PROPOSAL FOR REVIEW
PROJECT TITLE BHUTAN - INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF JIGME DORJI NATIONAL PARK
GEF FOCAL AREA: Biodiversity
COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY: Ratified CBD 25 August, 1995
TOTAL COST: $2,529,250
GEF FUNDING: $1,497,682
COUNTRY CONTRIBUTION: $378,568
CO-FINANCING: $293,000 (UNDP-IPF)
$360,000 (UNCDF)
GEF OPERATIONAL FOCAL POINT: National Budget and Aid Coordination Division , Ministry of Finance
GEF IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: UNDP
EXECUTING AGENCY: Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB)
Forestry Services Division, Ministry
PROJECT DURATION: 5 YEARS
GEF PREPARATION COSTS: None (Funded by RGoB, WWF, UNDP/IPF)
COUNTRY AND SECTOR BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
1. The mountain kingdom of Bhutan, wedged between China and India, is located entirely within one of the world's ten global biodiversity "hot spots"(Myers 1988) - the Eastern Himalaya. With over 70% forest cover, Bhutan is known to harbor approximately 7,000 species of vascular plants, 160 species of mammals and more than 770 species of birds. Bhutan's landscape rises from an altitude of 150 meters above sea level in the southern foothills to over 7,000 meters along its northern border. This dramatic elevation gradient accounts for its diverse flora and fauna, from elephants, tigers and the rare golden languor in the lowlands to the snow leopard, blue sheep and takin in the high Himalaya.
2. Encompassing an area of 4,349 km2 in the northwestern corner of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji National Park (Annex 4) is the largest protected area in the country, and biologically one of the richest in the subcontinent. With altitudes ranging from 1,400 meters to over 7,000 meters, Jigme Dorji National Park (JDNP) contains 8 of the 11 classified vegetation types found in Bhutan. These eight vegetation types range from riverine vegetation along perennial rivers and streams, to temperate broadleaf forests along the steep gorges at lower elevations to pine forests at the middle elevations, to mixed conifer forests at the upper middle elevations, to sub-alpine forests (birch-rhododendron), to alpine scrub and alpine meadows to alpine scree slopes at the highest elevations.
3. These eight vegetation types translate into habitat for the diverse and striking array of flora and fauna within JDNP. Presently, 1,434 species of plants belonging to 563 Genera and 144 Families have been identified within JDNP. Several of these plant species have value as cultivars for crops and other horticultural use and still others are of commercial, medicinal, traditional, and religious significance. Thus the Park serves as a genetic repository for these valuable plants. In all, thirty-one species of mammals and more than 300 species of birds have been confirmed to occur in these habitats. Endangered mammal species occurring within JDNP range from the Bengal tiger and Red panda in the subtropical and temperate forests to Musk deer, Blue sheep, Snow leopard and Bhutan's national animal, the Takin, in the alpine zones. Also, bird species such as the Satyr Tragopan, once thought to be extinct, still exist in the Park.
4. From a global perspective, it is rare to find mountain habitats linked with lowland habitats via protected area corridors. Usually the two bioregions are separated by human-induced habitat fragmentation. In Bhutan, however, JDNP is a key link in a chain of four, nearly continuous protected areas linking high alpine grasslands with lowland forests. The chain of protected areas stretches from India's Manas Tiger Reserve in the tropical lowlands across the border to Bhutan's Royal Manas National Park (RMNP), up to Black Mountains National Park and finally to JDNP.
5. Approximately 6,500 local people (1,000 households) live within the Park boundary. These local communities are directly or indirectly dependent upon the biodiversity resources of the Park. They essentially rely on subsistence agriculture at lower elevations (irrigated and dryland). At the higher elevations, they rely on livestock, especially yak. The yak herders are semi-nomadic; their economy is based on yak products, and more recently on providing pack animals for tourism and government activities. Most household articles that cannot be obtained in the Park are bartered for with shopkeepers and farmers in the lower valleys. As a result this transhumance has given rise to unique traditions and customs among the pastoralists.
6. The traditional livelihood strategies of the residents have resulted in a complex Park-people relationship. But these relationships are changing quickly. A cash economy is quickly pushing out the traditional barter relationships. The human population is estimated to increase over 1.8% per annum. Traditional property relationships are in flux due to these and other socio-economic changes. Recent, detailed surveys of JDNP point to signs of overuse of grasslands and forests. Unless these over use issues are addressed, biodiversity will be reduced.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRIORITY:
7. Recognizing JDNP's importance and threatened state, the Forestry Services Division (FSD), Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), has designated JDNP as one of the three priority protected areas to be strengthened under two major, national strategic documents: "Setting Conservation Priorities Into the Year 2001: a strategy for the Nature Conservation Section, Bhutan" (1995) and the 8th Five Year Plan. In 1993, RGoB upgraded what is now JDNP from a wildlife sanctuary encompassing the whole of northern Bhutan (gazetted in 1974), to the biologically representative and more manageable entity that it is now. Although a priority area, JDNP is extremely new and did not become operational until 1995.
8. Dinnerstein et al. (1995) list the strengthening of protected areas in Bhutan as a top priority for international support. In addition, the Global Biodiversity Strategy and the 4th National Congress of National Parks both stress the need to improve the management of protected areas. In particular, they highlight the importance of integrating the management of protected areas with the sustainable use of natural resources.
Policy Context
9. This proposed GEF intervention will benefit from a significant amount of overall policy work and specific site-related work that has been or is being undertaken in Bhutan. Bhutan's National Environmental Strategy, which is being prepared by the National Environment Commission (NEC), is a draft document that deals with broader issues of sustainable development including the brown sector (urban planning and pollution), and some green sector issues (renewable natural resources, hydro electricity, tourism, and biodiversity conservation). The development of a tourism management plan for JDNP will be facilitated by this strategy. The National Environmental Strategy will specifically coordinate the integrated management of JDNP on a national level by linking with a diverse array of issues such as population growth, tourism policies, grazing and livestock policies, and forest harvesting policies.
10. The Forest and Nature Conservation Act of 1995 provides a legal framework for the establishment and management of protected areas, social forestry and species conservation. The Act encourages community participation in forest management through social forestry and agro-forestry programs. This Act provides a solid policy foundation for the implementation of social forestry programs within JDNP.
11. A National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is under development in Bhutan with the support of GEF. JDNP is an obvious, national biodiversity priority for Bhutan. This factor, combined with the urgency of establishing JDNP "on-the-ground" and the significant global benefits to be accrued from protecting JDNP, justify this proposed intervention proceeding concurrently with the development of this NBSAP.
12. National-level environmental management capacities are being strengthened through a DANIDA sponsored project that is assisting the RGoB with land-use planning on a nation-wide basis. In addition, DANIDA is supporting the RGoB's National Environment Commission to enable, among other things, the formulation of a National Environmental Strategy.
13. In the forestry sector of Eastern Bhutan (near JDNP) Helvetas of Switzerland is providing support for the policy-level training of government officials, promoting research, and promoting sustainable forest management through a WB Forestry III project in Eastern Bhutan. GTZ is supporting a sustainable logging project in 3 districts of Bhutan. Both programs will be consulted as a matter of course through this effort.
14. Some of the other ongoing programs related to conservation, management, and utilization of biological resources include: Protected Area Planning in Bhutan funded by WWF; Biodiversity Conservation in the Kingdom of Bhutan funded by the Dutch Government; Forest Resource Management and Institutional Capacity Development funded by UNDP/Capacity 21; and the Third Forestry Development Project funded by the World Bank/Swiss Development Corporation.
15. All of the efforts listed above have been investigated and found to provide the requisite policy, strategic, and institutional bases upon which the proposed GEF intervention will be undertaken. Their activities are fully consistent and complementary with this proposed intervention, which will implement an integrated conservation and development program for Jigme Dorji National Park.
Relevance of the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC)
16. The BTFEC was established with GEF support in 1992 and has been under development ever since. The Fund's mandate requires it to invest in priority areas as identified by the BTFEC Management Board, utilizing only the interest earned on the Fund's principle. BTFEC's principle has grown fairly rapidly, reaching the US$17 million mark as of July 1996. In early 1996, BTFEC was re-organized under a new Royal Charter, which, among several things, has broadened its investment options. As the Fund enters this new stage of development, under a new charter, it will be developing a new strategic program and will draw heavily upon RGoB's development of a Biodiversity Action Plan, which will identify a wide range of biodiversity conservation priorities for the BTFEC.
17. To date the BTFEC has disbursed a total of US$ 291,000, in support of Bhutan's biodiversity conservation priorities. This is a relatively small amount, given the level of principle the Fund has enjoyed for the past 3 years. The reasons for this are as follows: 1) The rate of return on the principle was very low, due to initial investment restrictions. Additionally, for the first 2.5 years of the Fund's existence, the RGoB and the Fund were concerned with meeting GEF conditions in order to secure the full US$ 10 million GEF commitment. Most of these conditions were not funding intensive and therefore did not require BTFEC support; 2) the Fund has been striving to reach the US$20 million mark and therefore did not disburse all of the interest earned to date, plowing undisbursed interest back into the principle.
18. Jigme Dorji National Park has benefited from US$197,000 in support from BTFEC to date. The funds have been primarily spent on infrastructure and community development projects (Park headquarters, 3 schools, and approximately 100 km of trail improvement). While the funds that the BTFEC has invested in Jigme Dorji are helpful, they are not sufficient to bring JDNP up to a full operational level. BTFEC support is determined on an annual basis, with due consideration given to annual interest income (which will fluctuate) and the various proposals submitted for funding. Therefore, it is not in a position to fund a long-term, strategic intervention such as the one proposed here. BTFEC is not intended to provide up-front capital to establish an entire protected area. BTFEC funds are intended to be utilized for annually incurred expenditures, and discrete priority interventions related to ongoing priority maintenance efforts. This request for additional GEF support is based on the premise that JDNP requires a one-time, full-scale intervention in order to prevent the further degradation and loss of it's biodiversity resources. The intervention is intended to push JDNP over the "establishment threshold" and remove barriers to sustainable development within JDNP. Upon completion of this project, JDNP will be in an excellent position to utilize BTFEC support for operating and maintenance costs of sustaining priority project-initiated programs.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Global Environment Objectives
19. The global environmental objective is the in-situ conservation of the globally significant biodiversity of Jigme Dorji National Park. The project falls under the Biodiversity Focal Area's "Mountain Ecosystems" Operational Program. The benefits will include the conservation of a prime sample of the Eastern Himalaya ecoregion (one of the world's biodiversity "hotspots") and much of its attendant biodiversity.
Specific Project Objectives
20. The project is focused on the strengthening of Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan's largest and most diverse protected area (considering the full range of biodiversity: genetic, species, taxonomic and community levels). The project's specific objectives are to: 1) to fully establish Jigme Dorji Park as an operational protected area by instituting a participatory management program and bolstering the infrastructure of the Park and the management capacity of Park staff; and 2) to strengthen the Park by catalyzing a process with the citizens of Jigme Dorji National Park to develop and implement sustainable economic activities based on an integrated conservation and development approach.
21. The proposed GEF alternative will support a well defined package of activities with the overall objective of protecting Jigme Dorji's globally significant biodiversity. Three specific threats to this objective and their attendant root causes, have been identified from the priority concerns included in the conservation management plan for JDNP:
Threat #1: Unsustainable use of mountain grasslands and other grazing areas.
Root causes: 1) overpopulation of domestic animals due to a lack of alternative economic opportunities; 2) inadequate property system controlling use of common grassland resources.
Threat #2: Unsustainable use of mountain forest resources.
Root causes: 1) lack of alternative fuels/energy 2) lack of sufficient woodlots 3) inefficient utilization of wood for lumber and cooking 3) lack of an community-based conservation and development program for the Park (near total lack of Park presence "on the ground").
Threat #3: Poaching of plant and animal resources and human-caused fires.
Root causes: 1) lack of effective control mechanisms 2) lack of alternative economic opportunities 3) lack of personnel and enforcement 4) undemarcated boundary.
22. Owing to the Park's remoteness and the generally low population of the country, migration into the Park is unlikely. Pressure from outside the Park is seen as less of a problem than pressure from inside the Park.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
23. The project will establish JDNP as an effectively managed and operational national park. With over 6,000 people living inside of Jigme Dorji, any successful management/protection regime must be a partnership between the Park administration and local (Gewog) citizens. The project design and components are based upon a conservation management plan for the Park recently completed by the RGoB and WWF. The preparation of the plan entailed extensive consultations with local stakeholders, socio-economic surveys of every household in the Park, preliminary biological surveys, and assessments of existing information. Essentially, this intervention will implement the key aspects of JDNP's recently completed management plan.
24. In order to address the threats to JDNP's biodiversity and remove their attendant causes, the following key initiatives must be undertaken by this proposed intervention:
(a) JDNP must be strengthened on-the-ground and in the field. This will involve a two-pronged approach: (i) implementing a number of activities related to demarcation, training, and basic infrastructure development. Traditional management-related issues like poaching, tourism, and enforcement will be addressed; and (ii) communities within the Park must be brought into the management regime of the Park. This means reaching agreements with them on zoning and sustainable use levels of the Parks natural resources.
(b) Alternative, sustainable livelihood opportunities need to be developed with Park residents, both in the traditional agriculture and livestock sectors, as well as other, non-traditional sectors.
25. For purposes of presentation and organization, project activities to address the three threats listed above are divided into two components: a JDNP protected area strengthening component, and promotion of sustainable livelihoods component. These components and their corresponding objectives, activities and outputs have been designed to remove the root causes of three specific threats to the maintenance of the overall biological integrity of Jigme Dorji National Park as they are listed above
26. The two, interlinked components will be implemented in an integrated, successive manner, beginning with Component 1.
Component 1: Strengthening of JDNP
Component 1 strengthens JDNP by:
(a) completely establishing JDNP on-the-ground through demarcation of boundaries, infrastructure development, training of staff in management and enforcement.
(b) developing agreements on strict zoning -- Community Natural Resource Management Plans (CNRMP) -- with communities within JDNP in order to define sustainable utilization programs.
27. The first major project activity to strengthen JDNP will be the development of agreements -- CNRMPs -- with each of the 13 Gewogs (communities) located in JDNP. Each of the Gewogs drafted a list of priority socioeconomic concerns during the preparation of the recently finalized JDNP Conservation Management Plan. The next, crucial step is to work with the Gewogs on specific plans for managing their respective areas of the Park -- developing integrated solutions to local concerns and Park priorities. This will involve Park management working with the communities to jointly define the different use zones in their specific areas. The end result will be a land-use plan for Jigme Dorji Park developed with the full participation and ultimate approval by the stakeholders. These efforts will draw upon the expertise developed through a GEF-supported biodiversity conservation effort in Pakistan, under which IUCN has utilized a truly participatory, locally driven community planning approach.
28. Upon completion of these CNRMPs, a Gewog Park Management Board will be created and given the highest profile and distinction. Members of the Board will accompany Park staff on an integrated conservation and development protected area study tour in the region. These Board members will represent their individual Gewogs in helping to set Park management policy and develop programs.
29. Concurrently as part of Component 1, direct activities will be undertaken to strengthen Park management. The infrastructure of the Park -- trails, outposts, bridges, and interpretive centers as well as the capacities of the existing Park personnel will be significantly improved. Only gazetted in 1993, JDNP lacks a fully demarcated boundary. This will be done in a transparent, consultative process with local communities.
30. All infrastructure development activities proposed are designed to meet the basic needs of the Park managers as far as enabling Park staff to patrol their respective beats. They will be designed to allow staff to monitor areas susceptible to threats and potential threats and areas of wildlife management interest. As a co-financing arrangement, the Government has budgeted for 50 new staff over the course of the 5 year period (roughly 10 new staff per year). The project will be training these staff members as they come on line.
Component 2:
31. Component 2 will involve the actual implementation of selected elements of the CNRMP's by promoting sustainable livelihoods and new approaches that help traditional resource use systems adapt to rapid change.
32. Many of the activities initiated in the first half of the project will be ongoing throughout the project. Training and Park infrastructure development are the most prominent of these (see the Budget on page __ for details). The CNRMPs of Component 1 will lay the groundwork for key sustainable livelihood development activities to be undertaken in Component 2. In Component 2 the project will address the root causes of unsustainable resource use (grasslands and forests) in the Park. Drawing upon the concerns and priorities as laid out in the CNRMPs, the project will develop and implement property systems which promote the sustainable use of resources (e.g. rotational grazing schemes, increasing taxes on livestock and pasture improvement). The recently passed Forest and Nature Conservation Act provides the basis to develop more community-oriented forest-use systems all over Bhutan. It has yet to be implemented within JDNP. This part of the proposed intervention will work with local communities to devise the most efficacious, sustainable approach to forest use and conservation within JDNP.
33. Forest use and grazing are complex issues entrenched in traditional property rights and influenced by more recent economic and societal changes in Bhutan. Community-based resource management paradigms and traditional land tenure systems will be strengthened. Unfortunately, these traditional property systems have not evolved and/or adapted sufficiently to meet the rapidly changing ambient conditions or they have been recent, non-traditional situations such as absentee animal owners. With time, strategy, patience and compromise, it should be possible to arrive at a mutually beneficial solution to the problem of unsustainable use. This project will be working closely with communities and other stakeholders to develop sustainable use regimes centered on adaptive management with active feedback monitoring.
OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES, AND OUTPUTS
1. Objective 1: To fully establish Jigme Dorji National Park as an operational protected area.
1.1 Sub-objective 1: To fully staff Park administration and management structure.
Activities:
1.1.1 Jigme Dorji National Park to hire a full complement of staff (50 new staff) for Park administration, enforcement and monitoring, and community focal points) by the end of year four of project period. Note: The RGoB Civil Service Commission has committed to hiring the full complement of staff. These staff will be carefully hired in order to balance "outsiders" with "insiders" or local people and to ensure that the best quality people are invited onto JDNP staff.
1.2. Sub-objective 2: To train all Park staff as well as Gewog partners in germane management, monitoring, empowerment, enforcement, and survey methodologies (see also Objective 2).
Activities:
1.2.1 Provide protected area management training for Jigme Dorji Park Manager, Assistant Manager, and four wardens at a regional center of excellence.
1.2.2 Provide wildlife management training for Jigme Dorji wardens and research director.
1.2.3 Conduct Integrated Conservation and Development Programme (ICDP) regional study tours/work exchanges for a total of 47 Park staff and Gewog partners.
1.2.4 Provide community forestry and development extension training for a total of 14 wardens and Gewog partners.
1.2.5 Design and conduct sustainable development workshop for the leaders of the four dzonkhags within the Park and Park staff.
1.2.6 Provide management technical assistance for 2 years (UNV).
Approximate Outputs: Four wardens trained in protected area and wildlife management. Over 50 park staff and Gewog partners trained in the ICDP-related methodologies and sustainable development. Fourteen wardens and Gewog partners trained in community forestry.
1.3 Sub-objective 3: To strengthen Park management by demarcation of Park boundaries where they are not marked, demarcation of designated "use" zones within the Park, and strengthening Park infrastructure.
Activities:
1.3.1 Conduct GPS-guided field missions to physically demarcate southern boundary of the Park -- signpost markers set.
1.3.2 Demarcate of internal Park zone boundaries (see 1.4)
1.3.3 Build, eight warden/guard posts to enable guards to properly patrol and monitor Park.
1.3.4 Build two Interpretive/welcome centers.
1.3.5 Equip Park staff and facilities with basic communication, office, and field equipment.
1.3.6 Build, 9 traditional and 2 suspension bridges to improve transportation within the Park.
1.3.7 Construct 200 km of trails.
Approximate Outputs: 250 kilometers of boundary demarcated. Boundaries of the 6 different zones within the Park demarcated. 8 warden/guard posts. 2 interpretive centers.
1.4 Sub-objective 4: To develop Gewog Community Natural Resource Management Plans (CNRMPs) for the 13 Gewogs located in the Park by working closely with local and provincial (Gewog and Dzonkhag respectively) representatives.
Activities:
1.4.1 Identify members and establish Gewog planning committees. Planning process initiated in 4 Gewogs per year. Involves ZOPP-led initial workshops, mid-term workshops, and final workshops held in the finalization of CNRMPs. Note: Each Gewog will finalize and implement its own CNRMP for it's particular enclave and multiple use zone of the Park. In the process, the zone boundaries will be physically demarcated.
1.4.2 Conduct study tour for committee representatives to model protected area in the region.
1.4.3 Provide short-term training for Gewog based Risups in Park-people interactions.
1.4.4 Establish Jigme Dorji National Park Gewog Advisory Committee.
Approximate Outputs: 26 Gewog representatives will have been trained. 13 Gewog CNRMPs will have been finalized and will be under implementation. All 6 land-use zones demarcated and agreed upon by stakeholders.
1.5 Sub-objective 5: To develop a full tourism management plan developed with attendant guidelines to enable sustainable tourism in the Park. Note: Given the $200/day mandatory fee RGoB has imposed on tourists/trekkers, tourism is a high value activity in Bhutan. Jigme Dorji is the most popular trekking destination for Bhutan and, given RGoB restrictions on where tourism will be allowed, it will continue to be the top destination. All that is needed is an effective management program.
Activities:
1.5.1 Develop policies, procedures, and guidelines for a Sustainable Tourism Management Program in Jigme Dorji.
1.5.2 Conduct workshops with Gewogs, Dzonkhags, NEC, and Planning Commission and Tourism Authority of Bhutan to finalize Tourism Management Plan.
1.5.3 Establish 10 improved campsites along major trails.
Approximate Outputs: Tourism Management Program developed and under implementation.
1.6 Sub-objective 6: To build a database of baseline natural resource and land-use information on which to base management decisions.
Activities:
1.6.1 Conduct bi-annual Rapid Natural Resource Assessments
1.6.2 Conduct management-oriented research on species distribution and population dynamics for priority species representative of the eight major habitat types.
1.6.3 Build GIS database and tie to a 1:50,000 scale maps of the entire Park.
Approximate Outputs: Geographical Information database (at 1:50,000 scale) for all of Jigme Dorji Park containing information on species distribution, abundance, livestock numbers, forest cover, and so on.
2. Objective 2: To strengthen the Park by catalyzing a process with the citizens of Jigme Dorji National Park in developing and implementing sustainable economic activities based on an integrated conservation and development approach.
2.1 Sub-objective: To promote sustainable livestock herding and natural resource use through a participatory, adaptive management approach.
Activities:
2.1.1 Identify formal and informal user groups, verify existing grazing permits issued by local authorities, and survey and map all registered grazing lands in order to assess stocking rates.
2.1.2 Develop and implement a new property system that updates old property system to the new, monetary taxing system, recognizing that the relatively new requirement for liquidity may tend to force villagers to convert resources into cash and develop strategies to deal with these new pressures (i.e. extend formal recognition to informal herder groups, and so on).
2.1.3 Develop and implement fodder production pilot programs in tandem with the rehabilitation of degraded slopes and the provision of incentives for adopting more sustainable methods and disincentives for not adopting them.
2.1.4 Carry out ongoing educational and awareness raising programs related to the situation.
Approximate Outputs: Information for effective management. Grassland user groups defined. Grazing permits verified. Information recorded and mapped at 1:50,000,000 scale and entered into GIS.
2.2 Sub-objective 2: To empower local communities to develop and implement alternative income generating activities:
Activities:
2.2.1 Micro-credit. Provide interest-free loans for environmentally sustainable economic development initiatives (e.g. tourist transport, improved, local lumber production, and horticultural initiatives).
2.2.2 Research habitat and soil requirements for selected, high-value medicinal plants and implement pilot horticultural programs for the plants. Note: Medicinal plant harvesting is an important source of alternative income for many Park residents. However, once common plants are becoming increasingly rare.
2.2.3 Conduct demonstration programs on sustainable economic (production and marketing) activities related to horticulture, tourism, and lumber.
2.2.4 Promote a sustainable utilization program for wild medicinal plants. A new property system to control exploitation of the plants will be devised (permits and licenses issued to designated collectors, rotational harvesting schemes).
Approximate Outputs: New plant harvesting system in place. 10 new interest free loans per year (for four years) utilized for sustainable economic development. 10 sustainable economic development demonstration workshops held in various locations in the Park.
2.3 Sub-objective 3: To maintain existing forest cover and rehabilitate degraded forest by addressing root causes of forest loss: lack of fuelwood and alternative energy sources.
Activities:
2.3.1 Develop pilot cooking/heating stove demonstrations to promote the adoption of more efficient wood-burning stoves in Jigme Dorji's five communities and trekking outfitters in the alpine zone.
2.3.2 Demonstrate pilot solar water boiling reflectors and make available for purchase in pilot areas throughout the Park and by trekking outfitters.
2.3.3 Promote social forestry through training, provision of seedlings, and establishment of 8 nurseries.
2.3.4 Implement pilot micro-hydro projects in 3 selected villages in the Park and basic appliance demonstrations given.
Approximate Outputs: 8 nurseries established in areas identified by communities themselves. 3 pilot micro-hydro generators installed in 3 priority Gewogs. Pilot demonstrations given to 400 households in JDNP, with approximately 200 households adopting new technologies.
2.4 Sub-objective 4: To raise awareness within the local population regarding biodiversity significance and sustainable development methodologies.
Activities:
2.4.1 Develop and disseminate informational materials on Jigme Dorji Park's remarkable biodiversity. Stakeholders, including government officials, school teachers, and monks, will be the target audience.
2.4.2 Develop and disseminate sustainable development materials for dissemination to target audience.
2.4.3 Implement an awareness raising program related to the medicinal plant harvesting.
Approximate Outputs: 4 brochures in the Dzonhka produced. One book on Jigme Dorji National Park in English and Dzonkha produced. Radio programming produced.
35. Monitoring and Evaluation: Integrate an active monitoring and evaluation effort to ensure that the project implementation benefits from double-loop learning and is adaptively managed.
36. Conduct a baseline assessment to establish the conditions existing prior to the project implementation. Forest cover and rangeland conditions to be monitored via critical transects. Conduct annual monitoring and evaluation exercises to measure the impact of project-sponsored activities and progress (rate of implementation, risks, objectives achievement). Continue monitoring activities for three years following completion of project in order to assess sustainability, impact, and attainment of objectives.
RATIONALE FOR GEF FINANCING
37. This proposed GEF intervention presents a strong case for GEF financing. The biological diversity of Jigme Dorji National Park and its global significance is unquestionable. Implementation of this proposal will bolster the objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and be guided by priority concepts delineated by the CBD and the GEF Operational Strategy (Operational Programs and priority activities): the need to integrate sustainable use with biodiversity conservation; the need to promote in situ conservation; the need to identify and monitor biological diversity important for its conservation; the need to promote environmentally sound and sustainable development; and the need to promote the international/regional technical cooperation in the fields of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
38. Mountain ecosystems are specifically identified by the COP of the CBD as a priority area. The project will bolster the objectives and priority activities of Mountain Ecosystems OP. Those priorities addressed under this intervention are as follows:
(a) The project seeks to conserve and sustainably utilize biodiversity in the Himalayan region, an area identified in the OS as being under increasing human pressure and imminent threat of degradation.
(b) The project seeks to establish sustainable land use practices on mountain slopes in order to protect the representative habitats of the Himalayas that are encompassed within JDNP;
(c) The project will play a key role in strengthening the global network of representative conservation areas for mountain ecosystems.
(d) JDNP itself, given its size and altitudinal variation, provides a corridor between lowland and mountain ecosystems, a priority under the Mountains Ecosystem OP. In addition, by actually building JDNP into an effectively managed area, the project will be contributing to a protected area complex, which, with JDNP in place, will provide a nearly continuous chain of protected areas and habitats permanent icefields in the north of Bhutan to lowland sub-tropical systems in the south on the border with India: JDNP-- Black Mountain National Park -- Royal Manas National Park -- India's lowland Manas Project Tiger Reserve.
39. DNP is a national priority as identified in the Nature Conservation Action Plan and the 8th Five Year Plan and conforms to COP guidance and GEF priorities. The project will promote sustainability through demonstration projects and measures to strengthen local community involvement and integrate conservation and sustainable development. Proposed GEF activities are additional, complementing national expenditures and leveraging development-oriented international funds. This proposal strategically leverages funds to support sustainable development activities, leaving GEF to support the priority biodiversity conservation objectives. The proposal could not be more country driven as it has been derived directly from the recently completed Jigme Dorji National Park Conservation Management Plan.
SUSTAINABILITY AND PARTICIPATION
40. Stakeholder participation, financial sustainability and governmental commitment are central elements of the project design. Different iterations of the project concept have been under development for two years now. Detailed preparation of a draft proposal was completed by JDNP-WWF in 1995. Based upon this proposal and the priorities expressed in the recently completed JDNP Conservation Management Plan, this proposal was developed by the Nature Conservation Section of the Bhutanese Ministry for Agriculture and WWF.
41. The participation of local communities in the management of JDNP is inextricably tied to the sustainability of biodiversity conservation efforts in the Park. The development of the Management Plan for JDNP was an entirely participative exercise, with representatives from all 13 Gewogs involved over a period of two years. Meetings were held in every village in the Park. Each of the 1,100 households in the Park was covered over a period of three years by socio-economic survey teams preparing for the development of the Management plan. This proposal is derived directly from the priorities expressed in the management plan and takes stakeholder participation several steps further with the development of CNRMPs and Gewog Management Board. In addition, stakeholders/community partners will be recruited and trained by Park staff as will a substantial portion of new staff hired over the next five years. Sustainable livelihood programs developed under this project will maximize stakeholder involvement in the process as well as the outcome.
42. The project was designed and finalized by the JDNP Director and other related RGoB staff, including close consultations with the BTFEC Chairman. Specific attention was paid to designing a program that is commensurate with Bhutan's absorptive capacity from an institutional and community standpoint, ensuring that the resultant programs developed under the project are sustainable. A five year time period was chosen to enable the activities to be gradually implemented. Heavy community involvement is built into the project and into long-term projections of how the Park will manage itself and the people within it will manage themselves. Local NGOs will be a vital part of the implementation arrangements -- providing the expertise and institutional support for many of the training and public awareness activities.
43. The project has been designed to build financial self-sufficiency. The financial sustainability of JDNP is a key issue. In the long run, the combination of income from eco-tourism as well as incomes from forestry, animal husbandry, and medicinal plant harvesting, along with partial funding from the BTFEC, should be sufficient to ensure financial viability. By creating an effectively managed protected area, the project will ensure sustainability by enabling the Park to effectively utilize assistance from the still maturing BTFEC. In addition, the RGoB has indicated that one of the priority expenditures of the BTFEC will be to fund the upkeep costs associated with the protected area network, while RGoB continues to increase it's own expenditures related to biodiversity conservation.
44. The Royal Government of Bhutan's commitment to biodiversity conservation is amply demonstrated by is designation of 27% of the country's land area as protected under special management regimes. Such a commitment arises from the reverence for nature and life as prescribed by Bhutan's religious philosophy; a philosophy which has also endowed the Royal Government with a firm foundation on which to build and direct the country's future. For instance, despite radical changes in Bhutan over the past 30 years, the government has maintained its strong traditional conservation ethic as the basis for its development policies.
45. The RGoB civil service has approved funds for permanently hiring a full complement of staff for JDNP as part of the proposed intervention. Once the Park infrastructure is in place, the RGoB has committed to picking up recurrent maintenance costs in the years to follow by tapping a variety of sources (Tourism, BTFEC, and General Treasury Funds). Jigme Dorji is the highest draw for foreign tourists who visit Bhutan. Specific policies and programs will be formulated to ensure that revenues from tourism are plowed back into Park management and local community development;
LESSONS LEARNED AND TECHNICAL REVIEW ARRANGEMENTS
46. Economic development-related activities in the Park need to be inextricably tied to the overall objective of sustainable utilization and conservation of biodiversity. This lesson has been learned over and over again as the result of well meaning efforts to improve the livelihoods of local communities which only ended up exacerbating the original problem in the first place.
47. Implementation of this project will draw lessons from a variety of ICDP projects from a range of mountainous regions. These, along with the significant amount of published material on the subject, will provide valuable input to project implementation activities. The example comes to mind of the Sagarmantha project in Nepal which improved the incomes of yak herders hoping that this would encourage the reduction of yak numbers, only to have the herders invest their additional income in yet more yaks, exacerbating the original problem of overgrazing in the high country. This project, while helping to provide alternative income generating activities, will also address the root cause of the grazing problem -- an inadequate property regime for the alpine grasslands. Without property systems which encourage sustainability, no real change can occur.
48. Many projects have exceeded the absorptive capacity of the host institutions. Careful consideration has been given to the absorptive capacity of Jigme Dorji's institutions and communities. This project has been designed and expressly limited by RGoB to avoid this situation. Activities are divided into two successive components designed to be implemented in an integrated fashion, and yet not exceed the absorptive capacity of the existing situation. Training programs will be phased in along with increased staffing levels. Careful attention will be paid to developing the foundation of CNRMPs before actual work begins on key sustainable use demonstration programs and other activities.
49. A GEF pilot phase biodiversity project in Pakistan, "Maintaining Biodiversity with Rural Community Development -- PAK/92/G41" is successfully implementing a truly participatory, community-driven, local resource management planning program. The experience and expertise developed through this effort during the past two years will be tapped in order to maximize the effectiveness of the community planning approach included in Bhutan.
50. The STAP technical review is very supportive of the project proposal. A copy of the comments, along with a summary of how the reviewer's concerns have been incorporated into the document, is included in Annex 3.
ISSUES, ACTIONS AND RISKS
51. The major risks associated with the project are the threats to JDNP from the unsustainable use of biological resources within the Park. Given the extremely rugged and inaccessible terrain, external threats are negligible.
52. The entire project is designed to address specific threats, as explained in the Project Objectives and Description Sections. The revision of property systems related to grazing, forest-use, and herbaceous plant-use will be a challenging undertaking, as the issue is a sensitive one. RGoB shows a clear commitment to this effort.
53. Unless local communities are made partners in Park management and appropriate incentives and disincentives provided to encourage and discourage certain activities, the commitment of RGoB will not be sufficient to address the threats.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
54. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is the lead Ministry in Bhutan for biodiversity conservation/protected area management. The Nature Conservation Section (NCS), under the MoA's Forestry Services Division (FSD), is responsible for all national parks in Bhutan. As such, project implementation responsibility rests with the head of the Nature Conservation Section, who in turn, has delegated implementation authority to the JDNP Park manager. JDNP management will be responsible for on-the-ground implementation of the biodiversity conservation activities. Park management will also, on a regular basis, collaborate with the Dzongkhag Administrations to facilitate planning and implementation of community development activities.
55. Although implementation responsibility rests with the NCS, various activities will implemented collaboratively with different entities. NGOs will implement the public awareness activities and some of the community development programs. Selected activities related to sustainable livelihoods will be implemented by the Dzongkhag Administrations. As FSD/NCS staff acquire skills in these new areas, they will also play a greater role in the implementation. This will involve coordinating activities with various government sectors for technical expertise in community forestry, agroforestry, livestock and agriculture development, rural hydro-electricity, education, and ecotourism.
56. The project will be implemented over 5 years. Project management will be assisted by a senior technical expert (UNV) for the initial 2 years of the project. An international consultant will be brought in to assist with project initiation and for short-term guidance on an annual basis. International technical advisors will be recruited for the Gewog planning, tourism planning, grazing management, and forestry extension activities.
57. To facilitate and coordinate "day-to-day" project implementation, a Project Advisory Group, chaired by the head of Nature Conservation Section (NCS), Ministry of Agriculture, will be formed. The group will consist of 5 members: JDNP Manager and the UNV counterpart, a project officer from the Budget and Aid Coordination Division of the Ministry of Finance, the project finance officer from the Administration and Finance Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, an officer from the Planning Commission, and the UNDP Programme Officer. The Group will meet on a quarterly basis (15 times in all).
58. To give the project overall policy and implementation guidance, a Project Advisory Committee will be formed, chaired by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and consisting of nine members: four Dzongda (Dzonkhag Governors), three representatives from the 13 Gewogs on the Park, Joint Secretary of Forests, the head of the NCS, and the UNDP Resident Representative. The Advisory Committee will meet on an annual basis (5 times in all).
59. RGoB will also be responsible for preparation and execution of contracts, monitoring, and progress reporting. Delivery of those external inputs which are beyond RGoB's capacity to procure (technical assistance and equipment procurement) will be provided by UNDP. Note: for a discussion of sustainability, see "Sustainability" section above.
60. Quarterly progress updates will be submitted by project management to the head of NCS and the Resident Representative of UNDP. A Project Progress Evaluation Report will be completed annually by project management and will be the basis for project progress review. Mid-term and Final evaluations will be undertaken by external evaluators (STAP roster specialists) following Monitoring and Evaluation guidelines for GEF.
For the implementation timeline, please see pages 22 and 23.
ANNEXES
ANNEX 1: CALCULATION OF INCREMENTAL COST
ANNEX 2: LETTER OF COUNTRY ENDORSEMENT BY DESIGNATED OPERATIONAL (Not available in electronic format. Copies are available upon request from the GEF Secretariat.)
ANNEX 3: TECHNICAL REVIEW
Broad Developmental Goals
1. The Royal Government of Bhutan has consistently rated the conservation of Bhutan's natural heritage as an inextricable part of it's overall national development objectives. Aware of the proactive opportunity Bhutan possess in sustainably utilizing its natural resources before they are degraded, RGoB issued the "Paro Declaration" of 1990, declaring Bhutan's intention to pursue sustainable economic development in all of its iterations. In addition, the RGoB has set aside over 20% of its national territory in the form of protected areas. In the agreement which established the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, the RGoB agreed to maintain forest cover on over 60% of it's territory. International tourism is being strictly controlled to maximize benefits and minimize cultural and environmental costs associated with it. Clearly, biodiversity conservation is an integral part of Bhutan's broad development goals.
2. However, this being said, the RGoB's capacity to achieve these goals is limited to the extent that without international assistance, the goal of conserving and sustainably utilizing Bhutan's biodiversity resources cannot be achieved.
Baseline
3. Because this proposed intervention is concerned with one protected area and not all of Bhutan, the appropriate baseline for this proposed project is considered to be the current situation in which RGoB-supported activities address the root causes of the threats identified in the proposal within the system boundary of Jigme Dorji National Park. Over the course of the next five years, the RGoB will spend approximately $393,000 on related activities (animal husbandry, agriculture, forestry, and JDNP management) in the system boundary of Jigme Dorji National Park. This level of expenditure reflects the pragmatic situation regarding the current development priorities on the part of the RGoB.
4. Baseline expenditures related to animal husbandry are related primarily to providing veterinary care for domestic animals, "gift yaks" to poor herders from the King, and limited pasture improvement. With regards to agriculture, baseline expenditures pay for the distribution of improved seeds and other programs to maximize food production, fertilizer and pesticide use. Baseline expenditures in the forestry sector include monitoring, fire control, four nurseries, administration costs, and school plantations. Currently, RGoB employs eleven staff for Jigme Dorji National Park.
5. Under the baseline activities related to Jigme Dorji National Park, the park itself would remain insufficiently managed, staffed and demarcated. Enforcement would be virtually non-existent. Forest management within the park would be minimal, with little development of alternative fuels and livelihoods by local communities. Grassland management would continue to suffer from the "tragedy of the commons." In conclusion, under the baseline scenario, Jigme Dorji would essentially continue to be a paper park where little to no "on the ground" management and a steady degradation of biological resources due to insufficient management and enforcement as well as unsustainable development activities.
Global Environmental Objective
6. The mountain kingdom of Bhutan, wedged between China and India, is located entirely within one of the world's ten global biodiversity "hot spots" - the Eastern Himalaya. With over 70% forest cover, Bhutan is known to harbor approximately 7,000 species of vascular plants, 160 species of mammals and more than 770 species of birds. Bhutan's landscape rises from an altitude of 150 meters above sea level in the southern foothills to over 7,000 meters along its northern border. This dramatic elevation gradient accounts for its diverse flora and fauna, from elephants, tigers and the rare golden languor in the lowlands to the snow leopard, blue sheep and takin in the high Himalaya.
7. The global environmental objective is to conserve the globally significant biodiversity of Jigme Dorji National park by slowing current environmental degradation trends by promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, instituting a participatory management program and strengthening the infrastructure of the Park and the management capacity of Park staff.. The project falls under the Biodiversity Focal Area, Mountains and Forests Operational Programs.
Alternative
8. The GEF contribution to this intervention will establish an "on-the-ground" Park where essentially only a paper park exists now. This will be done through planning, training, demarcating, and infrastructure strengthening. An innovative program will be developed, based upon the recently completed management plan, whereby local communities will be full partners in designing the integrated conservation and development approach to Park management. The alternative GEF-supported activities were designed based upon the priority interventions enunciated in a recently completed RGoB management plan for the Park. They are designed to produce an alternative situation where the Park is a participatory entity actively and sustainably managing its resources in full collaboration with local communities. National level activities are not part of this proposed intervention, being adequately covered by other, ongoing RGoB initiatives. The GEF alternative represents the minimum, most cost-effective, incremental intervention to achieve global benefits over and above the baseline, national benefits.
9. As part of this alternative package, there are also non-incremental costs associated with bolstering the national (sustainable) baseline of activities. These costs will be co-funded by other sources. The two financing modalities help the project conform to the GEF's concern to equalize the benefits between the baseline and the alternative.
System Boundary
10. This project has a well defined system boundary, a boundary that encompasses the identified threats/root causes to the focal investment. Geographically, the system boundary is defined by the bounds of Jigme Dorji National Park. Conceptually, the boundary is defined by the need to accommodate the relevant threats to the focal investment -- Jigme Dorji National Park. Those threats are: insufficient management, unsustainable use of forests and non timber resources, and unsustainable use of grasslands. Outside pressures to Jigme Dorji, given the extremely remote and inaccessible nature of most of the Park, were deemed to be a relatively low priority for intervention at this stage. Those that are a priority (e.g. poaching) are covered under the management strengthening component of this intervention or are being addressed by other initiatives. In addition, all three of the identified threats and their corresponding root causes have solutions which will have an impact outside the Park.
Domestic Benefits
11. Though there will be a good number of domestic benefits generated from the proposed overall project package, these are not of concern here as they are being generated by funding from other, non-GEF sources. Domestic benefits generated from GEF-supported activities (training, capacity building, infrastructure strengthening, planning), are not directly quantifiable. No case is made for their recovery. Improved management of tourism in Jigme Dorji is expected to yield funds for park management. These are as yet unquantified, and regardless, will be fed back into park management activities, thereby directly contributing to the conservation of global benefits.
Costs and Co-financing
12. The costs of the proposed alternative intervention are as follows:
Sustainable Baseline (Co-funding) $1,031,568
(UNCDF, UNDP, RGoB)
GEF Incremental Funding Request: $1,497,682
Total Project Cost $2,529,250
Incremental Cost Matrix
Component Cost Category Cost Domestic Benefits Global Benefits
Park Baseline $110,000 a) 11 staff employed a) minimal
Strengthening and minimal field protection of
work undertaken. biodiversity
resources
Alternative $1,986,250 a) leveraged Gov't a) increased
(incl. commitment to enforcement and
baseline increase staffing protection of
costs) for the Park biodiversity
b) better tourism resources.
management and b) High priority
resulting revenues. site brought under
c) increased effective
domestic awareness management.
d) more trained, Participatory
capable mangement plans
professionals implemented.
Resources
sustainably
utilized. Hotspot
biodiversity
conserved.
Increment $1,876,250
GEF $1,497,682
Co-financing $378,568
Sustainable Baseline $283,000 - limited social
Livelihoods forestry
- veterinary care
- improved crop
varieties
- limited livelihood
options
Alternative 936,000 a) - comprehensive Pressure on
social forestry significant
- revitalized biodiversity
property regimes for resources reduced to
grazing and forestry a sustainable level.
-alternative
livelihoods
developed
Increment $653,000
GEF 0
Co-financing $653,000
Totals Baseline 393,000
Alternative 2,922,250
Increment GEF 2,529,250
Co-financing 1,497,682
1,031,568
Agreement
13 The details of the project design have been negotiated and agreed with Government during the course of a 2 year gestation period. UNDP's contribution of $293,000 is certain. UNCDF's contribution of $360,000 is expected to be committed in September of 1996. RGoB is engaged in a dialogue with other potential co-funders. Final details will be agreed between RGoB, UNDP-GEF, UNDP-Bhutan, and UNCDF.
ANNEX II
LETTER OF COUNTRY ENDORSEMENT (Not available on electronic format. Copies available on request from the GEF Secretariat.)
ANNEX III
INDEPENDENT TECHNICAL REVIEW
1. The reader will find attached a copy of the technical review done by a STAP roster expert of the project brief. Writes the reviewer:
"The timing of the project is opportune, coming at a point when the necessary preliminary ground work has been done and government support is on track... The greatest strengths of the proposal are the means for ensuring local participation in the management of the protected area, and the linkage between the long-term funding mechanism and the short term GEF intervention... this is an excellent project and should be implemented with all due speed."
2. Concurrently, the review provides some substantiative and constructive suggestions which have since been taken into account in the project brief. These issues will be addressed in more detail in the follow-on full project document. In addition, helpful comments from the GEF Secretariat, the World Bank, and internal UNDP reviewers have also been incorporated. These in particular resulted in the following areas where the brief has been strengthened:
3. The Activity descriptions have been streamlined as well as strengthened in their relationship to sustainable livelihood development.
4. More detail was added to the Activity descriptions section related to the adoption of a cash economy (vs. barter) into the local system and its potential dangers to biodiversity. This will be covered in the full project document via more detailed activities, Terms of Reference, etc.
5. The need to utilize local, high quality personnel has been emphasized in the Sustainability section of the proposal.
6. More specific information has been included as to the global significance of the site as well as specific reference as to where even more information can be obtained.
7. The relationship between what this project proposed to do and the priorities of the Convention on Biological Diversity have been strengthened in the GEF Rationale section. The project will certainly collaborate with the ongoing efforts to draft a national biodiversity action plan for Bhutan.
8. The issue of how the project will work within (and help to increase) the operational capacity of RGoB is described in more detail in the Sustainability section.
ANNEX IV (Not available in electronic format. Copies available upon request from the GEF Secretariat)
MAP OF JIGME DORJI NATIONAL PARK (Not available in electronic format. Copies available upon request from the GEF Secretariat)