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This groundbreaking Report compares and aggregates official financial data and qualitative insights about the health of Protected Area (PA) financial 1 sustainability for 20 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries . Locally and regionally, the PAs analysed provide direct and indirect benefits over their combined area for a population of 564 million people in these 20 countries. Globally, LAC PA systems contain and support many important benefits in the areas of biodiversity conservation, human development, and, increasingly, ecosystems services to manage carbon sequestration.

The quantity, type, level, and immediate usefulness of the data presented in the full document is unprecedented. Policy makers, practitioners, and researchers will find the information necessary for regional and national planning, and a clear, robust analytical basis for rethinking investments to improve the financial sustainability of PAs. While these findings reveal the level of financial gap faced in the region, they also show that reducing the gap is achievable and affordable, so that PAs can be effectively managed to the benefit of all.

Stakeholders have perceived financial sustainability of PAs as a ‘black box’. This black box arises from a lack of understanding of the elements comprising PA financial systems and a absence of specific financial information about both PA needs and funding. A major roadblock to PA financial sustainability has been this lack of detailed information on financing.

This Report opens the black box by providing a wealth of information available by region, by region, subregion, and most importantly by country. The size of the financing gap between the current underfunding of PA systems and a situation of sustainability for PA systems is now known. PA stakeholders now have a specific target for PA financial sustainability.

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Ecuador is considered one of the 17 richest countries in diversity of species and ecosystems around the world, being classified as a megadiverse country. The wide range of physical and environmental conditions results in an impressive diversity of natural ecosystems (i.e. wet and dry inter-andean vegetation, rain forest, dry forest, mangroves, wetlands, dry heathland, etc.). Different species and varieties of plants and animals have adapted to these ecosystems and environmental conditions, resulting in a high degree of endemism.It holds 387 mammal species, 1,592 bird species, 422 reptile species, 467 amphibian species (MAE, 2009), and approximately 16,087 native vascular plants of which 4,173 are endemic equivalent to 27% of native flora providing environmental goods and services to humans (Jørgensen and León-Yánez, 1999). Ecuador's Amazon region alone has registered 4,857 plant species, and 307 tree species found in a single hectare of forest in the Cuyabeno Reserve. Highlands and the Andean slopes have dramatically different but equally rich plant and animal life.

Ecuador is part of the South American countries with the greatest proportion of protected areas (PAs), with 45 protected areas among which 11 are National Parks, 4 are Biological Reserves, 9 are Ecological Reserves, 1 is a Geo Botanical Reserve, 4 are Fauna Production Reserves, 10 are Wildlife Refuges, 2 are Marine Reserves, and 4 are National Recreation Areas. These areas represent an important tool to protect the natural heritage of the country and some of the services needed to achieve environmental and human development, such as watershed protection, power generation, food provision, agricultural heritage, and tourism development.

Ecuador is an important centre of origin and diversity of genetic resources. The Andean region in particular is one of the main centers of domestication of crop plants worldwide (Mujica, Jacobsen, & Ortiz, 2003). Currently, at least 45 species cultivated (i.e. wild tomatoes, potatoes, cacao, cassava, groundnuts) are considered of regional or global significance, representing—if regulated with the proper mechanisms—a potential opportunity for the country to rely on more sustainable economic growth.

The national economy is based mainly on oil extraction, natural gas and mining, which contribute to 26.8% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Commercialization of agricultural products (including fisheries) is another important source of economic income, representing 6.3% of the GDP (US Department of State, 2009).

However, the current economic development model has been based on unsustainable use of natural resources, resulting in depletion and degradation of natural resources and therefore increasing the vulnerability of national development. Impoverished, marginalized communities living in rural areas composed of indigenous people, afro-descendants or farmersare especially affected. Limited access to basic services, infrastructure, communication and transport is common in these areas. This combination increases pressures on the natural environment, the main source of livelihood for these populations.

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One of the greatest challenges facing governments and their partner organizations is the need to develop financially sustainable protected area systems and solid organizations able to efficiently manage these natural assets. Although some progress has been achieved over the past decades, to date most protected area systems around the world are still severely under funded. In most cases, protected areas are still dependent upon limited national budget allocations, support from international conservation organizations and short-term international funding though projects.

During the 7th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in February 2004, 188 national governments adopted the Global Program of Action on Protected Areas to support establishment of comprehensive, ecologically representative, and effectively financed and managed regional and national protected areas. This contributed to the three objectives on the Convention and the 2010 Goal to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. Although the 2004 Global Program of Action on Protected Areas reinvigorated many government’s commitments to finance protected areas, there has not been a significant increase in funding to protected areas. The budgets of the national systems of protected areas are mostly composed of contributions from central governments, international cooperation, and protected area self-generated revenues. When comparing the existing budgets of the national systems of protected areas with their financing needs, there is evidence of large deficits. For example, recent financial analysis of the national systems of protected areas of Ecuador, Peru, and Costa Rica, estimate annual deficits of US, US, and US million, respectively. It has been documented by known experts that the aggregated deficit is alarming at global and national levels, and particularly acute in developing nations.

In order to achieve the financial sustainability of national systems of protected areas it is critical to take into account the need to increase the capacity to self- generate additional revenue at national levels, including market value of payments for ecosystems services such as water service, carbon sequestration, and scenic beauty. On the other hand, it is equally important to improve the institutional capacity to adequately manage financial resources and carry out the necessary legal and regulatory reform to enable reliable long-term funding.

With support from The Nature Conservancy and other members of the CFA (Conservation Finance Alliance), I am pleased to present this new publication that includes practical, accessible, and easy to use methods for improving financial planning, and a road map for the implementation of business- oriented financial plans for the national systems of protected areas.

Antonio Brack , Minister of Enviroment of Peru
October, 2008

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the financial sustainability strategy responds to a priority identified by authorities and officials of the ministry of environment of paraguay (seam) to complement the strategic plan of the national system of wildlife protected areas of paraguay (sinasip). this strategy seeks to reverse a critical shortage of financial resources trend for sinasip, which threatens to affect its integrity and, consequently, its real potential to provide goods and services to the paraguayan society.

the process started in june 2008 covers the following five key areas to contribute to the institutional strengthening, through a financial planning process:


1. - introduction to the economic importance of sinasip;

2. - analysis of sinasip needs and financial planning in two different management scenarios;

3. - analysis of the main options and mechanisms to fill the financial gaps;

4. - definition of the baseline related to the environment, elements and enabling conditions for financial sustainability;
5. - a strategic proposal that considers vision, mission, strategic priorities and objectives.


protected areas provide a wide range of goods and services that contribute to the welfare of society at local and global levels, such as: fresh water, fisheries, biodiversity, resources for recreation and tourism, co2 sinks, etc.

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the gulf of guayaquil is the largest estuary in the country and it is recognized as the most important of the western coast of south america for its contribution to environmental goods and services. the environmental strategy for sustainable development of ecuador (ministry of environment, 2000) establishes as one of its policies the conservation and recovery of fragile and endangered ecosystems, and identifies three regions where to place its main focus, and among them it includes the gulf of guayaquil. the politics and national biodiversity strategy of ecuador (ministry of environment, 2001), poses as a vision for the year 2020, the conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources of the country, and identifies five "regions of special attention", reiterating the importance of the gulf of guayaquil in terms of its biodiversity by the presence of 81% of the mangrove ecosystem in the country (ca., 122,437 hectares), defining three lines of action: i) the control of pollution; ii) the development of sustainable fisheries, and iii) the integral management of mangroves.

a relevant area for the protection of the golf of guayaquil biodiversity is the “estero salado de guayaquil”, which is named like this due to the influence of water bodies with high salinity levels. it starts in el morro channel (in front of posorja) and ends in the city of guayaquil, with special characteristics in relation to its biodiversity.

the importance of the estero salado, regarding the provision of environmental goods and services, has been recognized with the recent creation of two coastal marine protected areas located along their geographical jurisdiction: to the north, the salado mangroves fauna production reserve - rpfms (2003), and to the south the el morro mangrove wildlife refuge - revismem (2007).

the el morro mangrove wildlife refuge - revismem, was created by ministerial agreement n. - 266 on september 13, 2007 and among its main conservation targets are a resident population of coastal dolphins and a population of frigates. this protected area contains 10,130.16 hectares, it is located in the morro channel and belongs to the sub-marine and coastal protected areas belonging to the national system of protected areas - snap, which is under the authority of the under secretary of marine and coastal management of the ministry of the environment.

this management plan identifies actions considered a priority to make effective and implement the revismem management, which were designed in a participatory manner from april 15 to october 30, 2008 with the various actors in the protected area. it establishes the following vision:

"by the year 2023, the el morro wildlife refuge mangrove (revismem) is a protected area, whose natural resources are preserved on the basis of a sustainable ecotourism, a responsible fishery and applied research, being its transverse axis the involvement of users in making management decisions of the protected area."

the under secretary of marine and coastal management (sgmc) from the ministry of the environment, with the support from the ecuadorian foundation for the study of marine mammals (femm), natura foundation – guayaquil chapter, conservation international ecuador (ci-ecuador), latinamerican future foundation (ffla) and mentefactura present this management plan as a way to support the conservation of the revismem natural resources.

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downloadable file in spanish – executive summary

the development of this initiative complies with the protected areas work plan of the biological diversity convention, specifically with its objective 3.4, related to the financial sustainability of national and regional protected areas systems. to fulfill this agenda, ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding (mou), which commits so far eight (national and international) organizations to assist in its implementation. the process begins with the study analysis of snap funding needs of ecuador, and from the results obtained, plans and sustainable financing strategies will be developed, including identification of regulatory, legislative and institutional actions that may be deemed necessary.

the study considers the 33 protected areas that currently make up snap. however, the document presents an analysis of the 31 continental protected areas as one group, while the results of the galapagos national park and galapagos marine reserve are differentially analyzed and presented in annex 1. in connection with the process, it should be noted its innovative nature, as it proposes the construction of a methodological approach for the participatory identification of the needs of the system. in this sense, the study was coordinated and supported by the following organizations, which form the so-called promoter group (pg): ministry of the environment of ecuador (mae), national environmental fund (fan), the nature conservancy (tnc), united states government agency for development (usaid-ecuador), conservation international (ci), kreditanstalt für wiederaufbou (kfw), ecociencia foundation, natura foundation and world union for nature (iucn). moreover, during the development process, we had the valuable participation of over 200 stakeholders through workshops, meetings and interviews. it is important to mention that this study is mainly based on documents, such as: the document of the strategic plan of the national protected areas system (mfa, 1999), the planning guidelines for the snap (mfa, 1999) and the study of the snap evaluation on efficiency management (mfa, 1999). also, the research is based on various experiences in the region to finance national protected areas systems.

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the financial sustainability plan for the protected areas system of jamaica intends to guide an integrated process to ensure long-term and stable funding for the jamaican protected areas system (jpas). it will be integrated into the protected areas system master plan (pasmp).

the plan is based on a comprehensive view of costs and benefits, ensuring that those who bear protected area costs are recognised and adequately compensated, and that those who benefit from protected areas (pas) make a fair contribution to their maintenance. in jamaica more than 90% of the tourists are concentrated within and around some of the most important pas. tourism alone contributes to 50% of the country's exports, almost 22% of the gdp and 32% of the labour force. considering that this economic activity depends directly on the quality, attributes and features of pas, it can be affirmed that according to the financial analysis presented in this plan every dollar (united states dollar – usd) invested in the pa system would generate an additional one hundred dollars (usd 100) to the jamaican economy. this is certainly an extraordinary investment opportunity not only from a private or public sector perspective, but also mostly from a social perspective considering its enormous contribution to job creation.

current funding for pas worldwide is mostly public and philanthropic. the latter is not stable and long-term oriented, and in countries where an important percentage of the population lives in poverty, governments are often forced to cut their environmental budgets in favour of other priorities. restricted budgets and public sector reforms have resulted in the rapid decline of single-source income from the national treasury to support protected area management. competition for scarce financial resources is fierce and the immediate financial future of most protected areas in developing countries is still in doubt. alternative strategies and innovative approaches to finance conservation are urgently needed to reduce or halt the current rate of biodiversity loss.

without sufficient stable and long-term oriented resources it is impossible to equitably and effectively manage biodiversity. sustainable financing strategies for protected area systems are more critical than ever to ensure sustainability from an ecological and social perspective. furthermore, protected area agencies are often ill-equipped to respond to income generating opportunities that pas provide through consumptive and non-consumptive uses of biodiversity. securing adequate funds is a necessary but not sufficient condition, it is also important to consider the quality, form, timing, targeting, uses and sources of funding. this plan intends to help build the capacity required to make the best use of a variety of discrete tools and revenue mechanisms that are responsive to the jamaican situation.

according to the global environmental facility (gef), financial sustainability is achieved when a protected area system is able to secure sufficient and stable resources over the long term to meet its total costs. pa financial sustainability can also be defined as the ability to secure sufficient, stable and long-term financial resources, and to allocate them in a timely manner and in an appropriate form, to cover the full costs of pas and to ensure that pas are managed effectively and efficiently with respect to conservation and other objectives. in short, financial sustainability is not possible without strong and effective institutions for pa management.

in the long term, financial sustainability should go beyond ensuring resources to bridge its financial gap, it should seek the possibility to allow and facilitate effective participation of the different stakeholders of pa conservation in jamaica. with these characteristics in mind the strategy's approach is to use the enormous opportunities for synergies and learning, based on the existence of such a complex web of institutional memory and broader stakeholder involvement.

the jpas sustainable finance process also responds to jamaica's international commitments to the convention on biological diversity (cbd). the 7th meeting of the conference of the parties (cop-7) to the cbd adopted a programme of work on protected areas (pow) with the overall purpose of supporting the establishment and maintenance of comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of pas. goal 3.4 of the pow is to "ensure financial sustainability of protected areas and national and regional systems of protected areas." it specifies that "by 2008, sufficient resources to meet the costs to effectively implement and manage national and regional systems of protected areas are secured." proposed activities include reviewing national-level pa financing needs and options, establishing national sustainable financing plans, multi-country collaboration in developing sustainable financing programmes for regional and international systems of pas, reporting on pa financing, and mainstreaming pa into development planning.

the above decisions do not make the finance available, nor do they directly address the problems, but they do express the concerns of the representatives of the parties to the convention about priorities. they create the context within which funding agencies' decisions are made and demonstrate that sustainable protected area financing has risen to the top of the global pa agenda.

this document defines a comprehensive approach in two areas: an enabling environment to facilitate financial sustainability, and appropriately addressing both supply and demand aspects of the conservation finance equation. the document is divided into three parts, the first part presents the results of the financial needs assessment (fna), and the second part presents a strategic diagnosis based on the results of the application of a financial scorecard for pa financial sustainability. finally, the third part presents the strategic approach, specific objectives and activities to be implemented.

this plan is part of a process that pursues overall institutional strengthening to move towards a systemic pa management approach.

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the nature conservancy, within the project conservation of the galapagos marine reserve, with the support from the united states government agency for development - usaid, has developed the long-term financing needs assessment of the galapagos marine reserve, publication we provide herein.


one of the most critical issues for the creation and / or maintenance of protected areas worldwide is the issue of their financial sustainability in the long-term.

one of the first points to resolve on the issue of sustainability is the study of basic needs and investments so as to reach to an agreement on them, and this agreement should respond to a rational structure of spending and investment.

in this study, we present an analysis of funding needs for the next 10 years, were 3 scenarios were used: basic, intermediate and ideal. each of them represents different levels of needs, which are based on the basic scenario of maintaining a minimum number of staff, and the necessary expenses for the main processes carried out by the galapagos marine reserve, and scaling up to an approach leading to the "ideal" scenario, regarded as necessary, but obtainable with the compliance of a series of programs throughout the areas or processes.

obviously the economy itself in the galapagos islands, as well as price levels and the physical size of the marine reserve make all expenditures high compared to other areas in mainland ecuador.

in any case, the different scenarios were worked out based on the information available, in a joint process with the staff in charge of activities in the marine reserve.

we give special thanks to the great collaboration and openness of the galapagos national park, both in the provision of information as well as in the participation in workshops to design the scenarios and to quantify the financial needs. we also thank wwf for the great support given to the consultant team and to the realization of the consulting work and, in general, we express our gratitude to all the organizations of the alliance that carry out the conservation of the galapagos marine reserve project for their different and valuable contributions. finally, we also thank mentefactura for the conclusion of this contribution to the sustainability of the galapagos islands and its marine reserve.

in this document you will find valuable information that will guide the spending and investment in the galapagos marine reserve. in general, it is necessary that the cooperating organizations, donors, government and decision makers direct their contributions and efforts toward the marine reserve through this instrument.

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this study, unlike others conducted to date, presents an environmental analysis of the country with emphasis on a socio-economic and institutional approach, but does not include a comprehensive assessment of the state of the natural resources. from a review of the political-legal-institutional environmental management scheme, and also by a sectorial study of the economy, reflections on the use of natural resources and analysis of the environmental and social impacts generated are carried out, as well as a review of the distributional aspects that emerge from this process. the study was conducted within the framework of atn/sf-9030-ec technical cooperation from the inter-american development bank to the government of ecuador.

the analysis is based on a exhaustive systematization of secondary information on the use of natural resources by productive sectors, and in adapting the general equilibrium environment model. the study reveals the dependency of the country’s economy on the extraction of natural resources, where comparative advantages lie in the abundant supply of resources, geographical factors and the use of cheap labor. the oil sector stands out as a catalyst for the whole economy and the activity of other sectors, although its potential negative impacts to the natural environment is high. it also highlights the unequal structure of income distribution in the country as a negative factor that limits the flow of benefits of the use of natural resources to different sectors of the population, and apparently limits the response of vulnerable sectors to environmental degradation. in light of these findings and with a multidisciplinary approach, a number of factors that determine the characteristics mentioned were preliminarily identified.

the main objective stated for this study is the development of a socio-economic and institutional analysis of the challenges that environmental management that will face in ecuador in the next 10 years. this will allow the identification of priorities under the scheme provided by the idb environment strategy and their relation to the strategies of the four priority areas defined in its corporate strategy (modernization of the state, competitiveness, social development and regional integration). in particular, the study pursues the following objectives: (i) conduct a socioeconomic analysis of the use of natural resources and environmental goods in the country, indicating opportunities to optimize the net benefits of these assets, in order to maximize the welfare of the present and future ecuadorian population; (ii) have a map of the institutional framework operating in ecuador, especially one on issues referred to the use of natural capital as a production factor in the economy; (iii) identify strategic guidelines for environmental management in key economic sectors; (iv) support the implementation plan of the idb institutional strategy in the field of environment, in a joint effort with the ministry of the environment (mae), and (v) contribute to the idb programming dialogue in the field of environment, strengthening the policies of the ecuadorian state.

the purpose of this scorecard is to assist governments, donors and ngos to investigate and record significant aspects of the aps financial system - its accounts and its underlying structural foundations to demonstrate both their current health status and state if the system is moving in a comprehensive manner towards an improved long-term financial situation. the scorecard is designed for aps national systems but could be used by sub-national systems, as for example: state, municipal or regional networks of marine protected areas (mpas).

there is a section to record the pa system overall financial status and changes to capital inflows and outflows. however, the scorecard is designed to review progress of the pa system and the foundations entire financing system that will lead to future financial viability of the pa system. thus, the scorecard is structured to see the elements of a financing system, described below.

these elements alone provide guidance on what a schema for a pa financing system needs to cover. to evaluate each element can help a country identify which areas of its governance structure need to be improved to enhance its pa financing system. the questions regarding financial information also provide an opportunity for the country to assess its ability to generate and collect information on costs and revenues, essential for an ap financial planning. where information is not available, the provision of such information should be a priority for the country. although the scorecard recognizes the importance of cost-effective management in pa financing, it does not provide specific guidance on the use of funds.

the results of the financial scorecard can also contribute to the activity 3.4.5 within the 3.4 goal of the convention on biological diversity: "the regular provision of information on financing protected areas, including future national reports, to relevant institutions and mechanisms under the convention on biological diversity and the world database on protected areas."

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The National Capacities Self-assessment project (NCSA Ecuador), is based on the premise that building capacities forms the basis for the implementation of national processes that would pave the way for sustainable development.

The methodological guide for self-assessments (GEF/UNITAR 2000) proposes inserting the self-assessment into other country processes by guiding them toward sustainable development. According to the Guide: "...a well-planned and comprehensive process will help to insure that the activities embarked upon by a country to build the capacity for protecting the global environment, along with connected requests for financial support, will be correctly coordinated and integrated into the activities of wider environmental ordering or sustainable development embarked upon by the nation."

Further, the guide states that "the self-assessment process must achieve convergence of the various national entities, institutions and organizations whose activities have important repercussions, directly and indirectly on the environment, and will likewise encourage them to assess the deficiencies, identify the synergies and establish a coordinated focus toward capacity building in general."

It was under this conceptual context that the National Capacities Self-assessment in Ecuador was developed.