ATTACHMENT 18_ THREATS, DRIVERS AND OPPORTUNITIES STRENGTHS IN CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE.docx

Attachment 1: Threats, Drivers and Opportunities/Strengths in Conservation and Climate Change

· Overhunting, especially for the commercial bushmeat trade

· Overfishing

· Trafficking in wildlife, timber, minerals

· Agricultural expansion (smallholder and increasingly industrial)

· Deforestation and forest degradation for charcoal and in some areas fuelwood

· Large-scale and artisanal mining

· Commercial and artisanal (illegal) logging

· Uncontrolled forest fires

· Siting, construction, and operation of roads

Governance dimensions

· Collapse or serious weakness of governance

· Unrealistic, ill-conceived and weakly implemented policies and regulations

· Lack of rule of law, impunity of powerful actors

· Rise of criminal elements involved in trafficking

· State agents, especially security agents, cover their salaries through corruption and graft

· Failure to clarify land and resource tenure, which results in de facto open access to resources (e.g., tree resources for charcoal and illegal logging)

Social dimensions

· Weak agency of civil society in effecting change; threats to civil society increasing over the last year

· Lack of local benefit from and buy in to PAs and conservation in general

· Low levels of education

· Unhealthy populations due to poor nutrition, lack of healthcare and exposure to many tropical diseases with possible links to deforestation and environmental degradation

· Gender and ethnic inequalities that result in high levels of vulnerability and marginalization of indigenous people and others

· Outdated extension and development approaches (top-down, lack of economic analysis, not holistic, not practicing adaptive management)

· Lack of national and local attention to environment in media and social fora

Economic dimensions

· Weak engagement of private sector in sustainable development

· Grave poverty, lack of economic options, rural collapse (able-bodied people migrate to cities)

· Reliance on extractive industry--Dutch Disease syndrome (booms and busts in commodity prices destabilize economy and shift it toward rent-seeking)

· Lack of productive investment for example in livestock or other high value assets due to instability, fear of theft and other issues

· Low productivity and profitability of agriculture driving extensification

Security dimensions

· Conflict, internally displaced people and internal migration

Demographics

· Population growth

· In-migration to biologically sensitive areas that can also provoke conflict

· Internally displaced people

Opportunities/Strengths

· Civil society is robust in many places, including media, religious organizations despite threats mentioned above

· Culture (art, music, dance) is a driving force and source of pride in Central African society that can be tapped for conservation and climate change awareness

· Some localities are self-organizing to promote local development

· There is a model of “green growth and stability” around protected areas such as Virunga

· CARPE and its partners have longstanding ties to institutions and sites, and a long term approach which has developed in-depth experience of the areas and their challenges

· PPPs are in place or being developed for several protected areas covered by CARPE

· The lack of infrastructure and rugged terrain actually limits wholesale conversion to agriculture, logging

· Community forestry has potential to put large areas under sustainable management

· REDD+ efforts involve engagement of ROC Government, multilaterals, and donors