Outcomes of the Compensation for Ecosystems Services Workshop in Quito, Ecuador

24 avril, 2007

The GM, Conservation International (CI) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) held a regional workshop in Quito, Ecuador, from 26 to 28 February 2007, on Compensation for Multiple Environmental Services Mechanisms: Synergies between Biodiversity Conservation, the Fight against Desertification and Local Development.

This was one of the first regional activities under the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the GM and CI’s Andean Programme, which aims to strengthen local-level synergies between combating land degradation and conserving biodiversity, thereby promoting sustainable land management under a landscape approach.

The workshop also served to raise the visibility of the GM’s work among non-traditional donors.

This South-to-south cooperation event brought together 55 stakeholders from the Andean region and Mesoamerica, who are involved in developing local compensation for ecosystems services (CES) mechanisms in order to promote forest conservation, and ecosystem stability, functions and services. Such services include soil and watershed protection, carbon sequestration, water purification and climate regulation.

Experts in multiple ecosystem services from the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica, the Mexican Silvicultural Council, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Nistaplan in Nicaragua, Ecosecurities, CI and GTZ led high-level discussions and provided technical assistance to local partners who are developing CES initiatives in biodiversity conservation and combating land degradation “hot spots”, in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela.

Partners presented nine new CES initiatives in these countries, outlining objectives, progress and to addressing land degradation and deforestation, with a view to achieving multiple global benefits, including poverty alleviation. They were able to use this opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge, and receive technical input on a range of issues intended to enhancing the design of CES mechanisms to include UNCCD and Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) priorities, multiple environmental services and landscape approaches. The Workshop was an interesting instance of knowledge exchange between existing CES initiatives, UNCCD Focal Points and regional staff from CI and GTZ.

The workshop demonstrated how CES mechanisms can provide incentives for landowners to conserve their forests through adopting silvipastoral systems that promote water stability and forest and watershed restoration.

It also illustrated the effectiveness of CES in mobilizing technical and financial resource for UNCCD implementation, fostering synergies between local stakeholders and forging partnerships at different levels.

Issues identified as needing further consideration included the creation of markets and/or systems for CES, the development of sustainable financing mechanisms, and the relationship between CES and other sectors, such as market access.

The GM and CI agreed to strengthen the mainstreaming of local synergies into their respective networks and to focus their future joint-efforts on the issue of climate change adaptation.

Download the Workshop's agenda (PDF, Spanish, 192 Kb)

For more information:

Mr Alejandro Kilpatrick, Programme Coordinator, Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel. +39 06 5459 2524
a.kilpatrick (at) ifad.org