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NATURAL WEALTH PROGRAM YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER, 2017 October 17, 2017 DISCLAIMER This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was prepared for USAID by Chemonics International Inc. for the Natural Wealth Program. NATURAL WEALTH PROGRAM YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER, 2017 Contract No. AID-514-H-17-00001 Cover photo Credit: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt CONTENTS ACRONYMS……………………………………………………………………………ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY …………………………………………………………….1 SECTION 1: PROGRAM PURPOSE AND APPROACH………………………..4 SECTION 2: COMPLETION OF RAPID MOBILIZATION PLAN AND DELIVERABLES ..................................................................................................... 7 SECTION 3: STATUS OF INITIAL WORK PLAN IMPLEMENTATION …………………………………………………………………………………………….9 SECTION 4: PROGRESS WITH CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES ............... 24 ANNEX A. INITIAL WORK PLAN PROGRESS REPORT ANNEX B. STAFFING STRUCTURE ANNEX C. CONSERVATION CORRIDORS MAPS YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2017 | i ACRONYMS ANDI National Business Association of Colombia ANLA National Environmental Licensing Authority APS Annual Program Statement ART Territorial Renovation Authority CAR Regional Autonomous Corporation CARDIQUE Regional Autonomous Corporation-Canal del Dique CARSUCRE Regional Autonomous Corporation-Sucre CDCS Country Development and Cooperation Strategy CFR Code of Federal Regulations CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture CO Contracting Officer COAIT Community Options Assessment and Investment Tool CONPES National Council for Economic and Social Policy COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CORPOCESAR Regional Autonomous Corporation-Cesar CORPOGUAJIRA Regional Autonomous Corporation-La Guajira CORPORINOQUIA Regional Autonomous Corporation-Orinoquía CPR Corporación Paisajes Rurales POD Departmental Land Use Plan DNP National Planning Department E3 Ecología, Economía y Ética Asesorías EMA Environmental Management Approach FARC Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FEDEARROZ National Federation of Rice Growers FEDECACAO National Federation of Cacao Growers FEDEGAN National Federation of Livestock FEDEPALMA National Federation of Palm Oil Growers FINAGRO Agricultural Financing Fund FPIC free, prior, and informed consent FY fiscal year FP Fundación Reserva Natural La Palmita GEF Global Environmental Facility GIS geographic information system GOC Government of Colombia Ha hectare IAvH Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt ICCA Indigenous and Community Conservation Areas IEE Initial Environmental Examination IR Intermediate Result IQS Indefinite Quantity Subcontract IWP Initial Work Plan YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2017 | ii LUCIS Land Use Conflict Identification Strategy M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MADS Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development MADR Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MEO Mission Environmental Officer MME Ministry of Mines and Energy MOU Memorandum of Understanding NGO non-governmental organization PA protected area PES payment for ecosystem services PNN National Natural Parks POMCAS Watershed Planning and Management Plans POT Land Use Plan QASP Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan RMP Rapid Mobilization Plan RNSC Civil Society Nature Reserve RR Required Result SILAP Local Protected Area System SENA National Learning Service SF stakeholder feedback SFF Fauna and Flora Sanctuary SIME Monitoring and Evaluation Information System SINAP National Protected Area System SIPRA Information System for Rural Agricultural Planning SIRAP Regional Protected Area System SMART-LAWIN Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) and the Landscape and Wildlife Indicators (LAWIN) SNSM-Perijá Southern piedmont of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta-East and the piedmont of Perijá TDF Tropical Dry Forest TO Task Order TOC Theory of Change UPRA Rural Agricultural Planning Unit USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2017 | ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Natural Wealth Program is a five year, almost US$ 39 million, initiative financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Chemonics International. It supports Colombian efforts to conserve biodiversity in three landscapes located in two critically threatened ecoregions that are underrepresented in the country’s system of protected areas (PAs): dry tropical forest in the Caribbean region and the savannas, wetlands, and forests in the Orinoquía. To achieve its set of ambitious goals, the Program relies on a mix of traditional and non- traditional approaches to conservation: i. increase the area under legal protection and strengthen its management and financing; ii. incentivize stakeholders, especially the private sector, to identify and capture economic and social benefits of biodiversity conservation; and iii. strengthen and increase the ability of the Government of Colombia (GoC) to uphold laws, regulations, and procedures to incorporate priority conservation areas into land use planning and management. This report presents progress during the 2017 fiscal year (FY) for the initial implementation period from April 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017 as outlined in the Rapid Mobilization Plan (RMP) and Initial Work Plan (IWP). In the period, the Program became fully functional and capable to implement the activities proposed in the RMP and IWP. Central and regional offices were opened, the Chief of Party (COP) and other key personnel were quickly mobilized, and initial contract deliverables were completed on time, the most significant of which include: RMP; IWP; Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan; Grants Manual; financial reports; initial communications pieces; and FY18 Annual Work Plan, which includes the Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy. Strong progress made during FY17 towards the Program’s required services, goals, and activities outlined in the IWP. Natural Wealth’s fully staffed technical team and core partners - Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH), Fundación Reserva Natural La Palmita (FP), Corporación Paisajes Rurales (CPR), Ecología, Economía y Ética Asesorías (E3), and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) - completed the vast majority of activities in the IWP as summarized in Section 3 and detailed in Annex A. Initial field assessments and information gathering has allowed the team, including USAID, to complement the initial situational analysis in each landscape and validate the threats to biodiversity and the drivers behind those threats leading to the delineation of eight priority conservation corridors (see table below) extending over 1.7 million hectares (ha) where the Program will initially concentrate field activities in FY18. Natural Wealth Target Conservation Corridors Landscape Orinoquia 1. Caño Mochuelo 2. Cumaribo 3. Yopal-Orocué YEAR 1 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT: APRIL – SEPTEMBER 2017 | 1 Southern piedmont of 4. Valledupar the Sierra Nevada de 5. Urumita-La Jagua del Santa Marta-East and Pilar the piedmont of Perijá 6. Becerril (SNSM- Perijá) 7. Copey Montes de María 8. San Juan Nepomuceno In conjunction with the technical activities and just as importantly, significant strides were made to rollout Natural Wealth with key government, private sector, donor, civil society, and community actors at the national, regional, and landscape level. This has led to growing working relations that have allowed the Program to assess and identify the best initial opportunities for engagement with private businesses, producer groups, and landowners on environmentally sustainable and inclusive value chains (10 assessed with priority given to cacao, livestock, nature-based tourism and rice), green businesses (24 enterprises evaluated), and Civil Society Nature Reserves (RNSC) (100 pre-identified candidate properties). Initial financial mapping exercises were also completed to identify public and private sources of funding potentially available to support Program activities on the order of US$ 26 million. These initial contacts and assessments have allowed the Program to refine its overall engagement strategy with the private sector across different required services. In close collaboration with USAID, the Program has introduced Natural Wealth to numerous national, regional, and municipal counterparts. Initial opportunities for Natural Wealth to support policy and regulatory initiatives that will enable progress towards Program objectives have been identified; e.g., Ministry for Environmental and Sustainable Development (MADS) to incorporate payment for ecosystem services (PES) in environmental planning and management; National Planning Department (DNP) on revision of manuals for the Land Use Planning Program (POTs modernos); and National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) on guidelines for use of compensation funds in conjunction with improved agricultural projects. With National Natural Parks (PNN) and regional authorities, priorities for creation of new PAs and improving management of existing PAs were defined, including development of the BioTerra-i monitoring and patrolling platform that builds on work started by IAvH, CIAT, and USAID/Philippines and the adaptation of the