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DRAFT PROPOSED AMENDMENT (6 February 2013)

Annex I

Description of the Action

Project: Demarcation and Establishment of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) as a Framework for Biodiversity Conservation, Environmental

Rehabilitation and Development of Livelihood Options in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba

(UNEP/EC Caribbean Biological Corridor Project)

0. RATIONALE FOR THE AMENDMENT

As explained in the European Union’s monitoring report of June 2012, after the 2011 monitoring the project improved its management system, but has not been able to recover the ground lost from the great cumulative delay of the first two years of execution. After 30 months (69% of the time elapsed) approximately 900,000 euros (31%) of the budget had been spent. (http://cbcinfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/espac3b1ol-anexo-35-reporte-de-

monitoreo-externo.pdf). [NdT: Quedan sin comillas esta cita y las secciones del informe que aparecen a continuación, porque el lenguaje citado en el texto castellano no se encuentra en el informe por lo que veo en línea. Nótese que el URL debe ser sustituido por la página web en inglés, que es> http://cbcinfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/anexo-33-cbc-final-report_050812.pdf) ] The report identified the principal delays in training and rehabilitation, and in the activities designed to generate livelihood alternatives. The report also reflected that to date, the project had only delivered a limited number of outputs, and thus there was little in the way of observable results. The saving grace is that despite the delays and incomplete output, the processes on which the project is working (corridor, training, tri-national coordination mechanisms, rehabilitation) were agreed on with the three partner governments, and with the principal institutions in the region working on biodiversity issues. Thus, although the project cannot show its own results from activities, conditions have been created for the insertion of future outputs in the mechanisms by which the biological corridor initiative functions.”

Based on the two reports and on the decisions and agreements of the third meeting of the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor, which was held on 20 September 2012 in Montrouis, Haiti, the group resolved as follows:

It is believed that a realistic work strategy, with support in the form of some improvements in coordination between the Tri-National Office and UNEP in Panama, could make it possible to achieve the goals as regards outputs.

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The independent mid-term evaluation, which also took place in June 2012, found similar issues and provided a set of important recommendations on achieving the results called for by the project. (http://cbcinfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/english-anexo-34.pdf).

The third meeting of the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor, held on 20 September 2012 in Montrouis, Haiti, approved the following:

18. Financial report of the UNEP/EC CBC project.

It is recommended that the Ministerial Committee be consulted in January 2013 so that the Committee can present the European Union with the possibility of approving an extension of the project.

Based on the facts mentioned above and on advances in activities begun since the time of the third ministerial meeting, what follows here is a proposal for the cost-free extension of the project for the consideration of the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Committee. The proposal includes a revision of the original project document, now with a December 2014 termination date, an operational plan for activities through that time, and the correspondingly revised budget.

Also, to cover the eventuality of the EU not approving the request for extension, a separate document presents the operating plan for activities through June 2013 in that case.

The main issues that have been subject to review and revision are the following:

Issues in the editing and consistency of the original document, such as the issues in the logical framework pointed out by the European Union’s 2011 and 2013 monitoring reports.

The reference to the World Food Programme has been removed, since consultation with that organization between October 2012 and January 2013 identified no synergies of concrete actions. This does not mean, however, that cooperation with WFP may not be reconsidered at some point.

Objective 2, regarding the strengthening of a network of protected areas within the CBC, has been simplified, given its dependence on the GEF protected areas projects in both countries.

The situation in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake, with the cholera epidemic and hurricanes, including, most recently, Sandy in late 2012.

Updating to reflect what has been achieved and activities that have been completed (for example, the creation of the Tri-national Coordination Unit).

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1. IDENTIFICATION

Name

Demarcation and establishment of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) as a Framework for Biodiversity Conservation, Environmental Rehabilitation and Development of Livelihood Options in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba

Total cost (Euros) European Union contribution 2,774,835

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

108,000

Aid method / Implementation method

Project approach. Implementation in three countries.

[NdT: Esta traducción es literal, pero ¿contesta realmente la doble pregunta de “método de ayuda” y “método de implementación”? ¿Le faltaría en vez del punto un slash o dos puntos?]

2. RATIONALE

2.1 Sectoral context

The insular Caribbean is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world. It includes extraordinarily diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands.

It includes many threatened species, including two species of Solenodons.

The area is also highly unusual because of the diminutive nature of most of its fauna. Worldwide, 25 areas with high biodiversity value have been identified. These areas are home to 44 percent of plant species and 35 percent of vertebrate species, despite occupying a mere 1.4 percent of the earth’s surface.1 The insular Caribbean is one of the eight areas on the American content identified as having the most value for biodiversity.2

The presence of an average of 23.5 endemic plant species per 100 km2 3 is an example of the high level of endemism of the insular Caribbean. The region’s plant endemism index is three times that of Brazil’s Atlantic forests, four times that of the tropical Andes and 12 times that of Central America. Only in some areas on the American continent that cover greater areas is this region’s total number of endemic species (7,000) exceeded.

1 Conservation International

2 www.conservationinternational.org

3 United Nations Environment Programme in its GEO 2003 report for Latin America and the Caribbean.

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The importance of biodiversity here is more striking yet in view of the fact that these high levels of biodiversity are found in an area of only 234,124 km2 on some 7,000 islands. One feature of the three countries addressed by the present action is the similarity of their ecosystems, their connectivity and their potential for regional cooperation to support environmental sustainability, specifically through technology transfer, and sharing of tools and training methodologies.

However, this biodiversity happens to be housed in an extremely poor region, with high rates of deforestation, extreme soil erosion and elevated vulnerability to natural phenomena such as hurricanes and earthquakes. The increasing frequency and intensity of tropical storm systems and their physical, social and economic impacts make it all the more necessary to improve the management of environmental resources in order to mitigate some impacts, especially in Haiti.

During the 2008 hurricane season, at least seven major tropical storm systems directly affected Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They included tropical storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna, Hurricane Ike, a heavy tropical disturbance that affected Hispaniola and then became Hurricane Kyle, and Hurricane Paloma. These tropical storm systems created widespread devastation and suffering among the inhabitants of the three countries mentioned. The situation in Haiti is particularly serious. At least 30 percent of Haiti’s land is considered technically appropriate for farming, but nearly 80 percent of it features agriculture on steep slopes. This is an unsustainable situation and has catastrophic consequences for the environment and for rural livelihoods.4

In September of 2008, over 700 people died in Gonaïves as a result of the flooding caused by hurricanes and tropical storms Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. The city was blanketed by 2.8 million m3 of mud, and over 40,000 people were forced to take refuge in temporary shelters throughout the country. Earlier, in September of 2004, a series of four devastating hurricanes and tropical storms had left a toll of 3,000 Haitians dead in Gonaïves and Port-de-Paix. With the spring rains in 2004, over 2,000 people died as a result of tropical storms and severe flooding in the mountain towns of Fonds-Verettes and Mapou in Haiti and Jimaní in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.5

In analysing this situation, it should be borne in mind that Haiti has a young and rapidly increasing population. The population was 10 million in 2010, with 2.5 percent annual growth.6 [NdT: He escrito la traducción para producir una oración completa, pero la frase en castellano está inconclusa. (“Se esperaba

4 Smucker, G.R, M. Bannister, H. D’Agnes, Y. Gossin, M. Portnoff, J. Timyan, S. Tobias and R.

Toussaint, Environmental Vulnerability in Haiti: Findings and Recommendations, USAID, United

States Forest Service, 15 August 2006. Draft; circulation limited. 5 Situation Report, OCHA, 2006.

6 Recent census conducted by the Haitian Ministry of Finance and Institution of Statistics and Information

Technology. This is the fourth census in Haiti’s history, preceded by those of 1950, 1971 and 1982. The

Haitian government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Inter-American Development

Bank, the European Union, the government of Japan and the government of the region of Valonia in

Belgium provided funding.

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que la población, que alcanzara la cifra de 10 millones en el 2010, con una tasa actual de crecimiento de 2,5 por ciento al año.”) Parece probable que el escritor quiso decir algo como “The population, which was 10 million in 2010 and growing at a 2.5 annual rate, was expected to reach X,XXX,XXX by the year XXXX.” Si este es el caso, sólo hace falta insertar las cifras donde he puesta las X.]

Although they occupy the same island of Hispaniola and share cross-border ecosystems, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have had a chequered history of joint action to address issues in these ecosystems. Specifically, they share four border watersheds: the Artibonite, Pedernales, Massacre and Fond Verrettes. The Artibonite, the most important, covers approximately 6,400 km2 in Haiti. That is about two thirds of the watershed, and also approximately one quarter of Haiti’s territory.

In January of 2010, a very strong earthquake hit Haiti and destroyed a great deal of the country’s capital city, as well as areas in the Sud-Est and Ouest departments. The consequences included serious impacts on the functioning of governmental entities, and the death toll was estimated at 250,000. In the following months, with the support of international aid, the country devoted itself entirely to recovery and to solving the complex social problems that the disaster created. Today, this activity remains the government’s priority focus.

The outbreak of the cholera epidemic in September of 2011 in Haiti, and its subsequent appearance in other countries within the CBC, produced a complicated situation that limited the work in progress. In Haiti, the cholera created operational problems because of constraints on mobility within the country resulting from the population’s reactions to the causes of the outbreak, and from the efforts of the government and community organisations to control the epidemic. Indeed, controlling the disease became a priority in all areas of work.

Other occurrences of intense rain and hurricanes have affected the area of the Caribbean Biological Corridor as well. Most recently, Hurricane Sandy impacted parts of the CBC in Cuba7 and Haiti8 with exceptional severity. The Cuban institution responsible for the CBC in that country, which has provided a significant portion of the technical support provided to the other countries, was practically destroyed, as much of its technical personnel suffered consequences from the storm, leaving the institution’s response capacity severely eroded.

Despite the efforts made by the countries and UNEP to carry out the planned activities, these natural disasters have led to delays.

The countries clearly need to work together on integrated management of the natural resources of the insular Caribbean ecosystem. On Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, actions carried out in one country

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http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Humanitarian%20Bulletin%20Latin%20America

%20and%20the%20Caribbean%20Issue%2012.%20October%2C%20November%2C%20December%2

02012.pdf (accessed 6 Feb. 2013)

8 http://www.unocha.org/top-stories/all-stories/haiti-hundreds-thousands-people-affected-hurricane-sandy

accessed 6 Feb. 2013)

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can affect the other. This is particularly true in the border areas. The two countries have approached Cuba individually to request technical aid in managing their shared resources, and have made individual agreements with that country to take advantage of its technical resources, and to learn from its approaches to managing its own biological resources – notably, its approach to using existing resources in certain areas. Subsequent to these bilateral agreements, the similarities of the two islands’ ecosystems have led to the three countries’ deciding on a tri-national structure as a framework for the interventions needed on Hispaniola.

The Dominican Republic has advanced somewhat in managing its natural resources, including a focus on biodiversity, but this has not occurred in Haiti. Thus, Haiti’s remains one of the most degraded ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere. Twenty-five of the country’s 30 watersheds are totally deforested. Studies estimate that Haiti was 85 percent forest in the fifteenth century, whereas the present estimate is between 2 and 4 percent. The few remaining ecosystems that are important in terms of biodiversity are under ever greater pressure from human activity.

One of the underlying problems affecting Haiti’s environment is the country’s extreme poverty. With a population that is relatively large, young and of reproductive age, the situation is not likely to improve in the absence of interventions that are timely, focused and strategically designed to alleviate the pressure on the country’s natural resources. Haiti’s historical isolation and its limited human and institutional capacity to deal with the various environmental issues that it faces – the eradication of poverty among them – aggravate the situation, making it pressing for the Caribbean countries to take joint action to help Haiti.

Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have recognised the importance of biodiversity in the insular Caribbean, and specifically in Cuba’s extreme east, in Haiti and in the western half of the Dominican Republic. They also recognise the similarities of their ecosystems, the threats facing these and the need to rehabilitate the environment in Haiti, as well as the marked need to create opportunities for rural communities to support themselves. In view of these realities, representatives of the three countries have met regularly over the last few years in technical, political and regulatory areas to create a strategy that addresses the environmental situation on Hispaniola. Cuba brings the greater portion of the experience needed for the purpose.

The participating countries believe that regional cooperation in the framework of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) is the appropriate path to take in order to address the loss of biodiversity in the ecosystems that Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic share.

Coordinated actions are being conducted in this geographical area for conservation and sustainable use of its biodiversity resources. To begin the process of regional cooperation between the participating countries, technical experience that these nations lack has been provided through a South-South regional cooperation agreement involving Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNEP/ROLAC), as set forth in the July 2007 Declaration of Santo Domingo.

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In 2009, the countries approved the CBC Action Plan (http://cbcinfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/espac3b1ol-plan-accic3b3n-espac3b1ol-cbc-2009.pdf), which includes 60 actions grouped according to whether their focus is on conservation and monitoring of biological diversity, sustainable economic and social development, scientific research, training and institutional strengthening, the handling of information, or the defining and consolidation of the CBC.

The framework of the Caribbean Biological Corridor is designed to encompass the ecosystems of the extreme eastern part of Cuba, the territory of Haiti and the western half of the Dominican Republic (see map above). Its ecological perspective and the similarity of the three countries’ ecosystems constitute the basis for the establishment of the Corridor.

The area designated as the CBC is an important winter home for many birds, as well as an important rest and feeding area for birds during their spring and fall migrations. Each year, thousands of ducks, gulls, swallows, tanagers and bobolinks migrate through the Greater Antilles on their way to wintering in South America. For others, such as some species of warblers, the Greater Antilles are the winter destination. Yet other species, such as the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) migrate to South America through Cuba and Hispaniola (it is essentially the North American Atlantic coast population of this species that follows that path). And for some migratory species in danger of extinction, such as the Bicknell’s thrush (Catharus bicknelli), the Greater Antilles are actually the sole wintering site. Other common migratory bird species found in the Greater Antilles, such as the black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) only reproduce in the highest mountains of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, although Cuba is probably within their reproductive zone.

The CBC thus accounts for a major portion of its region’s biodiversity. The interconnectedness of the islands of the Greater Antilles, including the marine ecosystems surrounding them, is propitious for the creation of a corridor of protected areas that will facilitate action to conserve the shared resources that these ecosystems represent. As a result, the present action has the potential to provide connectivity between the three countries’ landscapes, ecosystems, habitats and cultures, and help in this way to protect biological diversity, essential evolutionary and ecological processes and environmental services. It also provides a favourable framework for facilitating the transfer of management techniques, tools and methods.

It should be emphasised that the CBC is an ideal framework for the participating countries to engage in cooperative efforts to protect biodiversity through environmental rehabilitation, especially in Haiti, and to alleviate poverty so as to

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alleviate pressure on biological resources. Thus, it provides a context for action to reduce the loss of biodiversity in a defined geographical area within the Caribbean and the American neotropics, while addressing the needs of the human community as well. The Corridor also has fundamental importance as a way of establishing criteria for environmental rehabilitation in Haiti in particular, and formulating precise objectives and programmes for specific interventions in that country.

2.2 Lessons learned

This initiative is designed in the light of experience with similar interventions in the project area. Since the first quarter of 2007, a team of specialists from Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, along with UN experts from UNEP and WFP, have conducted wide-ranging consultations and analyses of the current situation in the participating countries. Non-governmental organizations from the participating nations, such as the Nature Conservancy and the Haitian Environment Foundation, have also contributed very significantly. In addition, the various evaluations that have been conducted, especially those addressing the situation in Haiti, have proven invaluable. One of the evaluations was conducted in response to a Congressional mandate to propose a reforestation plan for parts of Haiti vulnerable to erosion that represent a significant danger to human health and security.9 Various lessons have been drawn from the analysis conducted by the experts and incorporated in the project’s design. They include the following:

One of the basic causes of environmental degradation in the area covered by the project, especially in Haiti, is extreme poverty and lack of economic options and alternatives for subsistence, although local populations are not without the capacity to recover under the proper conditions.

Since the population’s survival depends to a great extent on natural resources and the environment, its participation in corrective action is indispensable. Hence, a participatory approach must be taken in implementing the project’s activities.

Information and data are scarce, particularly in Haiti. Therefore, a variety of methods are needed to collect much of the data and information that the project requires. A geographical information system is one element that should be included.

The degradation of the environment is so serious in Haiti that the country’s vulnerability to natural phenomena such as hurricanes and earthquakes is aggravated by accompanying landslides, floods and significant loss of human life, as well as economic impact and health problems.

Given the pressures on the environmental resource base in the project area, any intervention must have a component designed to provide

9 See Smucker G, M. Bannister, H. D Anges, Y. Gossin, M. Portnoff, J. Timyan, S. Tobis and R.

Toussaint, Environmental Vulnerability in Haiti: Findings and Recommendations, United States Forest

Service, 15 August 2006. Draft; circulation limited.

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alternative livelihood options supported by rehabilitation of the environment if it is to be successful.

Although they share a border, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have not done enough to manage their shared resources jointly. Thus, institutional mechanisms adequate to manage the resources found on both sides of the border are lacking.

The strengthening of South-South cooperation between the countries of the insular Caribbean that share ecosystems provides a context for the exchange of experiences and knowledge with a view to addressing common problems relating to the environment and natural resources.

The mid-term evaluation conducted in June 2012 and the two rounds of monitoring by the European Union (reported on in June 2011 and June 2012) make it clear that the original timeframes for the execution of the project must be extended because of the complexity of implementing the project in parallel in the three countries. The impact of natural events such as the earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 have created major operational challenges for the execution of the project. The situation requires a better assessment of the vulnerability of the CBC area to climatic and other natural events.

Despite changes at the ministerial level, which always involve institutional reorganization, the project has continued to enjoy the support of the new ministers and senior officials whose portfolios include responsibilities that affect the environment.

Political appropriation

The three participating governments, those of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, have shown a strong political commitment to establishing a mode of cooperation for addressing the conservation of biodiversity, the rehabilitation of the environment and the development of livelihood alternatives.

Initially, bilateral agreements were established between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and between Cuba and Haiti. This process culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Santo Domingo by the countries’ ministers of the environment on 10 July 2007 (see http://cbcinfo.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/declaraciondesantodomingo_10_jul_2007.p

df). In the Declaration, the State Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic (now the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources), Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Haiti’s Ministry of Environment agreed to establish a Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) as a framework for biodiversity protection, environmental rehabilitation and for the creation of livelihood alternatives to deal with the problem of poverty, especially in Haiti.

The political will of the participating countries is evident in their decision to allocate budgetary resources for the purpose according to the GEF and RAF.

Since the project began, there have been three meetings of the Technical Group and Ministerial Policy Tri-National Committee (July 2010, October 2011 and September 2012), which have reaffirmed the importance of developing and

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consolidating the CBC, as well as a commitment to the need for technical and political support.

2.3. Supplementary actions

This action attempts to provide a framework that can unite the various actions that are in progress in the participating countries, as a way of addressing biodiversity conservation and environmental rehabilitation in the insular Caribbean. It brings together the interventions of the participating countries to conserve biodiversity, rehabilitate the environment and develop livelihood alternatives.

The use of the CBC as a framework to deal with the loss of biodiversity and environmental rehabilitation in the shared island ecosystems also facilitates more strategic and focused action to supplement the initiatives that various philanthropic organizations are carrying out. Thus, the present action recognises the initiatives conducted in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic with resources provided by the GEF in the form of allocations to each country through the RAF.

2.4. Donor coordination

The project is consistent with the development and cooperation programmes of the European Community and supports them. It also has pertinence to the European Union’s horizontal issues, such as good governance, human rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. Thus, it has adopted a participatory approach designed to ensure effective participation by all stakeholders, contribute to the creation of livelihood alternative and support the sustainability of the environment.

The project proposal incorporates the fundamental principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, since it attempts to coordinate this action with the natural development strategies and priorities of the participating countries. It aims to eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts and to rationalise donors’ activities so that they are more cost-effective and impact-efficient. Thus, the present action works in combination with the activities that the countries intend to carry out with the GEF implementation agencies.

The successful implementation of this initiative will contribute greatly to the participating countries’ ability to reach certain of the Millennium Development Goals. Most importantly, this initiative provides a favourable framework for the United Nations and other organizations to carry out multiple interventions at the community level in order to deal with common problems. It should be noted that the initiative follows the guiding principles of the European Union’s Code of Conduct.

DESCRIPTION

3.1 Objectives

The general objective of the proposed action is to establish the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic as a framework to help reduce the loss of biodiversity in the Caribbean and American neotropical region through environmental rehabilitation, with a special

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focus on Haiti, and with an emphasis on poverty reduction as a way of reducing the pressure on biological resources within the CBC.

The creation of the Corridor aspires to provide a fruitful platform for cooperation that can be used by all current and potential initiatives within the boundaries of the CBC, and thus to encourage the long-term integration of conservation actions among the island States, contributing to the preservation of the world’s biodiversity. This is the first step in the formation of an integrated partnership for conservation in the Caribbean based on the relation between human beings and nature.

The specific objectives include the following:

To spatially define the CBC and compile the existing information on it, covering an area that includes the mountains in the western part of Hispaniola as well as eastern Cuba. This area contains a significant portion of the biodiversity of the insular Caribbean and is a part of routes that are important to migratory birds and marine species.

To facilitate the strengthening of a network of protected areas within the CBC, with an emphasis on the island of Hispaniola, and wherever possible to coordinate the management processes of the participating countries by developing mechanisms to coordinate conservation activities.

To identify and institute livelihood alternatives for the communities so as to reduce the pressure on biological diversity. The CBC is designed to intensify conservation activity in protected areas and stimulate compatible economic options, as well as extend these activities to regions that facilitate connectivity between the central areas. To support these purposes, there will be a series of pilot projects at the community level to demonstrate that community needs can be addressed while improving the management of the environmental resource base, and the management of biodiversity resources in particular.

To contribute to the development of the human resources needed in the participating countries, in order to ensure the sustainability of conservation activities and sustainable development in the CBC framework.

To facilitate the creation of a tri-national coordination entity to support the creation and development of the Caribbean Biological Corridor.

Specific objective 1. To define the CBC spatially and compile the relevant existing information. This objective will facilitate defining and developing the Caribbean Biological Corridor, which includes the extreme eastern portion of Cuba and the mountainous western region of Hispaniola, in view of the importance of these territories for the Caribbean’s biodiversity.

The first step is to define the geographical boundaries of the CBC based on the criteria selected. The process of defining the criteria must be detailed and rigorous. It must also consider the values contained in biological diversity, ensure connectivity, and take account of the area’s vulnerability to both natural and anthropogenic processes, including land use and ownership, economic and social development, the political situation, financial feasibility, development

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plans, institutional competencies, local political wills, existing legal frameworks and correspondence with national and international programmes.

The information generated from the initial activity of this action will provide the basis for defining the boundaries of the CBC, for detecting and analysing gaps, and for identifying the most vulnerable areas and communities where intervention will be necessary.

Once the spatial boundaries of the CBC are defined, the conservation hotspots within it will be identified, the threats to them ascertained, and the principal actors and current projects within the project area identified as a basis for creating synergy among them. A platform for collaboration between the various projects undertaken and the institutions operating within the CBC must be developed. In addition, the data and information obtained from these actions must be used to create a database on the environment and an information system for the CBC.

One important element in the activities that will be carried out as a part of this action will be an analysis of the social, educational and food security conditions, as well as the threats, strategic opportunities and financial mechanisms for the creation of the CBC. This will pave the way for the development of a long-term strategic plan that draws on participatory approaches and that considers different scenarios to ensure the continuity of action and maximise impact in the area.

It will be of paramount importance to define and write up proposals that emerge for projects to attenuate or eliminate threats to the values contained in biological diversity by reducing poverty, increasing food security, bolstering nutrition, and improving the quality of life through the creation of development options linked with environmental restoration processes.

It is very important to establish a framework for cooperation between the participating countries, with special attention to their institutions, as well as to community groups, women’s organizations, non-governmental organizations, and, very importantly, the private sector, whose role is essential to creating economic opportunity, increasing food security and improving nutrition.

The expected results of this objective are:

1.1 Collection and analysis of existing knowledge and projects in execution, and identification of gaps in knowledge, as well as the definition of criteria to specify the geographical boundaries of the Caribbean Biological Corridor. The identification of the principal projects and institutions in the area within the CBC and the establishment of cooperation and synergy between the various activities are also an element of this set of results.

1.2 Analysis of existing legislation that impacts the management of resources in the project area, and identification of opportunities to rationalise and harmonise legislation across the participating countries where feasible.

1.3 Definition of the specific areas that are central to the CBC; definition and description of the threats facing them; development of proposals for measures to attenuate them, and identification of the specific interventions that will be needed to address them.

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1.4 Creation of an information system and database on the project area, and arrangements to make the data and information accessible to the communities within the project area. The information will include any projects identified that are designed to attenuate or eliminate threats to the conservation of the CBC.

1.5 Creation of an updated Action Plan for the CBC.

Specific objective 2. To facilitate the strengthening of a network of protected areas within the CBC. The strengthening of a network of protected areas on Hispaniola, along with the network of protected areas in eastern Cuba, will constitute the central focus of the CBC and the central axis of the system of protected areas in the insular Caribbean. Both Cuba and the Dominican Republic have designed national systems of protected areas. Haiti has only a few approved protected areas, and is still working to establish a network of such areas.

This objective will help the participating countries establish a common network, in particular where shared ecosystems are involved. The idea is to unify various actions that are under way in the participating countries within a framework for addressing the conservation of biodiversity and environmental rehabilitation in the insular Caribbean.

The expected result of this objective is as follows:

2.1 Coordination mechanisms between the different systems of protected areas established, creating the pathways needed to share information and adopt common or related methodologies; human resources training facilitated.

Specific objective 3. To identify and implement livelihood alternatives for the communities and concomitantly reduce pressures on biological diversity. This objective will facilitate the development of alternative livelihood opportunities for the communities as a way of reducing pressure on biodiversity resources and addressing poverty. The CBC aims to extend conservation activities in protected areas while creating compatible livelihood alternatives.

A pilot approach will be adopted for demonstration purposes. It will promote value-added investment to process local raw materials and generate local non-agricultural employment, and encourage agroforestry and other conservation practices, including the planting of fruit trees with export potential on slopes, as well as hardwood species for a variety of uses. Emphasis will also be placed on developing partnerships between communities and the private sector in order to create economic opportunities for the communities and thereby reduce pressure on natural resources.

The design and implementation of these actions will be carried out in close collaboration with the communities selected, and it will be essential to understand their problems and points of view. The pilot communities where the actions are to be carried out are representative of the rest of the communities throughout the CBC.

The actions carried out in the communities should contribute to improving the standard of living, and weaken negative environmental impacts. The experiences will be well documented through monitoring systems that allow for

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evaluation and modification during the process, and that permit a clear interpretation of the positive and negative aspects of the activities. The work in the pilot communities will provide a framework for encouraging the development of human resources in the participating communities. It will draw on the presence of experts at the local level and the participation of local actors. Creating a better appreciation of the value of proper management of the environment, including an appreciation of biodiversity and its importance, will be important aspects of the work in the pilot communities. The pilot projects will also help determine the most feasible ways of incorporating the importance of biodiversity in the community culture. Different forms of agreement will be employed, according to what is needed to make them acceptable to the individual communities involved.

The expected results of this objective are as follows:

3.1 Pilot demonstration projects conducted to rehabilitate degraded land and develop alternative livelihoods. Pilot demonstration projects will be implemented at the community level as a basis for developing livelihood alternatives. Ten pilot projects will take place – two in Cuba, three in the Dominican Republic and five in Haiti. Various strategies will be employed in developing livelihood options. The processing of local raw materials into value-added products as a way of generating local non-agricultural jobs is one such strategy; income-producing agroforestry is another. Various autochthonous tree species will be used for this, including fruit trees for export crops, and processing of the fruit to add value will be a part of the strategy. Development will also focus on a number of autochthonous hardwood species for multiple use, as well as perennial plants that produce oil for which there are viable markets.

3.2 Nurseries functioning for the propagation of plants. To facilitate the rehabilitation of degraded areas in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, a community-based nursery will be created in each of the three participating countries. Emphasis will be on propagating useful autochthonous species. This activity will take place at the community level, and the project will allocate the resources necessary for the purpose, as well as providing experts to help propagate the plants through the nurseries.

3.3 Alternative energy sources in use. One very significant current element in the destruction of forest resources is fuel production. In order to reduce pressure on the resource base, special importance will be placed on introducing more efficient charcoal stoves and ovens. In addition, opportunities will be identified for producing biofuels based on local plants already being grown.

3.4 Partnerships between communities and the private sector in place. The private sector is expected to participate in creating livelihood options for the communities. This will be done collaboratively, with partnerships between the communities and the private sector. Mechanisms will be implemented to create a favourable atmosphere within the pilot communities, in order to encourage participation and attract investment from the private sector while developing a sense of entrepreneurship in the communities.

Specific objective 4. To contribute to the development of the human resources needed in the participating countries, so as to ensure the sustainability of the conservation and sustainable development activities

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undertaken in the framework of the CBC. One major limitation to which the participating countries are subject is the lack of availability of the human resources needed for all the elements of this action. This is particularly serious in Haiti.

One of the fundamental problems for the development of the CBC, according to the participating countries, is that human resources are lacking at the local level for the activities needed not only to reduce poverty, but also for monitoring and perpetuating the actions. Although there is a certain degree of technical capacity in the countries, concrete experience working on joint activities is lacking. One strategy employed for addressing this problem will be an exchange of personnel between the countries of the CBC within a regional cooperation framework created by the CBC.

Great emphasis will be put on developing human resources at all levels, including the community, provincial, state and national levels. Special attention will be given to the groups that are vulnerable and at the same time most important for resource management in the project area – notably, women and young people. In general terms, the objective of this activity will be to develop the human resources needed at the different levels in the participating countries, so as to ensure the sustainability of the action both technically and in terms of legislation and regulation.

This objective aims to develop the capacities of the actors at all levels in the community so that they can better conduct conservation and sustainable development actions in the selected communities of the CBC. It also aims to identify natural elements of value, and to enrich the community’s knowledge of the value of biodiversity locally and in the Caribbean more generally, and to enhance awareness of the global importance of these resources. At the local and provincial levels, in addition to emphasising better use of environmental resources to provide sustainable livelihood options, special importance will be placed on the environmental policy that is needed to facilitate better management of the environment’s resources. Nationally, emphasis will be put on intensifying the development of human resources in the ministries whose activities have impacts within the project area, and on creating awareness in those ministries regarding the need for an integrated approach to resource management in the participating countries.

The expected results of this objective are as follows:

4.1 Instructors of trainers on natural resource management trained to work in the community. As an essential part of this action’s strategy for the development of human resources, this activity will give the members of the community simple but effective tools and methods to improve their management of the natural resources on which they depend for subsistence. Upon returning from their training sessions to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the instructors will work with the communities to improve resource management and facilitate the adoption of sustainable production methods. For this to be effective, however, the activity must and will be directly connected with the activities of action 3.

4.2 Exchanges between the communities and islands. To demonstrate the applicability of good management of resources and the environment, working exchanges between the communities and participating countries will take place.

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This is particularly important for the Haitian farmers, since it will offer them a different approach to the use of natural resources.

4.3 Personnel trained in the technical, normative and policy areas. An enrichment of technical knowledge related to this action and awareness on the prudent use of natural resources among these personnel groups is very important, since they play an important role in establishing the legal and regulatory framework in which the activities of this action will be implemented. This training will touch personnel dealing with normative issues at the national, provincial and local levels.

4.4 A comprehensive programme of public education and awareness. A comprehensive public education and awareness programme will be designed and implemented to disseminate information on the project’s activities, and specifically on the Caribbean Biological Corridor.

Specific objective 5. To facilitate the creation of a tri-national coordination entity to support the creation and development of the Caribbean Biological Corridor. One very important weakness is the lack of availability of a proper Haitian-Dominican bi-national or Haitian-Dominican-Cuban tri-national institutional entity. In addition, one of the greatest weaknesses identified by the United Nations in Haiti is its institutional fragility and weakness.

Since a considerable portion of the activities in this action will take place in Haiti, it will be necessary to create an organizational and coordination structure that facilitates organizing the tasks that must be carried out in the CBC. Of particular importance will be the coordination of the activities needed to guide the complex organization process. This will mean implementing systems for information handling and decision making, including the georeferencing of all actions.

The expected results of this objective are as follows:

5.1 A tri-national unit of the Caribbean Biological Corridor established. This unit will have daily responsibility for implementing the activities that are part of this project. The personnel working in the unit will come from Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and, if necessary, from other small island developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean.

5.2 A liaison mechanism in place at UNEP/ROLAC, the implementing agency, to handle relations among the various stakeholders. Given the nature and complexity of the project, as well as the need for concrete normative actions to support execution, a coordination mechanism for the project will be created at UNEP/ROLAC. The mechanism will require a technical staff member to coordinate relations among the different project participants, in particular in the policy and normative areas, and to ensure complementarity between this action and other UN humanitarian activities in the area covered by the project.

5.3 The Ministerial Policy Tri-National Committee of the CBC in place and functioning. One essential element of the July 2007 Declaration of Santo Domingo is the establishment of a ministerial group for the CBC, which will include UNEP/ROLAC. [NdT: Espero haber dicho lo que el escritor quería decir, aunque el castellano tiene un problema (“Una parte esencial de la Declaración de Santo Domingo de julio de 2007 es el establecimiento de un Grupo Ministerial para el Corredor Biológico en el Caribe y de la ORPALC/PNUMA.”]

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This normative ministerial group will be part of the general institutional framework for the present action, and will have the important responsibility of providing policy orientation for implementation.

5.4 The technical committee, composed of representatives of the countries, relevant non-governmental organizations and UNEP, established and functioning.

5.5 The equipment and supplies needed for the project’s functioning acquired. Resources have been allocated for procurement of the materials needed to execute the project and to facilitate the efficient functioning of the project’s Tri-National Unit.

3.2 Other aspects

Monitoring and evaluation. A monitoring system will be set up to measure improvements at the sites of the pilot projects. In this connection, a simple monitoring system that allows the community to monitor its own improvements will be set up. The system will be supervised by the project’s Tri-national Unit in collaboration with UNEP. Outside experts will do mid-term and final project evaluations under the supervision of UNEP.

3.3 Risks and their consequences

The risks identified in connection with the activities include the following:

Failure to carry out necessary work before the boundaries of the corridor are defined in detail. This could lead to unforeseen problems.

The presence of different levels of economic and social development in areas with high poverty rates. This reality calls for the implementation of pilot projects in different contexts, with very detailed monitoring and evaluation, so that the project has the wherewithal to reorient and adapt to any problems encountered.

Lack of detailed information that might be needed to identify all the actions being implemented by other initiatives, and their results, successes and failures. This challenge must be borne very much in mind in the process of compiling information.

The fact that the agreements signed by the governments are recent, and thus could be affected by changes of policy. Such agreements should as quickly as possible be solidified by implementing the planned actions, and consolidating the structure and functioning of the CBC.

Differing levels of development of the various countries’ national protected areas systems. In Haiti in particular, this situation will require very intense work in the location that is the central focus of the conservation effort, and it must be undertaken in close synergy with the implementation of a Project for the Development of the National Protected Areas System in Haiti. The latter will receive support from governmental agreements, and should be partially included in the more general actions of the CBC. [NdT: El castellano es ambiguo. Estoy suponiendo que lo que se quería decir era “The latter will receive support”, pero la otra interpretación posible sería “This process of

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working in close synergy will receive support…” Si la segunda es la correcta pueden hacer la sustitución.]

High levels of economic pressure in some areas.

The scarcity of previous cooperation actions by the participating countries in this or similar fields.

3.4 Horizontal issues

3.4.1 Participants

This action will be targeting various actors in the participating countries: community groups; non-governmental organizations; farmers and landowners; poor and vulnerable people in the communities, with a special focus on women and young people, in particular those who depend directly on natural resources for their subsistence; government institutions such as the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s Ministry of Environment and Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. The project will be founded on the strengths of each group of participants. Special emphasis will be placed on certain groups of participants that are important for the success of the action. Among others, this means:

Young people. It is essential to reach young people, given the great number whose opportunities for education, jobs and social life in the communities covered by the project are limited. The successful incorporation of young people in the action will provide a solid basis for its sustainability.

Women, and women’s organizations and community groups. Women are fundamental to this effort. They play a very important role in Haiti and the Dominican Republic in connection with the management and use of natural resources. Therefore, their participation is a sine qua non for the successful implementation of this action.

Poor people in rural areas, and rural populations living in high and fragile terrain within important watersheds or on high terrain within protected areas. This population’s participation in the activities that make up the present action is essential for its success.

The communities’ religious leaders. Religion plays a very important role in the societies of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but especially in the former. Also, the church exercises significant influence on the behaviour of those who will be the project’s participants. Religious leaders in the participating countries will therefore be involved from the inception of the project, so as to smooth the way for the participation of the communities targeted. Their participation will lend the project credibility in the eyes of the local population.

The private sector. This action is also directed to the private sector in the participating countries, and in particular to firms operating within the area covered by the project, given their potential role in creating economic opportunities for the community. A partnership will be created between the private sector and the community to increase economic opportunity in the project area.

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Other important groups targeted by the action are both countries’ technical personnel, especially those working in the various government ministries and departments whose decisions directly influence the activities that will be a part of this action.

Another group of interest consists of those responsible for formulating policy, whether at the local, provincial or national level. Theirs is the responsibility for establishing the legal and institutional frameworks needed to ensure the success of the action.

The implementation process will include exhaustive consultation with the participants as an essential part of all the activities included in the action. It is clear that the different groups of participants will play different roles in the project’s execution, and that their needs in relation to implementation will also differ. For example, it is already clear that religious leaders, community organizations and non-governmental organizations will play a key role in mobilising the communities in the project area. Hence, the administrative, organizational and financial support needed for them to carry out their function effectively and profitably will be provided. The participation of community organizations, and women’s organizations in particular, will be indispensable at all levels of the project, given the place of these groups in their communities.

In the case of farmers, the poor people in rural areas and the rural population living on high, fragile terrain in important watersheds or on high terrain in protected areas, a great deal of the project’s activities will centre on ensuring that these people adopt better methods for managing and using natural resources.

The principal beneficiaries of this action include the communities situated around the protected areas or in the areas of connectivity associated with the protected areas. It is expected that pilot actions will be undertaken in these localities to alleviate poverty. The action’s principal beneficiaries also include policy makers and technical personnel from both countries.

The activities designed to support this action will be carried out by the communities in each area involved, and in the area that constitutes the corridor. The objective here is to create new economic opportunities based on promoting conservation activity and productive options that will reduce the pressure created by the use of resources in protected areas.

Within the community, special emphasis will be put on the active participation of women as a way of encourage values in children. This will result in the protection of the ecosystems and species found in the protected areas, as well as in the connectivity areas of the biological corridor, and will facilitate their sustainable use. These ecosystems and species will thus benefit from the reduction of impacts related to the community.

The conservation of populations, plant formations and ecosystems will be improved considerably. The participation of policy makers and technical personnel from the participating countries is of the greatest importance. The former group is necessary to ensure the political context necessary for executing the project, as well as to create the policy framework for implementing the required action. The latter group is in need of capacity

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building, especially in Haiti, so as to ensure the availability of the personnel needed to make the project sustainable.

3.4.2 Sustainability

The proposed action includes various elements to ensure an adequate basis for the action’s successful unfolding, and for its continuity once the support of the European Community has concluded. These elements include the following:

Political will reflected in governmental agreements signed by the participating countries.

Exchange of highly skilled human resources, establishing a relationship of South-South cooperation that reduces costs and ensures good technical support.

International recognition of the area’s importance for the world’s biological diversity.

Recognition of the relationship between conservation activities and the improvement of living conditions in the communities, contributing to policy decision-making in the countries.

Items relating to the development of the Caribbean Biological Corridor have been included in the three countries’ budgets. This will facilitate successful implementation of some of the project’s proposed actions, and is a demonstration of true political commitment.

The cooperation agreements among the relevant institutions of the three participating countries.

The sustainability of this action should be analysed based on the premise that it is an initial intervention as part of a long-term commitment by the participating countries to attend to extreme situations that must be addressed for the sake of the countries’ economic future and social stability.

An example of the elements that ensure the success of this project is the decision of the participating countries to allocate portions of their budgets to the implementation of these actions in accord with the July 2007 Declaration of Santo Domingo, despite the economic difficulties that they are faced with.

The results of the project will not only allow the participating countries to display the geographical boundaries of the CBC and its ecological value, but will also create a context for mobilising more resources to solve the serious problems that the countries face. One of the actions included in this proposal is designed to establish a long-term funding scheme for the actions of the CBC.

At the local level, community activities will from the outset include elements to ensure sustainability. These actions thus contain their own guarantee of sustainability, so the conditions that will have made it possible to reduce pressure on areas that are important for conservation will be maintained. The use of a system to monitor the actions will make it possible to make modifications in response to any unforeseen changes.

4. Issues related to execution

4.4 Execution method

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The project was originally calculated to last 36 months. It is implemented by UNEP through its Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in the general framework of the Caribbean SIDS Programme.10 The project is conducted in close collaboration with Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Haiti’s Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic. Cuba systematically provides substantial technical support for the project.

In March of 2012, the European Union approved an addendum that extended the duration of the project by 6 months, to June 2013. From UNEP’s point of view, this compensates for the time that it took the funds to get to the UNEP bank account, and for the delay that occurred because of Haiti’s request to postpone initiation following the earthquake in early 2010.

The implementation modalities for this action consist of a set of elements including:

A Tri-national Unit for the Caribbean Biological Corridor project. In the framework of the UNEP/EC Caribbean Biological Corridor Project, a small tri-national unit has been set up for the project in the city of Barahona in the Haitian-Dominican border area. Its objective is to facilitate implementation of the project on a daily basis. The unit is composed of personnel from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Its task is general coordination and coordination with the country where it is located. All three countries have coordination groups. Each country appointed a national coordinator for the CBC and for the present action. The project unit consists of a project manager and experts on biodiversity, watershed management, rural development, and livelihood alternatives and poverty. The unit also includes an accountant and a UNEP staff member.

A liaison mechanism. UNEP/ROLAC assigned a staff member for tri-national to coordinate political and normative relations among the participating countries, and to establish a bridge between UNEP/ROLAC and the other UNEP offices – a step that will be necessary in order to provide any feasible technical support that is needed. This function is also necessary to ensure that other UNEP

10

The Caribbean SIDS Programme was adopted by the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin

America and the Caribbean at its fourteenth session, in Panama in November 2003, to facilitate the

subsequent execution of the Barbados Programme of Action. The Caribbean SIDS programme includes

five main elements: (a) a well-established regional coordination mechanism defined for the subsequent

execution of the Barbados Programme of Action; (b) a financial mechanism in the form of a Regional

Sustainability Fund; (c) a technical programme to deal with issues relating to the environmental pillar of

sustainable development, comprising a group of cooperation initiatives, among which are a Partnership

Initiative on the Management of Coastal Aquifers; a Partnership Initiative on the Sustainable

Management of Non-timber Forest Products, generating opportunities for private sector participation and

for the creation of alternative livelihoods in indigenous villages and local communities; a Programme for

the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Island Biodiversity in Caribbean SIDS; and a Programme on

South-South Cooperation in Trade and the Environment; (d) a Horizontal South-South Cooperation

Programme; and (e) a Civil Society Support Programme.

[NdT: El texto castellano tiene una nota al pie con el número 10 en el texto, pero que aparece como una

segunda nota “9” en las notas. Parece sin pertinencia (vestigio de una versión anterior quizás), así que la

saqué. Lo otro es que la nota al final del texto, también con el número 10, la inserté como una nota al pie

normal, en el lugar donde claramente va. Pero la numeración queda rara y no veo cómo corregirla.

¿Alguien de entre ustedes sabrá hacer la corrección, espero?]

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interventions in the participating countries are complementary with the activities carried out as part of this action.

Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor. A CBC Policy Group was also formed with ministerial representatives from the three countries’ governments, as well as representatives of other important groups in the countries, such as non-governmental organizations, community groups, and universities and technical institutions relevant to the areas included in the project.

The purpose of the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee is to provide general orientation in relation to the policies of the CBC in general, and for the execution of the project in particular. More specifically, the committee will:

i. Approve the work plans and programmes of the Caribbean Biological Corridor that are to be executed as part of the UNEP/European Commission Caribbean Biological Corridor Project.

ii. Receive technical assistance from the Caribbean Biological Corridor Advisory Technical Group on the scientific and technical validity of the actions undertaken as part of the CBC process.

iii. Facilitate insofar as possible the harmonisation of the policy approaches at various levels (community, district, nation, tri-national, etc.) of the process of implementing the CBC.

iv. Provide policy direction for the implementation of the Caribbean Biological Corridor, and act as a link between the Tri-National Committee and the policy establishment in each country.

The Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor is composed of the environment ministers of the participating countries and Jamaica, the Regional Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, the UNEP Resident Coordinator in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and the Head of the European Union Delegation. The Committee will also include a representative of the non-governmental organizations of each of the participating countries and a private sector representative. [NdT: Si el escritor quiso decir un representante de cada país, habría que agregar las palabras “from each country” al final de la frase. Nótese también que posiblemente debería de terminarse la frase anterior con las palabras agregadas “in the Dominican Republic”.] Other agency heads may also be included as needed.

The Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor met in connection with the inception of the action in order to approve the action’s work programme. It has subsequently met two more times. The second meeting, in year two, followed the mid-term evaluation for the action, and approved the work programme for the remaining implementation of the action.

Caribbean Biological Corridor Technical Advisory Group. The purpose of the Caribbean Biological Corridor Technical Advisory Group is to provide technical input and advice to the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee. Specifically, the Technical Advisory Group will:

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i. Review the technical relevance of the specific interventions that are part of the project, and advise the pertinent entities as appropriate.

ii. Advise the project’s ministerial policy group on the technical aspects of the project’s implementation.

iii. Provide strategic technical orientation on the future evolution of the CBC. iv. Facilitate intersectoral technical discussions and actions in relation to the

different aspects of the corridor. v. Make technical contributions and, when necessary, offer guidance on all the

technical aspects of the implementation of the CBC, including the delimitation of the area to be included in the corridor and the associated technical rationale.

The composition of the Caribbean Biological Corridor Technical Advisory Group will remain flexible to accommodate additional partners who may wish to invest in the implementation of activities in the context of the corridor. The nucleus of the Technical Advisory Group will include a representative of each country’s environment ministry, including permanent observers; [NdT: La traducción es literal, pero parece haber una confusión aquí. El texto parece decir que algunos (¿por qué solo algunos, y si solo algunos, cuáles?) de los representantes ministeriales serán observadores permanentes. ¿Será que el escritor quiso decir “will include a representative of each country’s environment ministry as well as permanent observers from the ministries”? ¿O “…representative of each country’s environment ministry as a permanent observer?] a representative of the ministry of agriculture; [NdT: De nuevo: ¿debería ser “of each country’s ministry of agriculture”?] representatives of the social and financial sectors of the three countries; a civil society representative; a private sector representative; [NdT: Y de Nuevo: ¿”from each country”?] and representatives of the agencies involved in the project – UNEP/ROLAC, UNDP and the European Union in particular.

The Caribbean Biological Corridor Technical Advisory Group will meet at least twice a year (in person or virtually), and insofar as possible will schedule its meetings immediately before the meetings of the Ministerial Policy Tri-National Steering Committee of the Caribbean Biological Corridor. Insofar as possible, all technical proposals considered by the Tri-National Committee will be reviewed by the Advisory Technical Group, which will provide its comments and recommendations in writing to the Tri-National Committee. The final meeting of the advisory group in the last year of the project will produce a summary of the technical results of this action, as well as a plan for subsequent follow-up given the results.

The CBC will take advantage of the presence of governmental, institutional and community entities within its boundaries. The CBC is not based on creating new and complex entities at the local level. On the contrary, its mission is to establish synergy and collaboration with existing entities, and this should begin with an effort to identify the relevant entities and their role in the CBC. Study will also be carried out to determine the legal framework on which the CBC’s work and development will be based, as well as to identify mistakes and develop proposals for overcoming them.

The CBC will be the framework for developing an adequate process to harmonise local policies and achieve synergy between development and

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environmental protection at the local level, with an eye to the global effects of local biological diversity. [NdT: Pienso que eso refleja la intención del escritor, aunque una traducción literal sería: “achieve synergy between development and environmental protection at the local level, given the effect on global values of biological diversity”.] Given the complexity of the work, and the number of actions involved, an environmental information system for the CBC based on a geographical information system must be designed and implemented from the outset to facilitate decision-making and make it possible to immediately identify and correct mistakes. It is important from the outset to create different effective ways of promoting the CBC and encouraging those practices that are to be recommended for sustainable development, poverty reduction and conservation in the corridor.

A participatory approach will be employed in implementing the project. Thus, special attention will be paid to ensuring that the local communities involved participate actively in the project activities, and women and young people will be a particular focus of these efforts. In order to ensure that the results of the project are well publicised, the relevant information and results will be translated into the languages of the participating communities. It will also be very important to provide the communities with the basic abilities needed to better manage their resources and to use them sustainably in the context of the objective of developing alternative livelihood options. The intention is to make room for the private sector to participate and form partnerships with the local communities.

The project’s success will depend to a great extent on how active the various groups of participants are. This is why there will be a deliberate effort to involve a significant number of groups, including non-governmental organizations; community organizations such as farmers’ groups; farmers and landowners; the poor and most vulnerable in the communities, especially those who depend directly on natural resources for their subsistence; and governmental institutions (such as the countries’ ministries of the environment). The project will be based on the strengths of each of these groups of participants. For example, the groups of non-governmental organizations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a great deal of experience and theoretical and practical knowledge in working with community groups. The present action will encourage and consolidate this strength.

The different groups of participants will play different roles and have different needs in relation to the execution of the project. For example, religious leaders, community groups and non-governmental organizations are expected to play an important role in mobilising the communities within the project area, for it is they who are best able to identify the different groups that the project targets, as well as key informants. Accordingly, they will be given the administrative, organizational and financial support needed for them to carry out these functions effectively and profitably. In the case of participants from the watershed areas included in the project, it is expected that they will carry out the activities at that level with the necessary technical help from the project’s Tri-National Unit. For example, they will be responsible for creating committees of participants to manage the watersheds and biodiversity, for creating and implementing nurseries for plant propagation in the communities, and for rehabilitating degraded areas.

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No more need be said about the importance of participation by these groups, given the fact that they depend so greatly on natural resources for survival. In addition, their activity will positively or negatively affect the project’s success, and thus their participation is fundamental. This group of participants will obtain direct benefits from the rehabilitation of the degraded areas. At the same time, it will be necessary to ensure that they are aware of the responsibility that they bear for managing the resources in their area, including the area’s biodiversity. The poor and vulnerable of the communities are closely linked to this group, although they are often ignored in the planning process. Many of them live close to waterways, and their daily activities, such as washing, elimination of waste and poor sanitary practices, are deleterious to water quality, and in the long run to human health. This group also depends highly on natural resources for its subsistence and survival. It is expected that better use of natural resources in a sustainable manner will pave the way for more favourable lifestyle options, and improve their livelihoods in the process. From this point of view, the poor and vulnerable are extremely important participants.

Since the overall responsibility for environmental management and planning in the participating countries falls on their authorities, it is important that the relevant governmental institutions participate actively in implementing the project – specifically as regards the sharing of data and information for planning, management and implementation of projects, and for the promulgation of policies and the corresponding legislative frameworks.

This project also incorporates a concern for gender equality. Most of the individuals participating directly in the management of natural resources and their use to generate income are women, so the project’s commitment to a gender-equitable distribution of beneficiaries is obviously called for.

4.5. Procedures for the obtaining and awarding of allocations

All the contracts implemented in the context of this action will be awarded and implemented in accord with the official procedures and documents established and published by UNEP and GEF, where applicable.

4.6 Budget and timetable

It is calculated that the resources needed to execute this action will be approximately 10,705,269 euros, of which 2,882,835 have been requested. The European Union is covering 96 percent of the total project cost. UNEP will contribute approximately 108,000 euros in the form of staff time to supervise the execution of the entire project, as well as facilitating and guiding the tri-national institutional agreements created to support the project. [NdT: A lo mejor estoy perplejo simplemente por falta de información, pero por si acaso les comento que no veo aquí, ni en los otros documentos, de dónde puede venir el monto de 10,705,269.]

4.7 Monitoring of performance

Advisory services will be drawn on at the beginning of the project to establish some basic conditions for measuring the quality of the work done. The project will adopt a simple system based on participatory methodology to allow the communities involved to measure the changes (physical, social, economic) that take place at the pilot sites.

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UNEP will deliver a biennial technical report to the European Commission. [NdT: La traducción es fiel al castellano, pero no entiendo cómo puede haber tiempo para informes bienales si al proyecto le quedan menos de dos años. ¿Será que se quiso decir informes “semi-anuales”?] Each report will provide a complete account of all the aspects of the project’s implementation for the period that it covers. The report will be designed so as to permit a comparison of objectives, resources budgeted and actually employed (in particular, all expenditures made by the Organization), expected results and results obtained, and the detailed budget for the action.

The level of detail in the report is to be consistent with the level of detail in the description of the action, and with the budget for the action.

The narrative in the report will correlate directly with this Agreement, and is to include at least:

- The activities carried out in the period covered by the report (in other words, those directly related with the description of the action and with the activities contemplated in this Agreement);

- The problems encountered and measures taken to overcome them;

- Changes occurring in implementation;

- Results, in terms of the indicators included in this Agreement.

UNEP will also prepare and submit an Annual Financial Report and Report on Expenditures to the European Union delegation in the Dominican Republic.

4.8 Evaluation and audit

The project will be evaluated at various stages of execution – at the midpoint and end specifically. [NdT: El castellano no está claro aquí. Si las evaluaciones se van a hacer sólo al medio y al final del proyecto, la primera parte de la frase debería ser “will be evaluated at two stages of execution”. Si va a haber más de dos evaluaciones, la segunda parte de la frase debería ser “including the midpoint and end.”] The evaluation will be conducted by an independent team of experts selected by the agencies in charge of execution and by the participating countries.

4.9 Communication and visibility

The participating countries and UNEP promote the Caribbean Biological Corridor as a framework for conserving biodiversity and rehabilitating the environment in the Caribbean islands. In this context, the Haitian government is using the CBC as a model project to drive comprehensive action for environmental rehabilitation in Haiti. Pamphlets on the CBC have been published and distributed. [NdT: Si, como sospecho, el caso es que fue el gobierno haitiano que hizo las publicaciones, la frase debería ser “Accordingly, it has published and distributed pamphlets on the Corridor.” Si no, uno se imagina que el lector querrá saber quién hizo la publicación, y en ese caso se podrían agregar las palabras “by UNEP” (o la entidad que sea) al final de la frase.] In addition, the specific on-site action in the most extensive area shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic has already begun to provoke the

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community’s interest in improving the management of the environment in the project area.

To ensure that the participating parties in the countries receive complete information on the project being implemented with European Union resources, a number of activities will be conducted to ensure viability and transparency, in conformity with Article 6 of the General Conditions Applicable to European Union Contribution Agreements with International Organisations.

The activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. A press release by UNEP on the signing of the agreement between UNEP and the EC. The release will be distributed through UNEP’s global network, but will also be translated and distributed to the communication departments of the three participating countries – Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

ii. A press release on the initial implementation of the project will be published by UNEP and distributed in the participating countries.

iii. In the course of the project, three National Visibility Workshops will be held, one in each of the participating countries. In addition to informing the stakeholders on the project, these events will aim to improve the knowledge of the communities on the importance of better environmental management in the CBC and the opportunities that it generates. In preparation for the workshops, a description of the project’s basic elements will be translated into the communities’ local languages.

iv. All the equipment and vehicles acquired for this action will show the European Union logo and other indications of ownership that may be necessary in clearly visible spots.

v. To keep the various stakeholders properly informed on the project’s execution, a monthly press release will be produced and distributed in the participating countries. It will carry the EU logo and a statement explaining that the project is funded by the EU.

vi. All documents, including emails relating to this action, that have been made possible by funds from the EC are to carry the notice: “This document has been created with financial assistance from the European Union. The opinions expressed in this document cannot in any way be considered a reflection of the opinion of the European Union.”

vii. When official documents of the Organization make reference to the activity carried out in the framework of this action with the funds provided by the European Union, given the provisions of Article 6.5 of the General Conditions applicable to European Union contribution agreements with international organisations, appropriate recognition of the sources of financial assistance will be included – the contribution received from the EU in particular.

viii. To increase access to information on the project, including documentation of the action itself, as well as publications, etc., a CBC website will be created as an integral part of implementing the activities. The CBC website will include a variety of contents, and will make the contribution of the European

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Union clear – not only the specific activities carried out as part of this action, but also the EU’s contribution to the evolution of the CBC.

ix. The Organization commits itself to annual publication, including publication via electronic media, of information on subsidies and public contracts financed by the contracting agency, with the title of the contract/project, the name and nationality of the contractor or beneficiary of the subsidy, and the monetary amount of the contract/project.

x. The Organization agrees to provide the addresses of the websites where information on the CBC can be found, and will authorise the publication of these addresses on its own website. The Organization will ensure that the obligation to publish this information is also observed by its partners with respect to their own funds and the contractual agreements relating to this action.

xi. All the project’s information will be published on the UNEP/ROLAC website with proper recognition of the EU for the activities funded by the present action.