic documents on mangroves; created platforms to promote dialogue among stakeholders; produced information on the status of mangroves in Cameroon and established a permanent monitoring system for determining changes in these ecosystems; and contributed to the launch and advancement to the final stages of processes for the classification of protected areas. While the project contributed to several outcomes at institutional level and it also increased community awareness on the importance of mangrove ecosystems, it did not achieve the expected results in support to long-term sustainability of local communities’ livelihoods. Moving forward, to see impacts there is still the need for a consolidation phase both at community and institutional level.