Strategies to involve the civil society in private conservation

5.3.2.1. Joint work between the private sector and the government

The number of private initiatives for conservation will not increase if local (municipal and departmental) and national government do not support them with adequate policies and the enforcement of laws.

For this reason the establishment of a close relationship among the entities that regulate legal procedures of private conservation, the private landowners and the conservationists’

institutions, is a strategy that will help to solve the problems more easily than isolated initiatives. Thus, joint projects, specialised training, the diffusion of information and regular feedback among them are activities that could improve an efficient inter-institutional work.

In particular, training in the regulations of private land conservation for government employees, who are working in entities not related to conservation but related to land regulations and taxes, is needed because most of them are not familiar with the procedures and policies that allow owners to participate in the conservation of biodiversity.

Good synergic outcomes are expected from an inter-institutional co-operation. One such example is the inter-institutional project of two governmental institutions (SIA, SIF), two NGOs (FAN-Bolivia, FCBC) and Gabriel Rene Moreno University carried out in Chiquitania

region. In this project, new criteria for land-use planning regulations were developed depending on the environmental conditions and conservation priorities of the area under consideration (FCBC online 2004).

5.3.2.2. Strengthening of key governmental institutions

Governmental institutions in charge of the regulation of private land conservation in Bolivia currently suffer economic and administrative restrictions which limit their capacity to enforce conservation laws and monitoring activities.

For this reason, one of the first steps to promote private conservation is also the support of these institutions in order to improve their capacities. Target groups are (a) the regulatory governmental organisations: Agrarian Superintendence (SIA), Forestry Superintendence (SIF), (b) Governmental agencies: National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP), (c) local governments: Prefectures and Municipalities, and (d) other entities, such as the ownership registry office.

Regulatory governmental institutions have to control the enforcement of laws. The Agrarian Superintendence, in charge of controlling the land-use planning and the adequate use of soil, has shown weaknesses due to the lack of resources. For instance, in 2003, this institution had only one employee to attend the land-use planning processes of three departments. Obviously, this situation has retarded the approval of land-use plans and their monitoring. The role of the Agrarian Superintendence in the process of private conservation is vital and therefore not only economic support is urgent but also assistance to improve their functional structure. Given the fact that economic resources are limited, this institution should share its competences with local governments, in particular with municipalities.

In contrast, the Forest Superintendence has received assistance from US-projects and therefore has a very good institutional structure and some economical independence, since it gets part of the taxes of timber exploitation. Nevertheless, this institution has very few personnel assigned to attend private conservation.

The environmental law establishes that all protected areas, including the private ones, are under the control of the state and its correspondent institutions. The National Service of Protected Areas (SENAP) is responsible for the administration of protected areas, but this institution has had very little impact to help private conservation initiatives. On the one hand the SERNAP has limited resources to attend them, but on the other hand this institution did not design a clear policy about the private conservation movement. Conservation initiatives

on private lands, whose numbers are increasing encouraged by some Bolivian environmentalists’ organisations, are calling for a more active involvement of the SERNAP.

The institution in charge of the revision of property rights (INRA) can influence through its policy the people’s attitudes towards either deforestation or conservation. Up to now, the land cadastre has been realized around strong social and economic pressures, thus the concepts of biodiversity conservation have practically been ignored. Because of its key-role in land tenure definition, INRA should receive support to address their procedures and actions preventing the destruction of natural areas.

The Prefectures or departmental governments, which administrate all civil matters, play a sensitive role regarding private conservation, because they guarantee the security for private ownership. However, their capacities for immediate interventions to help landowners who are affected by transgression (for example illegal hunting) are not yet effective.

Finally, the municipalities need to support their operative dependences related to the management of natural resources to introduce policies for private conservation as was mentioned in 5.3.1.3.

5.3.2.3. Proactive monitoring of the process of land tenure revision

Currently, the establishment of private conservation areas is connected to the process of land tenure revision. Land-use planning is a part of the technical evaluation of this process in order to get the governmental recognition of land property, i.e. most landowners have to obtain their land-use plans. Thus, a historical strategic moment to promote land-use systems with conservationist perspective is going on and therefore several opportunities to promote the sustainable use and conservation on private lands. However, at the same time, land planning could allow the destruction of natural values if production concepts predominate and land conversion is preferred.

Under these conditions, the monitoring of the revision process of the land rights must be done in order to avoid a negative effect on forest areas and in general on the environment.

Institutions, scientists and social groups should stress the importance of areas with priority for conservation such as the study zone.

Nowadays there are high social pressures on the institutions in charge of the revision of the property rights. Several stakeholders are fighting to get more access to land but most of them are obviously not considering the biological value of those lands. Here the diffusion of

information and permanent communication could be an effective manner to introduce the conservationists’ concepts of sustainable land use.

5.3.2.4. Diffusion of information about private conservation and specific education

The most important challenge for the private conservation movement in Bolivia, in the short term, is to achieve the recognition and respect of the civil society - this involves the understanding of the benefits of natural area conservation on private properties.

It is important to remark that the landowners of private reserves are not the sole group which suffers from this lack of recognition. Also rural and indigenous communities (also private proprietors), who have been the first defenders of nature, have had to deal with juridical insecurity and absence of incentives.

Then, a second urgent task is to educate and inform about private conservation. The opportunities of a direct participation of the civil society in conservation has to be demonstrated with the purpose of involving as many Bolivian citizens as possible. The recognition of the right to conserve will set appropriate conditions for the support and the creation of incentives.

5.4. Implications from the study for conservation