Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement Award LAG-A-OO-99-00047-00

, v WILDLIFE -~ Bic)diversity Conservation at CONSERVATION SOCIETY . co.'" the Landscape Scale :s.~r -0", • " . A Program ofthe Wildlife Conservation Society ... '":. ".': .... ~. .:."': ':~. Supported by the USAID/Global Conservation Program

Northwestern Bolivian Landscape Conservation Area Semi-Annual Report April 2001 - September 2001

I. Summary of Activity Status and Progress a. Introduction/Summary:

The Northwestern Bolivian Andes Biological Conservation at the Landscape Scale (BCLS) Program aims to ensure conservation of the wild lands and wildlife of the greater Madidi area through a landscape conservation approach, working with other conservation and sustainable development projects active in the region. The landscape approach is designed to determine the needs of key wildlife species, assess human activities across the same landscape, and use the intersection of these to focus efforts on those areas and actions which emerge as key conservation conflicts or opportunities. To accomplish the long­ term goal ofbiodiversity conservation at the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape Conservation Area (LCA), we focus on four interrelated objectives: establish baselines and monitor landscape species and the landscape context in which they are found; strengthen local, on-site protection and management of biological resources across the landscape; promote the development ofnational policies that support the landscape conservation approach; and elaborate a participative, integrated landscape conservation action plan.

In general, the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape Program is on track and in several cases we are ahead of where we expected to be at this stage in the project. For example, our community natural resource management component is growing rapidly with more and more communities expressing an interest. Similarly, our work with Tacana people, their representative body (CIPTA) and the TCO they intend to manage is well ahead of schedule. In many ways the quality of information available for the TCO is now a benchmark for the ongoing management plan and will also be a model for updates to the Apolobamba and Pilon Lajas protected area management plans. The imminent release ofa first draft ofa Landscape Conservation Action Plan for the region, coupled with first drafts of monitoring and long-term financial strategies for the landscape represent the consolidation of the landscape vision for Northern . In addition, our success at placing environmental issues on the local government agenda will assist in the realization ofa truly integrated conservation planning process. Delayed activities are largely due to delays in necessary input from collaborating institutions, particularly one ofour key partners in the region, the Bolivian protected area service (SERNAP). b. Highlights:

• The Bolivian contingent ofthe Living Landscapes Program has continued its leading role in the development ofthe Landscape Species Selection Criteria and also has begun the process of developing 'biological landscape' models for the landscape species. The final suite of landscape species has been detennined for the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape Conservation Area: Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), jaguar (Panthera onca)and surubi catfish (Pseudoplatystoma sp.) (See Appendix I). The BCLS team is currently developing biological and human landscape GIS models for these species and the landscape in general, using the biological data collected by the project and available spatial infonnation on threats. • During this period the CARE/WCS-managed Madidi Management Plan project began activities and the BCLS team has provided technical support to this project. The management plan team has made a series of substantial requests for infonnation from the BCLS project, particularly biodiversity infonnation, but also spatial threats infonnation and socioeconomic data generated through the participatory rural appraisals (PRA's) of the Tacana TCO diagnostic. Indeed, these documents were considered so valuable that the Madidi Management Plan diagnostic will be largely based on PRA's using the same methodology as the TCO process. • Meanwhile, our community natural resource management program continues to grow with the addition of three communities during this period. These communities have identified hunting and fishing as potential problems and have asked for assistance accordingly. Fieldwork for the crop damage studies was also completed during this period, and in the initial partner communities, native bees were successfully transferred to hives. • The BCLS team also secured a second year of funding to support activities in the Tacana TCO from the USAID office. This funding has allowed continuation of the development of a natural resource strategy for the proposed Tacana TCO, including legal support necessary for the consolidation ofthis land demand. In addition to this management plan, during this reporting period the Tacana along with their organization, CIPTA, have produced a participatory Five Year Budget Plan for the strategy that will allow CIPTA representatives to prioritize additional proposal development. Similarly, CIPTA was able to review its constitution in a participatory manner and develop an organization and operational plan for CIPTA that is currently being implemented. • Finally, in June 2001 the BCLS team was able to begin a focus on local government land-use and environmental planning with an innovative and experimental workshop held in the , during which participants included over 150 people from the area as well as governmental and non-governmental institutional representation. Workshop philosophy was one of participation, with the BCLS providing technical support to municipality staff and the major input coming from locally based participants. This workshop has resulted in a preliminary environmental planning document, one ofthe first of its kind anywhere in Bolivia, and is a significant step that may allow local government to generate mom funding for environmental issues.

2 c. Table of Activity Status

Activity Activity Title Status Page Number Number Obj.l Establish baseliues and monitor landscape species and the landscaoe context in which thev are found. 1.1. Biodiversitv Survevs On Track 4 1.2. Candidate Landscane Snecies Research On Track 4 1.3. Landscape Species Distribution Questionnaire On Track 5 1.4. Human-Animal Conflicts On Track 5 1.5. Complementary Ecological Studies On Track 6 Obj.2 Strengthen local on-site protection and management of biological resources across the landscaoe. 2.1. SERNAP Institutional Strengthening On Track 6 2.2. Protected Area StaffTraining On Track 7 2.3. Community Wildlife Management Proiects On Track 7 2.4. Community Wildlife Workshoos On Track 8 2.5. Wildlife Manallement, Conservation and Ecologv Unit (IE) On Track 8 2.6. Schoolyard EcolollY Education On Track 9 2.7. Monitoring Strategy Design On Track 9 2.8. Tacana Land Titling and Management On Track 9 Obj.3 Promote the development of national policies that support the landscape conservation approach. 3.1. Technical and Policv Report On Track 10 3.2. Financing Mechanisms On Track 11 3.3. Threats Assessment Working Group On Track 11 Obj.4 Elaborate a participative, integrated, landscape conservation action plan. 4.1. Cooperative Agreements Completed 12 4.2. Landscape Stakeholder Workshoo Delaved 12 4.3. Land Use Plan On Track 12 4.4. Municipal Development Plan On Track 13 4.5. Landscape Conservation Priorities and Action plan Delayed 13

II. Detailed Description of Progress a. Key short and long-term program objectives for the reporting period (April 2001 - September 2001)

In one ofthe most biologically diverse landscapes on the planet, WCS intends to develop and implement long term conservation measures at a landscape scale by working with key national, regional and local partners to address identified threats and opportunities, and by focusing research efforts on ensuring the conservation and management of wide-ranging and vulnerable 'landscape species'. We aim to successfully implement and refine the landscape approach within the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape, thereby promoting this concept in other biologically critical Bolivian landscapes. In the short term our objectives are to capitalize on our working relationships with the plethora ofother actors in the region, promoting the development ofthe landscape approach with interested parties through the production ofa participatory landscape conservation action plan. We also intend to add more detailed

3 environmental planning experiences to the document thereby creating a 'living' library of relevant landscape conservation planning documents. This process and the accompanying document will explore mechanisms to integrate spatially distinct land-use planning initiatives into an overall landscape conservation strategy: for example, community and inter-community zoning, TCO land-use plans, protected area management plans, local government development proposals, multiple municipality planning, private lands and forestry concessions. We also intend to continue gathering and interfacing the biological and socioeconomic information necessary to begin implementing the spatial priority setting at the landscape scale. In tum this will permit the identification of priority interventions and the earmarking ofmanagement strategies that will address identified threats and opportunities at a landscape scale.

b. Activity Description

OBJECTIVE 1: Establish baselines and monitor landscape species and the landscape context in which they are found.

Activity 1.1. Biodiversity Surveys On Track

Between July and September 2001 we returned to an area oftropical lowland forests between the Tuichi and Hondo rivers in the Natural Area ofIntegrated Management portion ofthe Madidi protected area to continue large and medium sized mammal surveys. This second visit has provided comparative data from the dry season to illustrate important seasonal differences in habitat use and relative abundance with regards to the mammalian fauna.

These studies are generating information on biodiversity and relative abundance in a largely undocumented region threatened by the proposed Bala Dam construction and uncontrolled ecotourism ventures, and will also contribute baseline data on a number of mammalian and avian species that will provide management infOlmation to the Madidi protected area administration, including information for future monitoring programs. Indeed, the Madidi management plan team has already requested the entire landscape project biodiversity database for use in the development of the first management plan, particularly for zoning purposes, for this flagship protected area. Two scientific manuscripts are currently in preparation for publication in ecological journals.

Activity 1.2. Landscape Species Research On Track

In September 2001, Rob Wallace presented a Spanish version of the Wildlife Conservation Society Living Landscapes Program's 'Landscape Species Selection Criteria' using the Northwestern Bolivian Andes LCA as an illustrative example, at the Vth International Congress on Latin American Wildlife Management in Cartagena, Colombia. Wallace and Humberto Gomez are also authors on an English language peer-reviewed publication outlining the Landscape Species Selection Criteria analysis. Wallace and Gomez also hosted and attended the WCS GIS workshop, held in La Paz in May 200 I, where their course projects were to dt:velop preliminary analyses of the biological landscapes for the white-lipped peccary and spectacled bear respectively. These analyses have assisted the Living Landscapes team in the development ofbiological landscapes conceptualization within the program framework.

Between July and September 2001, the project team continued to focus research efforts in the lowlands in an area between the Tuichi and Hondo rivers, a site identified as having great potential for long-term research activities on landscape species such as the white-lipped peccary and the jaguar. The main

4 activities have been the development ofa major and ongoing camera trap campaign for jaguars and other individually recognizable large mammals conducted over the three months. The results, which will be available in mid-November 2001, are intended to provide one of the first reliable density estimates for jaguar across their distribution and will be a critical resource for jaguar conservation in general. Within the landscape they will allow us to begin to assess the effectiveness of the protected areas for jaguar conservation and provide a monitoring baseline for this landscape species.

With regards to white-lipped peccaries, the transect work that has been conducted at the site over the last eight months will provide a preliminary density estimate for this landscape species, as well as a number of the other tropical forest wildlife species. In addition, Nicole Gottdenker has been analyzing her data on fruit abundance and peccary presence and presented this work at the Vth International Congress on Latin American Wildlife Management in Cartagena, Colombia.

BCLS researchers, Boris Rios and Herminio Ticona, have continued ecological studies on spectacled bears across the highland and cloud forest portions of the landscape, visiting a further twelve sites to conduct standard vegetation and bear sign surveys. This research has focused on determining habitat preferences and dietary determinants ofrange use, as well as a genetic analysis of population size. So far a total of fifteen sites have been surveyed across four altitudinal zones and it is anticipated that by October 2002 the project team will be able to assess the habitat preferences ofthis Andean mystery. Due to localized political unrest in the highland portion ofthe Bolivian Landscape the programmed capturing and satellite collaring ofspectacled bears has been delayed to November 2001 when Dr. William Karesh ofthe WCS Field Veterinarian Program will assist.

Ecological information regarding landscape species will help to determine their spatial needs, which in combination with spatial data on human activities and threats will enable us to define the extent and location of the landscape in which conservation efforts should focus, as well as identifY priority conservation actions in areas ofcritical conservation importance and conflict.

Activity 1.3. Landscape Species Distribution Questionnaire On Track

During this reporting period, BCLS researchers and Apolobamba, Madidi and Pilon Lajas park guards continued an exhaustive questionnaire-based analysis of landscape species distribution. During a workshop in in June 2001, park guards from the three protected areas continued the initiative begun by the Apolobamba guards by providing a further 200 distribution points for the five landscape species, as well as an additional 300 points for other threatened or socio-economically important wildlife species. These data have provided preliminary distribution maps for the species across the three protected areas. Park guards are now carrying out interviews with local communities that will further refine these maps. Apart from the critical management information gathered during this exercise, the workshop also provided an invaluable opportunity to establish contact and dialogue regarding monitoring and natural resource management issues with the park guards (see Activity 2.2). Fortunato Espinoza, a Tacana research assistant, will conduct similar activities with Tacana community representatives in the next fiscal year to complete an initial map oflandscape species distribution.

Activity 1.4. Human-Animal Conflicts On Track

Over the last six months BCLS researchers, in association with a local biology thesis student (Andrea Morales), continued human-animal conflict studies in three communities in the highland portion of the landscape, focusing on documenting and measuring crop damage by wildlife, especially spectacled bears. The study quantified damage to a subset of the cornfields of three communities in the Pajan region of

5 Apolobamba, as well as continuing our questionnaires designed to assess crop damage on a wider scale. The focal communities requested assistance from the park administration regarding this sensitive issue and are situated in a valley that is relatively well forested with an apparently intact fauna. The first step to finding solutions to wildlife and human conflicts will be to document the scale ofthe problem. Morales surveyed a total of 60 cornfields after mapping all ofthe cornfields ofthe three communities and she is currently analyzing the data. In early 2002, BCLS researchers will present the results to the communities and begin discussions regarding possible management measures to resolve these problems.

Activity 1.5. Complementary Ecological Studies On Track

Over the last six months the BCLS project has continued to conduct complementary ecological studies on key elements of biodiversity across the landscape, selected because oftheir interaction with a particular threat or opportunity, or a unique ecological characteristic. Ninon Rios, a Bolivian undergraduate student, collected additional information on the population status and potential for sustainable harvest of spectacled caiman in the lowland portions ofthe Tacana Indigenous Territorial Demand. This study will help to prepare the Tacana for the anticipated forthcoming change in legal status for caiman harvesting in La paz Department in 2002. The DGB (Direccion General de Biodiversidad) have already permitted the sustainable harvest of this previously fully protected species in the during the 200 I season.

Angela Nunez, a young Bolivian professional, continued her studies on the highland deer species present in the landscape: the threatened and almost unknown Andean deer and Andean brocket deer, and the white-tailed deer. Charles Veitch, a volunteer, focused on the woolly monkeys and mammalian communities in the mid-elevation cloud forests which have proved extremely exciting in terms of biodiversity and are associated with incense, an important non-timber forest product that may be a long­ term sustainable natural resource for the region. He completed a first questionnaire-based diagnostic regarding this important local industry. Finally, the BCLS team has continued to collect dietary and ecological information on other species including the puma and Andean fox, both associated with livestock loss.

OBJECTIVE 2: Strengthen local on-site protection and management of biological resources across the hmdscape.

Activity 2.1. SERNAP Institutional Strengthening On Track

Over the last six months Imke Oetting and the BCLS staff have begun implementing an institutional strengthening plan for the National Protected Area Service (SERNAP). This plan has been developed with key SERNAP staff including the director, and pledges technical support to the Madidi and Apolobamba protected area administrations/staff (see Appendix 2). It also promotes the Threats Assessment approach as a critical tool for adaptive management strategies, encourages relevant SERNAP staff to consider conservation issues regarding the broader landscape surrounding protected areas, and generally promotes the landscape conservation concept within SERNAP. Over the course ofthe BCLS project it is intended that SERNAP will adopt this approach in other threatened Bolivian landscapes. Similarly, the plan promises BCLS technical support during the development of SERNAP guidelines for the sustainable management ofnatural resources within protected areas, particularly wildlife and forestry resources.

In addition, at the request of SERNAP the plan pledges more general BCLS support in the development of guidelines for monitoring across the protected areas of Bolivia, and Oetting has been organizing a

6 workshop planned for November 200 I to define the monitoring strategy for the national protected area system.

Activity 2.2. Protected Area StaffTraining On Track

In June 200 I BCLS staffconducted a protected area-based workshop on monitoring and investigation and landscape conservation for the park guards and chief of protection ofthe Apolobamba, Madidi and Pilon Lajas protected areas. This workshop was conducted by Dr. Peter Feinsinger and used the 'the inquiry cycle' as a tool to allow the park guards to develop their own monitoring and investigation projects useful for protected area management. The Madidi park guards are monitoring white-lipped peccary and black spider monkey presence at different park guard posts. The Pilon Lajas park guards are comparing mammalian relative abundance in disturbed and undisturbed forest systems. The Apolobamba park guards designed a number of projects including flamingo monitoring, aquatic monitoring, and Andean fox and Andean cat diet. In addition, the workshop provided a rare opportunity for communication between key staff of the three protected areas on a number of issues apart from monitoring and investigation issues.

The workshop also introduced the concept of landscape conservation as well as provided relevant arguments for the importance of wildlife conservation, and focused on how protected area staff can contribute to the landscape approach. The park guards requested further workshops regarding how to report and utilize general information regarding biodiversity and GPS data, and how to deal with human­ animal conflict problems across the landscape.

Activity 2.3. Community Wildlife Management Projects On Track

During this reporting period we have continued our supervision and technical support to six ofthe seven communities that were already involved in wildlife management projects within the landscape. Three of these communities (Santa Fe, San Pedro and Carmen Pecha) are conducting projects on the feasibility of sustainable native honey production as an alternative livelihood to current agro-pastoral trends, documenting ecological interactions between native bees and the tree community. During this reporting period the communities have activated 125 native bee-hives, been trained in how to begin and maintain these hives with the assistance of a project hired consultant Eugenio Stierlin, the foremost native bee expert in Bolivia, and are monitoring the production ofthese hives. The first honey harvest is scheduled for late November 200I. All three ofthe communities decided to build two types ofnative bee-hives for two types of native bee, one for higher value honey and the other for higher production. One of these communities is now soliciting assistance in the construction of larger, experimental hives, and is also interested in beginning a community study investigating the carrying capacity of the forest for native bees. It is important to recognize that native bee honey production underlines the value of the forest to local communities and also encourages communities to take participatory community decisions regarding natural resources, a critical prerequisite for wider scale and more diverse natural resource management plans.

During this reporting period BCLS staff also continued community wildlife management projects with three highland valley communities in the Pajan region: Pajan, Sanachi, and Huayrapata. At the request of the communities, these projects are focusing on one ofthe major human-animal conflicts in the highland portions of the landscape: crop raiding by assorted wildlife species. Specifically, the projects measured crop damage to the com fields of the local communities, with a Bolivian undergraduate student accompanying community representatives to measure the number of stems affected by each wildlife species on a monthly basis. The communities are aware that this is a necessary first step in the process of

7 thinking about solutions to the problem of crop damage. The fieldwork is now complete and the communities are already discussing possible management solutions to this problem. The results of the study will be presented to other members of the communities in January 2002, and a workshop will be held to discuss the implications ofthe results - primarily potential solutions.

These natural resource management community projects are fundamental to the landscape approach as they encourage community-planning processes and also provide a hands-on opportunity for environmental education at the community level. They are also the start of a long-term strategy to encourage a regional program ofcommunity based sustainable natural resource production. A successful example ofthis approach would be an incredibly powerful model for use in other regions and landscapes across Bolivia by the conservation community.

Activity 2.4. Community Wildlife Workshops On Track

During this reporting period Maria Copa and the BCLS project team have also begun community wildlife management projects with three Tacana communities situated along the . Carmen del Emero, Cachichira and San Antonio de Tequeje all requested projects to assess the sustainability of their subsistence hunting and fishing activities. This represents a major success in our community approach, since the communities themselves requested assistance with a pressing but delicate wildlife management issue. In subsequent participatory workshops, the communities embraced the idea of a self-monitoring program whereby all hunting and fishing is registered on community-designed forms by volunteer hunters and fishermen. To date participation ranges from 30% in Carmen del Emero (the second largest Tacana community in the TCO) to 80% in Cachichira, and 100% in San Antonio de Tequeje. The communities have been engaged in this activity since July 2001. A preliminary analysis ofthe results will be conducted in February 2002 and discussed with the communities.

In addition, Maria Copa and Humberto Gomez began discussions with five Tacana communities (Cachichira, Bella Altura, Buena Vista, Tres Hermanos and Altamarani) for assistance with a wildlife and natural resource assessment in an area the communities have jointly set aside for an ecotourism venture. These discussions included a participatory workshop where it was agreed that the BCLS would be able to provide technical assistance but would not be the best option for business and infrastructure advice. In fact, the BCLS team facilitated a contact with Conservation International (CI) who have local experience in community-based eco-tourism ventures and the five communities are now developing a more detailed proposal with CL The BCLS team will remain in touch with these communities particularly regarding zoning issues around Laguna Moa, for example conflicts between potential tourism zones and traditional subsistence hunting areas, as well as general advice regarding tourist routes that maximize wildlife encounters.

Activity 2.5. Wildlife Management, Conservation and Ecology Program (Institute of Ecology) On Track

Over the last six months the BCLS project staff have continued the establishment of the Wildlife Management, Conservation and Ecology Program at the Institute ofEcology (IE). This program aims to strengthen the ability ofthis national research body to conduct focused research on the behavioral ecology of vulnerable wildlife species, as well as more applied studies concerning wildlife conservation and wildlife management issues. In May 2001, the WCS Latin American GIS workshop (separately funded by WCS) was held at the Institute ofEcology and included participation from Institute staff, as well as guest lectures on aquatic wildlife management (Fernando Trujillo) and protected area management issues

8 (James Barborak). The BeLS team also financially supported a student initiative for a two-day meeting designed to provide an academic experience for students to present the results oftheir 'Practical Project' conducted before their undergraduate thesis.

Over the next six months we intend to consolidate this initiative by providing introductory seminars on wildlife issues as well as academic and technical support to interested students in the form of a digital library resources and academic journal discussion seminars. The BCLS staffwill also hold a meeting with Institute staffto further discuss the role ofthe Wildlife Management, Conservation and Ecology Program at the Institute. This Unit will also assist other branches of the IE to develop their capacity to serve as technical advisors to natural resource management initiatives.

Activity 2.6. Schoolyard Ecology Education On Track

During this reporting period, BCLS staff Rob Wallace, Humberto Gomez and Guido Ayala, along with Dr. Peter Feinsinger, conducted an EEPE (School Yard Ecology Education) workshop with 25 local schoolteachers, 2 park guards, and 2 CARE technicians of the Apolo region. The workshop was conducted in Apolo as well as two rural communities in the region (Machua and Inca). Apart from the workshop, BCLS staff discussed post-workshop follow-up strategies with Feinsinger, and several other educational institutions in the Apolo region requested additional workshops in the future, including an agricultural college that has 600 students. Humberto Gomez, Renata Tejada and Rob Wallace also produced a proposal for more significant EEPE support to the region and this was submitted to the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund for consideration. This activity will raise awareness about protected areas and the importance ofecosystem services for the human population around them.

Activity 2.7. Monitoring Strategy Design On Track

Over the last six months Imke Oetting and the BCLS staff have continued discussions regarding the production of a monitoring strategy for monitoring the results ofthe landscape approach in northern La Paz. These discussions continued with the rest of the Living Landscapes Program at the second Living Landscapes meeting in Nouabale-Ndoki in Congo. A first draft ofthe monitoring strategy is complete and is currently being discussed within the Living Landscapes Program as well as with SERNAP. In the coming months this strategy will be broadened to consider the conservation status of the landscape as a whole and will include input from SERNAP, the protected area administrations, CIPTA, DGB, IE, as well as other institutions working in the landscape such as CARE, CI, WWF, CE (Spanish Cooperation) and AMNH (American Museum ofNatural History) in the refinement ofthe strategy and the coordination of monitoring activities.

Finally, Oetting has also been a key resource person for SERNAP in the design ofa process to define a monitoring strategy for the protected area system ofBolivia. Following a series of meetings, a workshop is scheduled for mid-November 2001 (see Activity 2.1). The results ofthis workshop will be fundamental in the production ofa broad and practical monitoring strategy for the landscape.

Activity 2.8. Tacana Lund Titling and Management On Track

Members ofall communities within the territorial demand have continued to receive legal advice by the legal team, composed of two lawyers and three Tacana counterparts, promoting tighter coordination between CIPTA and its constituency and strengthening the resolve of the Tacana communities for their

9 territory and its sustainable management. Closer coordination between CIPTA and CIDOB (Confederation of Indigenous People's of Bolivia) has been maintained during this period, securing additional political suppod for the legal process. This suppod, along with that of SERNAP, another impoliant Tacana ally, has been crucial at a time of national political uncertainty and intense local attack by land speculators and colonists. CIPTA, SERNAP and INRA (Land Titling Agency) lawyers successfully defended the legal titling process in the Constitutional Court, after a challenge by interest groups whose land claims had been reviewed and rejected by INRA.

Progress regarding the legal process continues to be monitored in La Paz, but has consisted mainly of field visits to deal with conflicts arising with third parties, particularly colonist settlers and illegal tourism ventures. In many cases these conflicts have been resolved through dialogue. Particularly, CIPTA has created a strong alliance with former opponents ofthe TCO, the Campesino Federation of . This alliance is impoliant since conflicts in the country related to land tenure issues have resulted in an unwillingness of the Bolivian government to title land over which conflicts exist, before local solutions have been sought. The agreement reached gives areas close to the road to the colonists, in areas ofsecondary growth forest; on the other hand the colonists renounce claims to other areas found in the core ofthe TCO.

In this reporting period follow up attention has been given to the paper work required to obtain the legal registration (personeriajuridica) for all the Tacana communities. This has involved meetings requesting attention to this process with the Municipal Councils ofIxiamas and San Buenaventura, and the Iturralde Sub-prefecture. This process is necessary to continue the legal conversion ofindividual community titles to a single TCO title.

CIPTA presented to INRA their observations to the EINE (Spatial Requirement Study) carried out by MACPIO (Ministry of Campesino and Indigenous Affairs). They also presented the participatory zonification of the TCO as a demonstration of the space the communities occupy and want to manage. This was a direct proposal to INRA ofthe extension to be titled and areas to be compensated, since some of the communal lands cUlTently used are now under forestry concessions and non-Tacana emigrants to the area. CIDOB has assumed the zonification used by CIPTA as an alternative methodology to the EINE studies and presented a draft for a Supreme Decree to be considered by the Bolivian government during the Land Summit to be held at the end of200 1.

OBJECTIVE 3: Promote the development of national policies that support the landscape conservation approach.

Activity 3.1. Technical and Policy Support On Track

During this reporting period BCLS staff have continued support to SERNAP (see Activity 2.1) and their internal policy initiatives, including technical advice and support in the development of a monitoring strategy for the protected area system of Bolivia. BCLS staff have also continued to support the Inter­ institutional Committees of the Apolobamba protected area administration. This included two meetings (one in La Paz and a second in in September 200I) with the local representative body for the protected area - the 'Comite de Gestion' or Management Committee - to discuss the Annual Work Plan of the protected area. A change in the director of the Madidi protected area, along with the ongoing Madidi management plan project, is expected to revitalize the Inter-institutional Committee ofthis critical protected area in the coming months.

10 Activity 3.2. Financing Mechanisms On Track

During this reporting period Imke Oetting and BCLS staff have conducted a preliminary financial investment analysis for conservation in the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape. This first step included a thorough finance history ofdirect funding for the three protected areas within the landscape, as well as approximate funding through non-governmental institutions, and projected funding until the year 2010. In the coming six months, SERNAP, Oetting and Wallace will complete this analysis by requesting precise financial information from the non-governmental institutions operating in the region. This financial analysis is being developed, in conjunction with SERNAP, for the Landscape Conservation Priorities and Actions document currently in preparation (see Activity 4.5).

As mentioned above, CIPTA and the Tacana TCO project team assisted the Tacana people in the development of a budgeted strategy for the sustainable management of the Tacana TCO. This five-year budget plan, which includes a democratically developed prioritization ofactivities and budget lines, will assist CIPTA representatives in their search for additional funding, including the development ofsmaller "daughter" proposals. This process has already borne fruit with the Swiss Workers Aid Association (AOS) funding a series of courses on municipal democracy and funding, as well as CARE and CI channeling their support to the Tacana in terms of non-timber forest product pilot projects and eco­ tourism in the context of the Tacana strategy. Japanese, Belgian and Canadian aid organizations have also expressed an interest in supporting Tacana handicrafts, again in the context ofthe Tacana strategy. The BCLS team has also assisted the Apolo municipality in the production ofan environmental planning document that is intended to serve the local government in fund-raising for the environment (see Activity 4.4). The project team has also continued to develop proposals for further funding including two proposals to the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, one concerning environmental education and the other community natural resource management.

Activity 3.3. Threats Assessment Working Group On Track

During this reporting period the BCLS team has continued to monitor immediate infrastructure development projects in the landscape that represent serious threats to conservation and natural resource management initiatives. Spontaneous and mass-organized colonization alongthe San Buenaventura to Rio Madidi road is increasingly a real and current issue, particularly given the current political situation in Bolivia (forthcoming election in May 2002). The monitoring is further facilitated by the informal Threats Assessment Working Group (including WCS, SERNAP, CI, ORMSTROM, Conservation Strategy Fund, and WWF). This working group is directly linked to the Inter-institutional committees of Apolobamba and Madidi, and it is hoped that following a change in personnel in Madidi National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management, the informal threats assessment group will meet more frequently (meetings are called by the director of MNP/NAIM). Under the umbrella of SERNAP this group will address threats in a coordinated fashion and assist SERNAP in developing informed and politically reasonable stances on a number ofcritical issues facing the landscape. In addition, we have been refining the existing threats and opportunities analysis responding to the dynamic political and social climate. An updated version will be included in the Landscape Conservation Priorities and Actions document currently in the final stages ofpreparation (see Activity 4.5).

11 OBJECTIVE 4: Elaborate a participative, integrated, landscape conservation action plan.

Activity 4.1. Cooperative Agreements Completed

The finalization ofthe cooperative agreements with SERNAP and CARE in the previous six months and with the government of Bolivia, IE and CIPTA in the previous fiscal year, render this activity complete. However, more specific agreements regarding the planned construction infrastructure of the Wildlife Management, Conservation and Ecology Program at the Institute of Ecology as well as the specific content and modus operandi ofthe program are in progress. It is worth emphasizing that the agreements mentioned ensure an important input in strengthening national governmental and non-governmental bodies, as well as promoting maximum synergy ofefforts among different institutions.

Activity 4.2. Landscape Stakeholder Workshop Delayed

Unfortunately, this activity has been postponed due to delays in the necessary and desired SERNAP input regarding this workshop and the accompanying document (see Activity 4.5). In part this delay stems from SERNAP's desire to establish a monitoring strategy for the protected area system in which BCLS staff are playing key guiding roles (see Activity 2.7). Nevertheless, we anticipate this activity will be completed, along with the accompanying document (see Activity 4.5) by February 2002 by when we will also be able to draw on the pilot experience with the Apolo and Charazani complex municipalities (see Activity 4.4).

The central theme of the workshop will be mechanisms to integrate conservation and natural resource management with the needs of local governments. Members ofall international, national and grass roots institutions working in the landscape will be invited, as well as relevant national and local government officials. This workshop will also provide an excellent opportunity to further update the landscape threats and opportunities analysis by consulting local government bodies and grass roots organizations. One product ofthis meeting will be a revision ofthe Landscape Conservation Action Plan for northern La Paz Department (see Activity 4.5).

Activity 4.3. Land Use Plan On Track

On the basis ofthe draft management strategy for the Tacana TCO, approved in March, a final document was presented to CIPTA for final review at the end ofSeptember 200I. This plan focuses on (I) zoning of the area for productive activities that will provide new or improved livelihood options for Tacana families, while being consistent with the objectives ofconservation and sustainable resource utilization in the region, (2) an investment plan for how productive activities defined in the zoning plan can be capitalized and implemented, and (3) a governance plan to build the capacity ofCIPTA to respond to the technical and administrative challenges ofmanaging the TCO .

CIPTA began to implement this plan in July. Meetings with the municipalities of San Buenaventura and have been held to discuss the creation of indigenous political and administrative units. In order to strengthen the organizational processes of CIPTA and its communities, an analysis of CIPTA's strengths and weaknesses in relation to the implementation of the strategy has been carried out. As a result ofthis, the organizational structure has been reviewed and a process for monitoring advances in the implementation of the stra.tegy developed. All members of the CIPTA directorate now develop annual work plans, monthly work plans and monthly activity reports. Workshops on how to increase women's

12 participation in the implementation of the strategy have been carried out in 4 communities. Lists of resource users are being developed for hunters, honey producers and handicraft makers as part of tbe development of the natural resource use regulations. Natural resource use regulation workshops have been carried out in 4 communities. Communal forestry areas around Tumupasa and San Pedro have been mapped and geo-referenced and forestry plots to develop management plans have been developed in Tumupasa. The forestry work is being directly coordinated between CIPTA and BOLFOR, which also provides technical support.

Activity 4.4. Municipal Development Planning On Track

In June 2001 BCLS staff and technical representatives of the Apolo municipality held a three day workshop in Apolo designed to discuss a preliminary environmental plan for the municipality tbat includes parts of tbe Madidi, Apolobamba and Pilon Lajas protected areas. WCS provided technical guidance and financial support for this participatory workshop attended by over 100 local community representatives from 40 communities, as well as 30 representatives of governmental and non­ governmental institutions. Environmental issues across tbis region were discussed at great length, witb local representative contributions being particularly enlightening. The workshop was considered a great success by the municipality. A document summing up tbe methodologies employed during the workshop and the conclusions reached is in the final stages ofpreparation and will be distributed to all the attendees. It is hoped tbat this document will provide municipality staff with a key to the doors of funding for environmental issues in the Apolo region.

Representatives from neighboring municipalities were present in Apolo and as a result, the BCLS team is now committed to a similar workshop that will look at environmental planning issues for three municipalities in the highlands, Charazani, Curva and 'multi-municipality' scheduled for late November 200 I. It is hoped that these initial experiences will provide a model for further municipality development planning processes in a landscape that includes seven municipalities. The BCLS project has also drafted cooperative agreements with the Apolo and Charazani municipalities, and we anticipate the signing ofthese before the end of200 I.

Activity 4.5. Landscape Conservation Priorities and Action Plan Delayed

Again, due to SERNAP review and input delays this document has been delayed and will now be completed by the end of 200 I. This preliminary version will be published in January 2002 as a living document, and we intend to update tbis document on an annual basis. This guide will serve to identifY key gaps that must be addressed in order to achieve effective conservation in the landscape and will be a useful planning tool for SERNAP, local government offices such as municipalities, other conservation organizations, and the donor community.

In future versions of the document, we also intend to include local case studies in land-use and environmental planning as examples of or guidelines for how to go about achieving landscape conservation. These case studies will include BCLS activities such as community natural resource management success stories, municipality environmental planning, indigenous territory planning, and protected area management authorities, as well as examples from other projects working in the region, for example, protected area management plans.

In order for our landscape conservation actions to be sustainable in the longer term and replicable across other landscapes centered around protected areas, it is critical to involve SERNAP personnel in all aspects of the project - but especially those concerning planning and policy. Furthermore, as government

13 representatives, their perspective and input will help ensure that project ideas and initiatives are realistic and workable in the Bolivian context. The director of SERNAP and his technical staff are excited about these initiatives but are also extremely busy, however we feel that for activities such as 4.2 and 4.5 it is fundamental to wait for necessary SERNAP input rather then jumping in regardless: hence the delays reported here.

III. Success Stories and Appendices

1. The institutional planning exercise conducted by CIPTA in August 200 I went well beyond our expectations for this relatively young organization. Apart from the participatory budgeting ofthe natural resource strategy that spans five years, the participants in the Annual General Assembly also agreed on the salaries oftheir representatives, including the president and vice-president. The organizational debate also included a review ofthe roles ofeach 'secretary' and the scheduling ofmeetings that will ensure that CIPTA remains a truly representative body for the Tacana people. The budgeting proposal also prioritized interventions and costs such that the CIPTA directorate will be able to develop proposals accordingly. The operational nature of the organization was also discussed with each member of the CIPTA board required to produce a monthly work plan and then a corresponding monthly report for the directorate to approve. At three-month intervals, each secretary is also required to summarize activities for a community report delivered to the representatives ofthe 20 Tacana communities within the Tacana land title demand. The test for CIPTA will now be in the implementation ofthese statutes over the coming months.

2. The environmental planning workshop at the municipality level held in Apolo in June 2001 was a first experience for the BCLS in local government planning initiatives. Its success was largely due to the significant participation ofrepresentatives from over 40 local communities ofthe municipality. This local presence ensured that the information generated at the workshop truly reflected the situation at the local level as well as the municipal and institutional levels. The BCLS team was able to test an experimental methodology for this diagnostic workshop. This methodology was based on participation, and the team encouraged the municipality technical staff to lead the discussions with BCLS staff serving as a background technical resource during the workshop and in the evenings. This workshop has resulted in a preliminary environmental planning document, one ofthe first of its kind anywhere in Bolivia, and is a significant step that will hopefully allow local government to generate more funding for environmental issues. Since the completion of the workshop we have received a request from two neighboring municipalities who were represented at the Apolo workshop and are also found within the landscape for similar workshop.

Appendices

1. Landscape species and the threats they address in the Northwestern Bolivian Andes Landscape Conservation Area. Table. 2. Plan de Fortalecimiento al Servicio Nacional de Areas Protegidas (SERNAP). Institutional strengthening plan for the National Protected Area Service (SERNAP).

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