Program Highlights -- 1996

The BCN program consists of five components (Program Overview). This year's highlights are presented accordingly. While annual reports from BCN's first two years described the process of managing the grant program, this 1996 report begins to document the impacts of this program. In particular, this year we have increased activities in the analysis and communication components.

A. Develop Program Concept and Structure

The first program component involves developing the BCN concept and establishing effective institutional structures and administrative systems. Most of the conceptual development work was completed in the first two years of the BCN program. Highlights for the year include:

• BCN Mid-Term Evaluation Completed. In FY96, an outside group, John Mellor Associates (JMA), did a formal evaluation of the BCN program. The evaluation found that BCN was "on track" in all aspects of the program. JMA lauded BCN's client focus and BCN's ability to rapidly change its operations to meet the evolving situations in the countries in which it works. The evaluation team recommended simplification of grantee monitoring systems and development of additional contacts with private sector firms. (See Appendix B for the Evaluation Executive Summary.)

• BCN Staff Decentralized. BCN staff now number 12 with 8 of those based in the field (Manila, Jakarta, and New Delhi). Staff additions in the last year include the new Regional Representative, Ganesan "Bala" Balachander, and an enterprise expert, Flora Leocadio. Bala was formerly the manager of the BCN-funded project in the Western Ghats, Karnataka State, India (TERI/UMB). Flora was formerly the Executive Director of the Upland marketing Program of the NGO Philippine Business for Social Progress. (See Organization Chart in Appendix D.)

B. Select Portfolio of Projects

The second component of BCN activities involves working with groups to develop high quality projects and proposals, selecting a portfolio of projects, and monitoring grants to ensure continuing quality. In FY96, the BCN completed the Implementation Grant award process. Highlights include:

• Twenty Projects are in Place. All 20 long-term projects in the portfolio have started operations under their BCN grants. The status of the projects in the words of the individual grantees is captured in the Stories from the Field in Section 2.

• Small Grant on Cyanide Fishing Documents Threats. BCN awarded a Small Grant to the International Marine Alliance (IMA) to research the impacts of cyanide fishing for the live-fish restaurant and ornamental fish trade. This grant has highlighted the extent of coral reef destruction in the Asia-Pacific region. IMA is becoming a leader in technical assistance, working with governments in the region to set up laboratory facilities to detect the problem of cyanide use at source and to train coastal communities in alternative livelihood practices.

• Small Grant for Ecotourism Strategy has Potential for Leveraging Impact. BCN awarded a small grant to Wildlife Preservation Trust International (WPTI) to assist The Nature Conservancy and the Government of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia to design a tourism strategy for the Lore Lindu National Park region. Based in part on this work, the WPTI team was asked to join an Asian Development Bank mission that is currently designing a $75 million economic development, environmental conservation, and health project for Sulawesi.

C. Assist in Implementing Projects (Enterprises and Monitoring)

The third component of BCN activities involves helping groups to implement the enterprises and monitoring plans that are the core of their projects. The information that grantees collect will hopefully be used by partners to modify and improve project implementation and also enable BCN to evaluate its core hypothesis. In FY96, BCN staff spent substantial time working toward these objectives. Highlights include:

• 23 Enterprises at 15 Projects are Generating Cash Flow. Twenty-three enterprises are selling products or services. All of these continue to depend on subsidies from the grant funds awarded to the lead agency to improve the capacity of the enterprise and NGO staff. Although the average cash flow per year across the twenty three businesses is quite low (less than $15,000 per year) the maximum (the WWF-I project selling birdwing butterflies in Indonesia) is projected at $100,000 per year. For details on the successes and challenges confronting these projects, please see the project updates in Section 2.

• Reduction of Threats to Biodiversity at 18 Project Sites. Eighteen BCN projects have documented one or more reductions in the threats to the biodiversity of their projects sites. These vary from the decision by a foreign logging company to leave the island of Makira (Solomon Islands) to a regional government's decision to place a road further from Lore Lindu national park (Indonesia) to reduced incidences of poaching in Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal). Details are reported in the table in Appendix A.

• Monitoring Programs have Started at All of the BCN's Projects. All 20 projects within the overall portfolio are now collecting biological and socioeconomic monitoring data which will be used for assessing conservation impact.

• Quality of Monitoring Improving Through On-going, On-site Workshops. In FY 1995, BCN held initial monitoring workshops for all grantees. As part of its networking efforts and to improve the quality of grantee monitoring programs, BCN staff organized and held follow-up monitoring sessions at BCN Grantee sites in India (2), Indonesia (4), Philippines (2), and the Solomon Islands. As a result, monitoring has improved.

D. Collect Data and Analyze Results

The fourth component of BCN activities involves analyzing the results in conjunction with both grantees and other groups involved in similar efforts. Highlights include:

• In-Depth Enterprise Cost Analyses Completed at Four Projects. Detailed cost analyses helps grantees focus on those aspects of their operations which can most easily undermine a businesses' viability. Cost analyses has been completed at four projects. As an example, the cost analyses of individual jam products at the Kalahan Educational Foundation (KEF) revealed that the jam business of KEF has a good profit potential although some individual products such as the top-selling guava jelly need to have their prices increased. Also, at the Natripal/WWF site on Palawan, an analysis of the costs associated with the harvesting and sale of almaciga (resin), rattan, or honey also indicated good potential for profits. All analyses were done by BCN staff working in close collaboration with BCN grantees.

• Impact Indicators Developed with USAID Global Bureau. USAID and its implementing partners are developing a series of indicators to track the impacts of its conservation investments. BCN Staff assisted USAID's Global Bureau in identifying appropriate indicators for the BCN Program. These indicators are tracked through technical reports, site visits, and meetings with BCN grantees. A list of the indicators which are currently being tracked is in Appendix D. The BCN Program met all of its targeted goals for 1996 and is using the results to guide the development of its 1997 workplan.

E. Communicate Results to Clients

The fifth and final component of BCN activities involves communicating the results of the BCN program to various clients.¹ This information is being used to generate impacts that reach beyond local project sites and that are stimulating community and national awareness of the benefits of conserving biodiversity. BCN-funded projects are stimulating wide-ranging transformations in conservation efforts and policies in both the Asia/Pacific Region and the United States. Highlights include:

• Recycling of Tourism Tax Revenues for Local Communities Approved in Nepal. Legislation which allows for recycling of 30 to 50% of tourism tax dollars generated by national parks to local communities was approved by the Nepali Parliament in February 1996. This legislation was drafted by the King Mahendra Trust Project using BCN funds. In the area of Royal Chitwan National Park where 40 million Nepali rupees ($730,000) were collected in 1995 from park entrance fees and hotel concession taxes, the new legislation will result in the availability of 12 to 20 million rupees ($220,000-$360,000) for local community development. Use of the funds will be determined by a stakeholders group which was also formed under the auspices of the BCN-supported project.

• Essential Oil Enterprise Replicated in Nepal. Communities in Jumla, Nepal have requested assistance from the Humla Project to set up their own essential oil distilling operations, thus replicating the BCN-funded project on their own. In 1997, the project anticipates being able to market 50 tons of oil from Humla and an additional 40 tons from Jumla.

• Draft Legislation for Bioprospecting Written in Fiji. In anticipation of a bioprospecting project in Fiji funded by BCN, the Fijian Department of Environment drafted legislation for public review. BCN staff and several of its grantees worked with experts from BSP's consortia and others to provide the Fijian Government with constructive comments.

• Certificate of Ancestral Domain Awarded in Palawan, Philippines. Two indigenous Tagbanua communities in Palawan Philippines supported by BCN funding were awarded Certificates of Ancestral Domain Claim on February 28, 1996. The award is the culmination of a long process of mapping, delineation, and legal activism on the part of NATRIPAL (Nagkakaisang mga Tribu ng Palawan), WWF/Philippines and their other partners. The process continues with NATRIPAL's efforts to obtain certificates for other sites in Palawan and to gain control over key forest products within the areas that are currently under "concessions" managed by outsiders. The process is described by Eufemia Pinto in a recent edition of "Cultural Survival Quarterly" dedicated to "Voices from the Commons."

• Grantee's Management Plan Now Part of Provincial By-Laws in Solomon Islands. The rules and regulations developed by the communities governing the use of the marine resources around the Arnavon Islands, Solomon Islands were approved and gazetted by the Isabel Provincial Assembly and are now part of the provincial by-laws. The rules and regulations, which are enforced by the communities themselves, have led to a decrease in the harvesting of a variety of marine organisms including hawksbill turtle, tocus, and many species of bech-de-mer.

• Monitoring Information Used to Stop Road Building In Central Luzon, Philippines. A proposed Road through the center of the Ikalahan Reserve has been at least temprarily thwarted due to the efforts of the BCN-funded Kalahan Education Foundation (KEF) team. KEF used information collected as part of its biological monitoring program to support its claim that the road should not be built.

• Model BCN Project Poster Developed and Displayed at the US National Zoo. During September, 1996 a baby Asian rhinoceros was born at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Her mother had been a gift from the Government of Nepal to the US in 1988. In tribute to the mother rhino's origins in Royal Chitwan National Park, the baby was named "Chitwan." Chitwan instantly became a celebrity, attracting large crowds of visitors and TV cameras and newspaper reporters to the zoo. Staff from BCN and World Wildlife Fund US (WWFUS) had recently completed a poster (the first in a series) describing the conservation and development activities that it was supporting in and around Royal Chitwan National Park through the work of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and WWFUS. BCN and WWFUS approached the zoo staff who quickly agreed to display the poster near the rhino exhibit to educate the three million people who visit the National Zoo each year on the link between the baby rhino and its mother's original habitat.

• Several Major Communication Opportunities Feature BCN's Work. Major communication opportunities in the past year included Eric Dinerstein of WWF's Conservation Science program discussing the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and WWFUS project on CNN (February, 1996) and BCN Director Hank Cauley describing the BCN and its goals on Canadian national radio and in interviews published by leading Nepalese newspapers.

• BCN's Regional Office in Manila Assists USAID Missions and Others. BCN staff based in the region have provided presentations and technical assistance to a variety of groups beyond BCN grants including: 1) presentation on BCN program to US Government Interagency coordinating committee on environment, Manila, July 1996; 2) representation of BCN at the Government of the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources consultative meeting on biodiversity, Subic, Philippines, June 1996; 3) participation in the evaluation of the NRM II project in the Philippines, September, 1996; and 4) development of indicators for the new natural resource management project in Indonesia, September, 1996.

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¹ BCN uses the term "client" as opposed to "audience" to denote its commitments to: 1) find out what information these groups need, 2) provide this information to them in a proactive as opposed to passive manner, and 3) interact with them on a sustained basis to improve the utility of the information over time.

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