National | PANORAMA

Vulnerability and climate risk assessment

The scientific study identifies coastal and marine areas of Costa Rica that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The vulnerability analysis combined three factors: exposure, potential impacts and the adaptive capacity of communities to respond to these impacts. Through these three factors the climatic threats of sea level rise, atmospheric temperature rise and changes in precipitation patterns were evaluated to identify vulnerability. The analysis supports the prioritization of climate change adaptation actions for protected areas and districts of local communities. These actions include the recovery of key habitats such as riparian forests, mangrove forests, beach terraces and the relocation of touristic trails close to the beach within the protected areas.

Available scientific information.
Technical and financial support to address the process

Vulnerability to climate change varies widely in the study area and is closely related to human and economic development. The study found that implementation of possible adaptation measures must begin with changes in development patterns and the reduction of existing pressures on the ecosystem, otherwise known as non-climatic threats. The study also found that poor resource extraction practices and the establishment of coastal settlements increase the sensitivity of ecosystems and the exposure of coastal communities.

BIOMARCC-Report on the climate change vulnerability of Costa Rica´s coasts and …

National protected areas coverage analysis

Three scientific studies provide technical information to identify areas that should be included in the national system of protected areas. An evaluation of marine ecoregions in Mesoamerica was the first step to achieve a marine and coastal biodiversity conservation agenda at the regional level. To meet the targets established for the eco-regional level, gaps in representativeness and integrity for the marine and coastal biodiversity in Costa Rica were identified through a comparison of the national system of marine protected areas with the sites of conservation importance identified during the evaluation. National sites of conservation importance were prioritized in the gap analysis. Additional technical evaluations to elaborate on the state of conservation at a local site level were done. This scientific information helped to build up considerations for local level priorities, and the actual and potential uses along with the use conflicts.

Committed International and national NGOs have technical and financial assistance to develop these scientific studies.
Costa Rica is a signatory country to international biodiversity conventions and agreements, committing them to increasing conservation measures for sites of biological importance.

The gap analyses for biological conservation are a key element for the prioritization of sites of importance for conservation. The information provided in these studies constitutes a baseline to delve into more specific and local aspects. Scientific information enables informed decision making for increased conservation measures.

Análisis de Vacíos de Conservación en Costa Rica

Website of the BIOMARCC-project

Public-Private Partnership

A cooperation agreement defines the roles and responsibilities of each partner in the public-private partnership and guarantees the enforcement of a timed Implementation and Monitoring Plan to achieve the conservation goals.

Formalisation of a public-private partnership
Roles and responsibilities clearly defined for every member
Institutionalization mechanism in SINAC to execute the annual actions of the Execution and Monitoring plan
Definition of clear processes to apply for implementation financing
Establishing of report and fulfilment mechanisms

Using a clearly defined planning objective for the public-private partnership and formalized and pre-established implementation regulations and processes, contributes to the relationship between the members and to achieve progress in the implementation of the working plan, jointly in an efficient and transparent way.

Implementation

National

Implementation and Monitoring Plan

Besides setting conservation goals, the Implementation and Monitoring Plan also details strategic objectives and activities to be implemented over a set period of time in order to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the plan identifies potential risks and difficulties and provides indicators for monitoring and evaluation.

Defined targets according to CBD
Annual activities of the Monitoring Plan included in the Operating Working Plan of SINAC, the annual acquisition plan of the trusteeship and in the working plans of bilaterally cooperating projects that contributed in the first four years
Budgeted activities according to the existence of a trusteeship
Application for regulated goods and services from SINAC to ACRXS for a cooperation agreement and a manual of operations

Using clearly defined targets, a detailed plan to meet them and a budget allowing this:

divided revenues from the trusts,
an efficient and organized implementation,
a guarantee to meet the targets mentioned.

Legislation for Municipal Restoration Plans

The Municipal Plans for the Conservation and Restoration of the Atlantic Forest is a Brazilian Policy instituted by the Law of the Atlantic Forest (Law 11.428/06). As they are required for all Brazilian Municipalities under the Atlantic Forest biome, it is a big opportunity to develop new methodologies, and replicate to other municipalities. The experience presented here is part of the case study "Plano Municipal de Conservação e Recuperação da Mata Atlântica de Porto Seguro – Bahia". The process followed the guidelines proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and GIZ, that recommends the process to be participatory, and technically supported.

• National legislation previously available; • Interest from local municipality and stakeholders to develop the Restoration Plan; • Technical expertise available during the whole process.

• The mobilization phase was critical for improving the interest of various stakeholders in participating in the development of the Municipal Plan. Dedicated staff presented the proposal and stressed the importance of the process. • Having the participation of multiple sectors was critical for a comprehensive view of the different ecosystems and activities analyzed. • Only a few Municipality Secretariats have participated in the process. Having a broader participation from the local government would improve the process.

Planning phase

National

Plano Municipal de Conservação e Recuperação da Mata Atlântica de Porto Seguro …

Public-private partnership for MPA financing

Bahía de los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve and San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park cover more than 446,000 hectares and protect marine species such as the brown pelican

FMCN and CONANP collaborate in a public-private partnership, the Gulf of California Marine Endowment (GCME). This is formalized in a cooperation agreement detailing the role and responsibilities of the partners. FMCN is responsible for the management of the financial resources and CONANP ensures that these resources are used in strategic conservation activities.

A national government that actively supports the private-public trust fund mechanism for marine management
Good working relationships with public officials in the federal agencies
Building trust over time

Cross-sectorial collaboration is indispensable for effective marine protected area management. Initially the Gulf of California Marine Endowment focused on supporting and collaboration with CONANP but we realized that active collaboration with other federal agencies, state and municipal level authorities and fisher associations is necessary for success in the field.

Entirety

National

Flexible and transparent administration of funds

Since Mexican regulations prevent CONANP from receiving private donations directly, FMCN channels funding to the management of each protected area through local organizations and accompanies with strict financial controls and experienced and well-trained staff. This public-private collaboration mechanism ensures that funds are applied transparently and helps enhance civil society participation in MPA management.

A non-governmental institution with a solid governance structure
The capacity of the institution to raise trust fund donations from multilateral, bilateral and private donors
Donors willing to invest in conservation trust funds
A Finance Committee of pro bono financial experts to supervise the management of the trust fund to ensure that it maximizes returns while managing risk
An experienced, professional trust fund manager

The rules governing the operation of the trust fund must have sufficient flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, for example changing levels of public funding for protected areas in the federal budget. The trust fund should also have the flexibility to reallocate funding to priority activities and sites.

Entirety

National

FMCN´s website

Informed Decision Making

Access to pertinent and best-available information is important for informed decision-making, yet coordination between government agencies and other data collection and management organizations can be stymied by lack of resources and inconsistent mandates. To address this gap, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has invested in connecting agency departments with other local, regional and international organizations that contribute to data production and/or management relevant to risk reduction and adaptation planning. Working closely with the Grenada Statistics Department, TNC developed a coding system that allows census survey data to be linked with spatial representations of survey districts and made unrestricted information freely available through an online platform. To support data access, co-management, and use, the AWE project in partnership with the World Bank contributed to the development of holistic databases and critical training of government technical staff. This partnership makes non-confidential information available via a centralized system and helps decision-makers access integrated spatial information on ecological, social, and economic systems.

• Involvement of and participation of Government Ministries and Departments in the project processes. • Effective partnerships with other organizations (e.g. World Bank) and government agencies.

• The importance of understanding dynamics of organizations and agencies as it relates to information sharing. • The importance of prioritizing clear communication about the project with partner agencies to ensure that project aims, objectives potential benefits are fully understood. • The importance of strong partnerships.

Planning phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

National

Map of the Coastal Resilience Organization

Integrated vulnerability assessment (VA)

We developed a spatially explicit vulnerability analysis that included both national and local indicators. These indicators were designed to capture the social, economic and ecological vulnerabilities and the interplay between them. The framework used to organize the indicators captured exposure, adaptive capacity, and sensitivity of three key social components (critical infrastructure and facilities; livelihoods -i.e. natural resource dependence and critical industry facilities such as fish processing plants and hotels- and social sensitivity -number of people and houses) as well of critical coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrass and reefs) providing risk reduction services (e.g. coastal protection and provisioning). Layering the ecological vulnerability assessment with the socioeconomic vulnerability assessment highlighted areas of overlap where adaptation and disaster risk reduction interventions were most needed, and where nature could play a role in reducing climate and disaster risk. The national level assessment framework was then adapted for site scale application to produce a community vulnerability assessment.

• Community understanding the importance and the benefits of a successful implementation. • Community acceptance, participation and ownership. • Government involvement and participation. • Partnerships with the Grenada Red Cross and NGO Grenada Fund for Conservation (mobilizing communities, empowering stakeholders, ensuring the development of an action plan for climate adaptation). • Access to information on socio-economic and ecological characteristics.

• The critical role that partnerships and community engagement play during all stages of the Project. • The importance of engaging relevant government agencies and others early on to ensure: a) that the analysis is grounded in local context and needs; b) that information and data collected are accurate and current and can be effectively utilized by government agencies.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

National

Climate change impact visualisation

Participatory 3D Modelling helps visualise vulnerabilities

The Nature Conservancy

Visualizing potential impacts is a powerful tool to help communities understand their vulnerabilities and consider future scenarios and tradeoffs. This is important to motivate changes that need to be made to reduce a community’s risks and support decision making around climate and disaster risk management. Computer based maps are not always the most effective means of communication. At the national scale we developed a suite of visualization tools for technical persons that included web-based maps and electronic and hard copy maps. At the local scale we worked with local partners Grenada Fund for Conservation and Grenada Red Cross to engage communities through household surveys and Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM). These tools allowed us to integrate the knowledge and perspectives of nearly 400 community members, generate site level vulnerability assessments and visualization tools. To help facilitate community input and visioning, we also partnered with a land-use planning firm. Using the design firm’s strong graphic facilitation skills, a visual representation of a number of climate change impacts and associated potential actions that would contribute to Grenville Bay’s climate resilient Grenville bay was generated.

• Community understanding the importance and the benefits of a successful implementation. • Community acceptance, participation and ownership. • Government involvement and participation. • Partnerships with the Grenada Red Cross and NGO Grenada Fund for Conservation (mobilizing communities, empowering stakeholders, ensuring the development of an action plan for climate adaptation). • Access to data on climate change impact (via local knowledge and/or quantitative model predictions).

• The site level process described above was critical for the development of several targeted locally relevant proposals. • Applying a participatory process empowered community participation critical for the selection of locally relevant options that best align with a community’s vision of desired current and future outcomes. • Partnering with a variety of groups (engineers, land use planners, and local NGO’s like the RC and GFC) greatly facilitated the integration of diverse knowledge and consideration of a suite of options that will help communities and decision makers chose an informed path forward. Building capacity and working at pilot sites with communities takes a significant commitment of time and resources. • Participatory 3D mapping is a powerful tool for gathering community knowledge and stimulating discussion, and it also requires trained facilitators and community mobilization to implement.

Planning phase

Inception phase

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

National

TNC´s gateway to the projects - search for "At the Water’s Edge"

The Coastal Resilience Network