Plan seeks to encourage the creation of municipal protected areas. Better management and access to financing for the care of flora and fauna is sought.
To conserve water sources and landscapes, the Siete Iglesias Municipal Conservation Ecological Area was created in 2009 in the Juan Bosco canton of the Morona Santiago province. Then, in 2012, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition agreed to the incorporation of Siete Iglesias as the first Municipal Protected Area to the National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador with an area of 16,029.03 hectares. With this declaration, the role of Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD) to conserve protected areas was defined as fundamental.
The GADs have conserved areas in their territories, but not all of them are delimited or do not have the primary objective of conservation. In other cases they are recognized as protected areas by legal instruments or by the local population, but not in national systems. This problem occurs at the regional level, indicates a project carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in collaboration with the German Cooperation (GIZ).
The GADs are the closest instances of political-administrative interaction of the communities and local population. They are fundamental figures for the proper management and governance of protected and conserved areas of different types and administrative levels. In addition, says the IUCN, they have the autonomy and potential to develop actions that favor the protection of their territories and that is why it is important to promote the declaration of local protected areas (APL).
“The project seeks to find these APLs and give them strength, since many times they work alone, they do not have trained personnel and that is why they are not supported. In addition, it seeks to train people so that they know, especially, the importance of conservation connectivity between areas”Says Stephanie Arellano, IUCN Biodiversity Management Program Officer.
The GADs can elaborate norms and strategies of territorial ordering seeking to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources, be the first instance of negotiation and conflict resolution, promote environmental governance by promoting the analysis of landscape and connectivity of areas, says the expert.
At the regional level, countries such as Colombia and Peru do not have the legal status of APL, which is why Ecuador is an example of this issue. Although this does not mean that nations cannot create these zones. In Ecuador, two other APLs have been added: La Bonita Ecological Conservation Area, located between Imbabura and Sucumbíos, and the Cordillera Oriental del Carchi Decentralized Autonomous Protected Area.
In addition, the Tinajilla Río Gualaceño Municipal Conservation Ecological Area, in Limón Indanza, and the municipal protected areas of Masphi and Corredor del Oso Andino of the Metropolitan District of Quito are under analysis. However, one of the problems of APLs is financing for their sustainability.
Uncontrolled visits to protected areas carry risks, such as habitat destruction and fires
“These areas were not very visible and therefore it was very difficult for them to access funds, from international organizations, for training and caring for the protected area. Through the project we have trained people, created spaces for discussion to bring authorities closer together. In Ecuador, we also promote the so-called Other Effective Conservation Measures Based on Areas (OMEC)”, Says Arellano.
The project also seeks that these APLs are born whenever there are the required conditions and that they are established on alliances, with private companies, for example, that allow them to establish their financial sustainability. Financing alternatives such as well-managed tourism, creation of contributions, the Zero Carbon program promoted by the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, ecological easements or water funds were even shown.
The Ecuador Zero Carbon Program encourages the implementation of measures and actions for the quantification and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the country’s productive sector. And, in addition, a portfolio of compensation projects focused on restoration actions, forest conservation and energy efficiency is being structured. The idea is that the APLs are part of this portfolio.
In fact, according to the Minister of the Environment, Gustavo Manrique, the Government is willing to talk with the GAD to promote the protection, for example, of water sources. In the country there are 64,000 hectares of water protection and it is estimated that by 2025 there will be 284,000. These areas have been left in the hands of GAD which, in turn, have created joint conservation systems. “The idea is not only to wait for the Central Government to grant resources, but to have different forms of financing”, dice Arellano. (I)
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