SECTION 118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTRY ASSESSMENT OF THE USAID/PANAMA PROGRAM Environment, Biodiversity, Water, and Tropical Forest Conservation, Protection, and Management in Panama: Assessment and Recommendations BIOFOR IQC No. LAG-I-00-99-00014-00, Task Order #824 Prepared by: Tracey Parker, Team Leader/Natural Resources Management Specialist Julieta Carrión, Protected Areas Specialist Rafael Samudio, Biodiversity Specialist Submitted to: USAID/Panama Submitted by: Chemonics International Inc April 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms i Executive Summary iv Resumen Ejecutivo ix INTRODUCTION Assessment Objectives 1 Methodology 1 SECTION I Status of Panama’s Biodiversity and Tropical Forests I-1 A. Country Overview I-1 Political I-1 Economic I-1 Demographics I-1 Geography I-2 Land Ownership I-2 Water Resources I-2 Energy Resources I-3 Climate I-3 B. Major Biomes of Panama I-3 Tropical Lowland Moist Forests I-4 Tropical Montane Forests I-4 Tropical Dry Forests I-6 Freshwater Wetlands I-6 Coastal: Mangroves and Coral Reefs and Islands I-7 C. Biodiversity and Endemism I-7 D. Threatened and Endangered Species I-8 Plants I-8 Amphibians I-9 Reptiles I-9 Birds I-9 Mammals I-9 E. Tropical Forests I-9 F. Protected Areas I-11 Types of Protected Areas I-11 Management Models of Protected areas I-13 Future Directions I-13 SECTION II Synopsis of Deforestation and Principal Threats II-1 A. Deforestation II-1 B. Principal Threats II-3 Impact of Development Projects II-3 Logging II-4 Agricultural Expansion II-5 Poaching and Animal Trading II-6 Climate Change II-7 Forest Fires II-7 Energy Demands II-7 Alien Invasive Species II-7 C. Specific Threats to Biomes II-7 Tropical Lowland Moist Forests II-7 Tropical Montane Forests II-7 Tropical Dry Forests II-8 CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC. Freshwater Wetlands II-8 Coastal: Mangroves, Coral Reefs, and Islands II-9 SECTION III Conservation Efforts in Panama III-1 A. National Government III-1 Environmental Treaties and Legislation III-1 Government Institutions and Agencies III-2 Support for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustaining Forest Mgt. III-5 Environmental Protection Regulations III-7 Academic Institutions III-8 Other Related Programs and Initiatives III-9 B. Municipal and Local Governments III-10 C. Civil Society III-10 D. Private Sector III-11 E. International Contributions III-12 F. Ex-Situ Conservation III-15 SECTION IV USAID/Panama’s Program IV-1 A. Background on the USAID/Panama Program IV-1 B. USAID/Panama’s Previous Program IV-1 C. Regional Programs IV-2 D. Panama Country Plan FY 2004-2008 IV-4 SECTION V Recommendations V-1 A. Major Recommendations V-1 B. Geographic Recommendations V-1 C. Status of Biodiversity and Tropical Forests V-1 D. Major Threats to Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Resources V-2 E. Globalization V-5 F. Priority of Eco-Regions V-6 G. USAID/Panama Impact on Biodiversity and Conservation V-7 H. USAID/Panama Program Synergy and New Opportunities V-7 ANNEX A Statement of Work A-1 ANNEX B Biosketches of Team Members B-1 ANNEX C Bibliography C-1 ANNEX D List of Persons Consulted D-1 ANNEX E Sections 118/119 of the Foreign Assistance Act E-1 ANNEX F Protected Areas in Panama — Details F-1 ANNEX G Laws and Regulations for Environment by Category G-1 ANNEX H Summary of Government Organizations and Non-Government Organizations H-1 ACRONYMS ACP Panama Canal Authority (Autoridad del Canal Panama) AECI Spanish International Cooperation Agency ALIDES Alianza Centroamericana para el Desarrollo Sostenible; Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development ANAM National Environmental Authority (Government of Panama) ANCON Asociación Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza APSL San Lorenzo Protected Area ARI Autoridad de la Región Inter-Oceánica; Inter-oceanic Region Authority BIOFOR Bolivia Sustainable Forest Management Project CAM Central American and Mexico (as in: Regional Strategy for Central American and Mexico) CATIE Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza; Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center CBMAP Panamanian Atlantic Mesoamerican Corridor CCAB-AP Consejo Centroamericano de Bosques y Areas Protegidas; Central American Council on Forests and Protected Areas CCAD Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo; Central American Commission for Environment and Development CEMARE Centro de Capacitación para el Manejo de los Recursos Naturales (JICA) CI Conservation International/Conservación Internacional CICH Comisión Inter-Institucional para la Cuenca Hidrográfico CICA Centro Internacional para la Capacitación Ambiental (ANCON) CIDA Canadian International Development Agency; Agencia Canadiense para el Desarrollo Internacional CIFLORPAN Centro de Investigación de la Flora Panameña, at UNIPAN CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research; Centro para la Investigación Forestal Internacional CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species COPEG Panama-USA Commission to Eradicate the Screw Worm EAST Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism Project (USAID/Jamaica-CAR) EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación FINNIDA Finnish International Development Agency FIDECO Ecologic Trust Fund of Panamá (within Fundacion NATURA) FSC Forest Stewardship Council FY Fiscal Year GEF Global Environment Facility; Fondo Mundial para el Medio Ambiente GOP Government of Panama GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit; Agencia de Cooperación Técnica Alemana IBRD World Bank ICBG International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups, at STRI IDB Inter-American Development Bank CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC. IDIAP Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias at Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (MIDA) IEE Initial Environmental Examination INRENARE National Institute for Renewable Natural Resources (Government of Panama) IQC Indefinate Quantity Contract IR Intermediate Result ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization; Organización Internacional de Maderas Tropicales (OIMT) IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature; Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency MARENA Management of Natural Resources Project (USAID/Panama) MASAR Programa de Manejo Sostenible de las Areas Rurales de la Cuenca Hidrográfica del Canal de Panamá MBC Mesoamerican Biological Corridor; Corredor Biológico Mesoamericano MEDUC Ministry of Education; Ministerio de Educación MIDA Ministry of Agricultural Development NATURA Conservation Foundation NGO Non-Governmental Organization OIMT Organización Internacional de Maderas Tropicales; International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) OLAFO Regional Central American Initiative for Sustainable Forest Management (in CATIE with support from Sweden, Norway and Denmark aid agencies) PAFT-PAN Plan de Acción Forestal de Panama PAN Programa Ambiental Nacional PCW Panamá Canal Watershed PiP Parks in Peril Project (TNC) PMCC Panama Canal Watershed Monitoring Project (Proyecto de Monitoreo de la Cuenca del Canal de Panama) PROARCA Programa Ambiental Regional para Centroamérica (USAID/G-CAP) PRONAT Programa Nacional de Administración de Tierras; National Land Administration Program PVO Private Voluntary Organization RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitats RENARE General Directorate for Renewable Natural Resources (now ANAM) SAP Panamá Audubon Society; Sociedad Audubon de Panamá SENACYT National Secretariate of Science, Technology and Innovation; Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovaación SINAP Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas; National System of Protected Areas SINIA El Sistema Nacional de Información Ambiental SMN National Maritime Service; Servicio Marítimo Nacional SO Strategic Objective SOW Scope of Work SPA Small Projects Assistance Program STRI Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute TFCA U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act TNC The Nature Conservancy UNDP United Nations Development Programme; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) UNEP United Nations Environment Programme; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) ii BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTRY ASSESSMENT OF THE USAID/PANAMA PROGRAM CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC. UNIPAN Universidad de Panamá; The University of Panamá UNACHI Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí; Autonomous University of Chiriquí USAID United States Agency for International Development; Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional USMA Universidad Santa María La Antigua UTP Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá WCMC World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Centro Mundial de Monitoreo de la Conservación WHS World Heritage Site WWF World Wildlife Fund; Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTRY ASSESSMENT OF THE USAID/PANAMA PROGRAM iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As part of its ongoing efforts to design and program a new Country Plan for FY 2004-2008, USAID/Panama contracted Chemonics International to provide the services of a tropical forestry/biodiversity assessment team under the BIOFOR IQC. The Foreign Assistance Act amendment of 1987 added a new environmental requirement, called a Section 118/119 Assessment, to be included in each new USAID country plan. A Section 118/119 Assessment (the current report) analyses the actions necessary to achieve conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests and biological diversity, and the extent