FINAL REPORT ON PROJECT TERMINATION

I. BASIC DATA

Nombre de la Organización:Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli

Project Title: Strengthening Local Government Capacity for Conservation Planning

Implementation in the Machalilla National Park - Chongon Forest Reserve Subcorridor

Stakeholders Involved in the Project Implementation: Ministry of the Environment, Council

Manabí Province, Environmental Management Units of the Municipalities of Montecristi, Jipijapa and
Puerto López (Manabí) and Santa Elena (Guayas).

Fechas de Implementación del Proyecto:Octubre 2003– Febrero 2005

Fecha de Informe (Mes/Año):Marzo 2005

II. INITIAL COMMENTS

Include any initial comments that may assist in the review of this.
report.

This report aims to provide a synthetic and global overview of the

actions taken and results achieved during the 18 months of execution. A
A more complete view of the achievements can be obtained by reviewing the
products created during the project. These products will be sent as
Annexes to CEPF.

III. ACHIEVEMENT OF THE PROJECT'S PURPOSE

Project Purpose: The citizenship, the local governments of the cantons

Montecristi, Jipijapa, Puerto López and Santa Elena and the provincial government of Manabí
they carry out a joint environmental management in the most critical habitats of the
Chongón-Colonche ecosystems and Machalilla National Park and their areas of influence.

Planned Performance versus Actual Performance

Indicator Real at the Finish

Level of Purpose:
Indicator 1.1. In one year, local governments of With the project's action, a was established
Montecristi, Jipijapa, Puerto López and Santa Elena, the Interinstitutional alliance between the Ministry of
Provincial Council of Manabí, the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Management Units of
Environment and civil society organizations have the involved Local Governments, whose
formed a network for the conservation of areas the fundamental objective is to initiate the management so that
reviews of Machalilla National Park and the Forest the micro region be declared as a Reserve of
Chongón-Colonche Protector; after three years the Biosphere, through the MAB Program of the
the network is strengthened by participation and work UNESCO. Some communities, NGOs and
active of the various actors. Universities have been invited to be part of
this process. The Government of the Province of
Manabí is the institution responsible for leading the
process.

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Indicator 1.2. In a year and a half, the stakeholders of the During the execution of the project, the
civil society of 4 communities located in the texts of the Conservation Agreements between the
critical areas of Machalilla National Park and communities, the Ministry of Environment (MAE) and
Chongón-Colonche Protected Forest, the Council the Environmental Management Units, so that their
Provincial of Manabí, the Ministry of Environment and discussion and approval by the respective ones
The UGAs have established at least 2 agreements for resolution instances for each of the actors.
the protection of critical habitats; in two years, involved. An agreement was established on the
these actors have established at least 2 agreements formato del “Acuerdo de Conservación” para las
more; in three years, the agreements are in effect. Pile and Toalla Chica communities (Montecristi),
Sancán y Joa (jipijapa), San Isidro (Puerto López)
and Community Integration Agreement
(Manglaralto). With this initiative, the MAE and
Local Governments will sign the Agreements as
instruments for conservation.
Indicator 1.3. In one year, 2 local governments With the action of the Project, the formulation was achieved.
they have cantonal environmental plans that participatory of the Environmental Management Program
they include the protection of critical habitats; in two of Manabí - PROGESAM - the same that includes
two other local governments have such all the Municipalities of the Province (22 in total),
plans; in four years, the plans are in far exceeding expectations. The
execution. new authorities of the Government or Council
Manabí Provincial has taken on PROGESAM
as a fundamental instrument of its management
environmental.
Regarding the Municipality of Santa Elena (province
from Guayas), with the project action it was achieved
participatively formulate the Program of
Environmental Management of the Canton.
Indicator 1.4. In one year 2 Management Units After the formulation of PROGEMSAM, the
Environmental has identified possible sources of Government of the Province of Manabí is
financing to execute projects of managing financing resources for the
protection and recovery of the ecosystems that start-up of some defined profiles in
they involve local communities; in two years, the PROGESAM, as is the case of the profile of
two other UGAs have identified these sources; in Forest and agroforestry reforestation
four years, the 4 UGAs have achieved the one of "Environmental Quality".
financing for their plans.
Indicator 1.5. In a year, the 4 UGAs are The Environmental Management Units were
trained in environmental planning; in two years trained by the project through three
the UGAs are applying the tools of Experience exchange workshops and
planning and evaluation for conservation of mutual learning, whose topics developed
the ecosystems. ["1) Local environmental management;","2) Conservation"]
of biodiversity; and, 3) Planning and management of
natural areas and introduction to the use of GIS.
These thematic contents were reinforced with
printed training materials such as
digital. At the end of the execution period, it
made an observation tour of the experiences
of the Cajas National Park - whose management is
delegated to actors unrelated to the MAE-,
as well as the Podocarpus National Park.

Describe the success of the project in terms of achieving its intended goal of
impact and performance indicators.

The project has successfully met the goals set at its outset. If it
observes the compliance with the indicators, it can generally be stated that the process
The execution of the project met the expectations of the stakeholders involved.
Some tasks related to coordination processes are left in the hands of the
local governments and other actors, such as in the case of work with the MAB Program of the
UNESCO.

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Was there any unexpected impact (positive or negative)?

Perhaps the least expected impact was having managed to build the PROGESAM,
environmental planning instrument for the entire Province of Manabí. This element
it constitutes the main achievement of the project, although it was not originally foreseen. The
the second novel or special element has to do with the idea of working as
Institutional Alliance for a concrete objective such as seeking for the micro region to be
considered by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve.

Another achievement of the project is having signed a Cooperation Agreement between the
Ministry of the Environment, CI and CISP, for the execution of the Project. This instrument
allowed to recognize the need for the participation of the environmental authority in the
execution of projects of this type and facilitated coordination with the Regional Districts
of the MAE.

IV. PROJECT RESULTS

Resultados del Proyecto:Incluya los resultados e indicadores del proyecto

coming from the Logical Framework for the project.

Planned Performance versus Actual Performance

Indicator Real at the End

Result 1: 4 Units have been trained. Through the execution of the different workshops of
Environmental Management in conservation of the training carried out and with the contribution of the
biodiversity and environmental planning. the produced materials achieved training
participatory of the 4 UGA (Municipalities of
Montecristi, Jipijapa, Puerto López and Santa Elena,
the representatives of the MAE and the Council
Provincial. Furthermore, the participatory development of
the environmental management plans (of the province of
Manabí and the canton of Santa Elena allowed
strengthen the training process for the stakeholders
locales.
Indicator 1.1. A UGA training system The system was designed using three modules of
designed in the first quarter of the project. training for the UGA and Councils
Provincials involved in the project. The
the system is contained in three educational brochures,
three interactive compact discs and a version
electronics in PDF file.
Indicator 1.2. Four UGA trained in topics With the three modules contained in the system of
of biodiversity of the Chocó-Manabí Corridor and training, the training of the 4 was carried out
environmental management planning in the first UGA, Provincial Council and MAE. The execution of
year of the project. these courses were reinforced with tours in the
field for the recognition of the main ones
ecosystems present in the area, and with tours of
observation.
Indicator 1.3. Three inter-institutional agreements In February 2004, the first was signed
(with Universities, Ministry of the Environment and agreement (Ministry of the Environment, CISP, CI). No
Association of Municipalities of Ecuador the signing of the agreement with AME was made possible due to
signed during the project to continue with the scarce resources of this institution to
the training for the UGA. empower the Municipalities.

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Indicator 1.4. Four environmental plans The initially planned realization of four
cantonales with emphasis on critical areas developed provincial environmental plans were replaced
until the end of the project. for the development of the Management Program
Environmental of the Province of Manabí that includes
the 22 Manabí cantons. In addition, the
Environmental Management Program of the Santa canton
Elena.
Indicator 1.5. At the end of the project, the population Several outreach events were held for both.
learn about the cantonal environmental plans through environmental management plans. Moreover, it
of events and dissemination materials. 60 CDs containing said plans were reproduced and
it was distributed among the main actors
involved in the project.

Indicator Real at the Completion

Result 2: The capacity has improved. The environmental management capacity improved.
environmental management in four UGA. the 4 UGA, of the Provincial Council of Manabí and of
Ministry of the Environment, through the different
activities carried out by the Project:
a) Equipment of the different UGAs and Districts
from the MAE.
b) Delivery of training materials and
documentation to the UGAs and MAE Districts.
c) Formation of an Institutional Network or Alliance
among the UGAs of the 4 municipalities, the Ministry of
Environment and the Provincial Council.
d) Strengthening of environmental instances
cantonal
[Link] cantonal committees The project strengthened the cantonal instances of
Environmental programs are functioning in the first year. environmental management in the Province of Manabí, to
through five micro-regional instances that
they group several cantons within each of
they. Additionally, in the cantons of Puerto López and
Santa Elena, the instances have been reactivated.
cantonal environmental - called Tables
environmental - constituted for the purpose of the
local planning processes.
Indicator 2.2. At the end of the project, it is functioning. The project achieved the establishment of a network.
a network (composed of local governments and called 'Institutional Alliance', whose objective
civil society organizations) for the to work for the micro-region to be declared
protection and conservation of critical areas Biosphere Reserve by the MAB Program
located in the PNM and Chongón Protective Forest - by UNESCO. This declaration is aimed at
Colonche, within the framework of the Chocó-Manabí Corridor. the protection and conservation of critical areas
located throughout the micro-region.
Indicator 2.3. A legal advisory system This indicator was not achieved by the project,
coordinated with the Association of Municipalities due to the difficulties by the AME to
from Ecuador supports the UGAs at the end of the project. obtain financial resources and ensure continuity of
the activity.
Indicator 2.4. At the end of the project, the 4 UGAs are The project succeeded in equipping the 4 UGA (Municipalities
strengthened with basic equipment for from Montecristi, Jipijapa, Puerto López, and Santa
support their work of protection and conservation of Elena), as well as to the 2 Districts of the MAE (of
the critical areas. Manabí and Guayas.
Indicator 2.5. At the end of the project, at least 2 The idea of declaring 'municipal protected areas'
cantons have declared as 'protected area' was expanded in the Project through work
"municipal" a critical area of municipal property. to declare a larger area as a Reserve of the
Biosphere. According to Ecuadorian legislation
a preliminary study of alternatives must be carried out
of management, as well as a social inventory
environmental area potentially suitable for
declare oneself as protected. For this, the Project
conducted cartographic studies of the proposed area.

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Indicator 2.6. In a year and a half at least 2 UGA The project developed self-diagnoses in six
they have prepared and decreed a municipal ordinance for community scenarios of the microregion as
related to the conservation and protection of the initial steps to establish ordinances of
critical areas linked to the National Park conservation. It is necessary to meet other requirements
Machalilla and the Chongón-Colonche Protected Forest to decree such ordinances. The development of
these requirements are a commitment of the
Conservation Agreements, established between the
communities, the MAE and the UGA.
Indicator 2.7. During the project, the Ministry of The participation of the MAE (Guayas Districts and
Environment and the Provincial Council of Manabí have Manabí and Management of the National Park
actively participated in the network activities Machalilla) and the Provincial Council of Manabí in
for the protection and conservation of the areas the constitution of the network or Institutional Alliance for
criticisms of the PNM and Chongón Protective Forest Conservation has been relevant throughout the
Colonche Red. project.
Indicator 2.8. At the end of the project, the NGOs and The project supported the dissemination and discussion of
public and private institutions present in each PROGESAM, with a broad audience. On the other hand,
the canton has discussed its support for the plans the Municipality of the Santa Elena canton is
canton environmental. committed to socializing the Management Program
Environmental.

Indicator Real at the Completion

Result 3: Agreements have been established with The texts of the Agreements were drafted.
the communities of the four cantons for the Conservation for them to be discussed and
conservation and management of resources approved by the respective instances of the
natural. involved actors. With the initiative of the MAE and
UGA will subscribe to these instruments of
conservation.
Indicator 3.1. At the end of the first year at least 10 The project achieved that 12 communities located
communities located in critical ecosystems in critical ecosystems establish a relationship
they maintain a close relationship with the UGAs. close with their UGA. These communities are
grouped in "intercommunity spaces" in the 4
cantons: Palmar, Olón, Curía, San José, the
Núñez and Curía, in the Santa Elena Canton; San
Isidro and Las Tunas, in Puerto López; Sancán and Joa
in Jipijapa; Pile and Small Towel, in Montecristi.
Indicator 3.2. In a year at least 4 communities In the "intercommunity spaces" there
located in critical ecosystems have committees they constituted and strengthened instances dedicated
environmental management communities operating. on environmental issues; specifically, it was achieved the
strengthening in 8 communities (3 from Manabí and 5)
from Santa Elena).
Indicator 3.3. In 18 months at least 10 Training booklets were prepared
communities located in critical areas know environmental for the participating communities in the
the environmental laws, regulations, and rules. Project. These were disseminated among the 12
participating communities.
Indicator 3.4. During the project, it has been disseminated In 8 workshops held in the 'spaces
among 10 communities of the area the importance of the intercommunity," 12 were trained.
fragments of critical habitats, the relationships and communities in the areas of laws, regulations and
existing interconnections between them and the measures environmental regulations and their importance
for its preservation. critical habitats and their conservation.
Indicator 3.5. At the end of the project, at least 4 The Project, the UGA, the Ministry of the Environment and
communities have signed agreements of the Provincial Council, together with the
conservation of critical ecosystems with the Pile and Toalla Chica communities (Montecristi)
which are related. Sancán y Joa (Jipijapa), San Isidro (Puerto López)
and Community Integration Agreement
(Manglaralto), established the contents of the
Conservation Agreements. The signing of
it will be carried out with the Municipalities and the
Districts of the Ministry of Environment.
Indicator3.6. At the end of the project, 1 has been initiated. It was not possible to carry out this activity, given the
incentive system for compliance of change of local authorities.
agreements with the communities.

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 Indicator Real at the Completion
Result 4: A system has been initiated. The Project decided not to develop a system of
monitoring of critical areas. monitoring of critical areas due to being a
activity exclusively competes with the MAE. Without
embargo, carried out a diagnosis of the areas
criticisms to submit to the MAE so that it can carry out
a follow-up on them. On the other hand,
together with the MAE and Provincial Council, the
the project carried out a permanent monitoring of its
activities and results achieved.
Indicator 4.1. At the end of the project, 6 diagnoses were participatively developed.
diagnosis of the areas identified as critical the intercommunity spaces linked to the
in the four municipalities. outstanding areas. The results of the
diagnoses were delivered to the communities
where they were carried out, to the UGA and to the MAE.
Indicator 4.2. At the end of the project, a team of The Project was unable to train the leaders.
fewer than 8 community leaders are trained and community members due to the monitoring of the
handles tools for area monitoring critical areas is a competitive activity
more criticisms. exclusive of the MAE.
Indicator 4.3. For 18 months it has been During the Project, different
monitored and evaluated the progress of the project with monitoring meetings of activities and
the actors involved results, in two instances:
Steering committee: with the participation of the
National Biodiversity Directorate of the MAE,
International Conservation Ecuador and CISP.
Technical Committee: with the participation of the
Regional Districts of the MAE, UGA, officials
from the Provincial Council of Manabí and technicians from
Project.
In addition, an assessment meeting was held
Closure of the Project with the various local stakeholders
related and with the participation of CI Ecuador.
Indicator 4.4. During 18 months CEPF, CI, CISP, In the meetings of the Steering and Technical Committee, there
AMINGAY, the Ministry of Environment, the governments They presented the progress report of the Project.
local and provincial and the local actors know the
march of the project based on reports
semesterly.

Describe the success of the project in terms of delivering the intended results.
The project successfully achieved the established results.
originally, both in terms of the training and equipping process of
the UGA, as far as the participatory formulation of instruments is concerned
local environmental management, involving the communities that inhabit areas
outstanding, to the technicians and officials of the UGA, Provincial Council and Ministry
of the Environment.

Another achievement is having established a closer relationship among the different

institutions involved with the Project. There is a path to follow for the actors
southern Manabí and northern Guayas to advance in the process of achieving the
declaration of Biosphere Reserve for the entire micro region.

Were there any unachieved results? If so, how has this affected the impact?
general of the project?

What has not been achieved is the formulation of ordinances for certain areas.
declared as municipal natural areas, as well as an advisory system

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legal facilitated by AME. However, these unmet elements have not affected
the achievement of the overall impact of the Project.

V. EVALUATIONS OF SECURITY POLICY

Provide a summary of the execution of any required action directed towards

the environmental and social security policies within the project.

By including the Environmental Quality component in the Management Programs

Environmental, it has contributed to favor aspects of security and prevention in the
local environmental policies. In addition, the PROGESAM is part of the Development Plan
Provincial of Manabí, which was developed in a participatory process in which
it included a strong risk management component. This means a focus
basic towards provincial development planning considering the dimension of
management of existing environmental risks in a highly vulnerable province
due to deforestation and mismanagement of natural areas.

VI. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PROJECT

Describe any lessons learned during the various phases of the project.
Consider the lessons for both future projects and for the
future performance of the CEPF.

Project Design Process: (aspects of the project design that

they contributed to its success or failure.)

In general, the successful design of the project has contributed to its successful conclusion. The
different components assembled in the Logical Framework set the stage for
develop it step by step, with the support of the authorities of the Ministry of
Environment and the determined collaboration of the technical staff of the Management Units
Environmental of the participating Local Governments, as well as of the communities with the
that the planned activities were carried out.

However, it is worth noting that the original non-existence of a signed agreement between MAE,
CI and CISP caused some delays in activities and in achieving the totality of
indicators. However, with the subsequent signing of the Agreement and with the
the functioning of the Coordination and Technical Committees made it possible to progress
satisfactorily.

Project Execution: (aspects of the project design that contributed to its

success or failure

During the execution process of the project, the main limitation was related to the
difficulty in formally establishing several local instances such as the network, the committees
cantonal and community environmental management committees, whose objectives,
operating mechanisms and activities were not anticipated in the design of the
project.

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At the time of working on its constitution, it was found that there are various instances.
related to environmental management and it was difficult to give them a single form. By
Hello, what remains at the end of the project is the strengthening of various instances such
as Community directives, zonal assemblies and intercommunity scenarios, as
is the case of the Manglaralto Integration Agreement (Santa Elena canton, Guayas) that
groups five communal councils and the Regional Drinking Water Board.

VII. ADDITIONAL FINANCING

Provide details of additional donors who supported this project and funding.
received as a result of the CEPF donation or the success of the project.

Donor Type of Quantity Comments

Financing
Committee Co-financing of USD 40,000 Contributions calculated on the
International for the project(A) use of vehicles, equipment and
Development of Peoples CISP offices and about the
--CISP--. staff participation
CISP and monitoring of
project.
Municipalities of Santa Co-financing of the USD 14,400 Calculated contributions on the
Elena, Puerto López, project(A) participation time of
Jipijapa, Montecristi the technicians of the UGA.
Provincial Council of Co-financing of the USD 7.200 Contributions calculated on the
Manabí project(A) participation time of
the technicians of the Council
Provincial.
Ministry of Co-financing of the USD 10,800 Contributions calculated on the
Environment project(A) participation time of
the technicians of the MAE.
Conservation Financing USD 6,000.00 Contributions managed by CI
International - complementary(B) for the formulation of
Ecuador PROGESAM
Plan Ecuador Leverage of USD 5,000.00 In-kind contribution for the
Partners formulation of
PROGESAM.

Additional financing must be reported according to the following categories:

Co-financing of the project (Other donors contribute directly to the

project expenses with CEPF.

Complementary financing (Other donors contribute to organizations and

partner agencies who are implementing a project related to this
project with CEPF.

Leverage of the Organization or Partners (Other donors contribute to their

organization or a social organization as a direct result of successes of this
project with CEPF).

Regional Leverage(Other donors invest large amounts in a region

due to the investment of CEPF or successes related to this project with CEPF.

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 VIII. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• It is necessary that before starting a project like the one being discussed
reporting, the respective coordination instruments have been subscribed with
the Ministry of the Environment as the National Authority on the matter.

Of the four "windows" of the Chocó – Manabí Corridor, that of Machalilla turned out
be the least favored, both by the number of projects executed as well as by
the weak relationship of the actors involved with other experiences.

In relation to the work with communities, the project managed to engage them.
members in the joint environmental management tasks. They are defined
the management instruments – environmental management programs, self-diagnoses,
Conservation Agreements, Proposal for the Manabí-Guayas Reserve Zone
but the steps for its start and continuity have not yet been taken. It would be
It is essential to have more resources and more time for it to
may advance in the conservation of natural resources.

It is also worth recognizing the flexibility and agility of CEPF during execution.
of this project. This made it possible to carry out the activities flexibly.

VIII. SHARING INFORMATION

CEPF aims to share experiences, lessons learned, and results

between the recipient organizations of our donations and the communities of
broader conservation and donors. One way to achieve this goal is by putting
the text of the final project completion reports available since our
Web page:[Link] including these reports in our newsletter and
other communications. Please indicate if you agree to share your
final report of the project with others in the indicated ways.
Yes _____X__
No ________

If you answer affirmatively, please also provide the following information:

For more information about this project, please contact:

Nombre: Enrico Gasparri

CISP Coordinator Ecuador
Tel: 593 2 2521 467
Fax: 593 2 2235 337
E-mail: cisp-ecu@[Link]