Hay_Tao_-_Section_C_Statement_of_Objectives_-__FINAL.pdf

SECTION C—STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

C.1 Title and Purpose of Activity

The Hay Tao (Knowledge Management for Biodiversity Conservation) activity has been developed as a critical component in support of USAID/Madagascar’s new Conservation and Communities Project

(CCP). CCP recognizes that threats to ecosystems in Madagascar must be reduced in order to curb alarming rates of habitat and biodiversity loss and to ensure human well-being in natural resource-dependent communities. This requires that CCP focus on the most significant threats to biodiversity, which includes the destruction, degradation, and unsustainable use of forests, fisheries, wildlife, and other natural resources. The operational approach under CCP principally builds on the Nature, Wealth, and

Power (NWP) conceptual framework1 that has been developed, employed, and adapted by USAID and its development partners over the past 15 years. With this in mind, USAID/Madagascar has designed CCP to respond to a theory of change that combines management, livelihood, and governance interventions in pursuit of the following principal objectives: (1) targeted ecosystems are more sustainably managed through improved Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) and community engagement in protected area management; (2) human wellbeing is improved near selected areas of High

Biodiversity Value through economic development and social support programs that help protect biodiversity; and (3) decentralized natural resource governance is enhanced through more effective environmental policy, tenure security, and civil society engagement. In addition, the following cross-cutting objectives will be incorporated under all of the above objectives in order to achieve more effective and lasting results: (1) improved climate resilience measures; (2) gender and youth inclusion and empowerment; and (3) application of science and technology innovations.

Through Hay Tao, USAID will assist in-country government actors, such as the Ministry of Environment, Ecology, and Forests (MEEF), the Ministry of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries (MRHP), Madagascar

National Parks (MNP), and the National Environment Office (ONE), donor partners active in this sector, and a wide range of non-governmental organizations such as local and international conservation organizations, civil society groups, environmental foundations, private sector actors, academic institutions, and community-based organizations in support of improving the enabling environment for effective community-based management and protection of biodiversity resources through a number of targeted interventions. These interventions include efforts that will help partners to (1) develop a protected areas system data portal to improve policy/decision-making, implement more effective law enforcement interventions, and ensure greater community engagement and empowerment in natural resource management; (2) enhance the enabling conditions and policy frameworks in support of improved biodiversity protection and management, particularly as it concerns Community-Based Natural Resources

Management (CBNRM); (3) increase training opportunities to ensure competency for managers of areas of High Biodiversity Value (HBV), both for protected areas as well as for areas of CBNRM in terms of increasing community engagement and enhancing co-management opportunities; (4) promote improved economic valuation of biodiversity, natural resources, and ecosystem services that can lead to greater financing and investment opportunities for biodiversity-friendly climate-resilient enterprises and land/natural resource management systems that also support community wellbeing in and around areas of high biodiversity value; (5) improve information systems to effectively measure changes in the quality and quantity of biodiversity resources and important ecosystem services derived from them; (6) assist partners in securing decentralized community natural resource and land tenure rights in support of

CBNRM; and (7) support civil society’s role in support of CBNRM and local natural resource and land tenure rights for local communities.

Nature, Wealth, and Power 2.0: Leveraging Natural and Social Capital for Resilient Development, USAID, 2013.

C.2 Development Challenge

Madagascar is home to 5 percent of the Earth’s plants and animals while comprising less than half a percent of the world’s landmass. Ninety million years of geographic isolation have made this island a natural laboratory for evolution that has produced and supported a vast array of life forms, most of which are only native, or endemic, to this island. Madagascar is recognized as the world’s epicenter of primate diversity with over 110 species of lemurs, but many other taxonomic groups such as geckos, chameleons, frogs, bats, baobabs, palms, and orchids are also richly represented here with a surprising number of endemic species. For example, Madagascar harbors five endemic families of birds, which is exceptional in a country of this size. In fact, there are more endemic species of plants and animals living in

Madagascar than on the entire African continent and more than eighty percent of its species can be found nowhere else on Earth2. This exceptional species richness and endemism coupled with the magnitude of threats facing these ecologically, culturally, and economically valuable resources makes Madagascar one of the world’s highest priority countries for biodiversity conservation.

The marine ecosystems surrounding Madagascar also harbor some of the richest estuarine, mangrove, seagrass, coastal marsh, and coral reef ecosystems as well as some of the most productive fisheries in the western Indian Ocean, but these habitats face similar threats. Mangrove forests are being decimated for aquaculture and charcoal production, resulting in the loss of not only critical habitats for many species, but also of breeding and nursery areas vital to the replenishment of important fish stocks of high ecological and economic value. As a consequence coastal communities suffer from lower catches, poorer nutrition, reduced incomes, and loss of protective barriers, which are critically important to mitigate the devastating effects of cyclones and other storms. Direct consequences, such as overfishing and destruction of coral reefs, coupled with indirect threats, such as sedimentation from soil erosion in the deforested highlands, result in further degradation of these resources.

Madagascar’s rich and fragile biological heritage is home to one of the poorest populations in the world, which is regularly devastated by destructive cyclones, droughts, locusts, food insecurity and stagnant economic growth linked to political instability. The country ranked 154 out of 188 countries in the 2015

Human Development Index and 175 out of 188 countries in terms of GDP per capita. Per capita income is only $440/year.3 The proportion of people living below the international poverty line increased from 70.9 percent in 2001 to 87.7 percent in 2015,4 indicating that political instability undermined economic progress for the majority of the population during much of that decade.

The national poverty rate climbs even higher in rural areas, where more than two-thirds of the population resides. Natural areas serve ecological functions and provide resources that are crucial to the well-being of many people. Notably, more than 25 percent of GDP in the country is based on agriculture, fishing, and forestry, and these activities employ more than 80 percent of the population. Therefore, the natural resource base must be maintained for Madagascar to develop economically. However, the country has paid the price for political instability. For example, in 2009 tourism dropped by more than 50 percent compared with the previous year subsequent to the political crisis, and as a result investors began decreasing their investment in this sector.5

Persistent political instability, including an illegitimate government that held power for five years until early 2014, has undermined rule of law, limited economic growth prospects, and severely curtailed the

Nature Communications Article, Oct 2014

World Bank, 2014.

World Bank, 2015.

World Fact Book, 2014.

provision of infrastructure and social services needed to promote and ensure a healthy, educated, and productive society. While Madagascar’s rural poor may know the value of their natural resources in sustaining them, with no alternatives and the threat of outsiders consuming or degrading them with impunity, they are driven to unsustainable uses that lead to widespread habitat destruction and degradation that further exacerbate their poverty. In the process they destroy the rich biodiversity on which they depend with few other safety nets in place to sustain them. This absence of effective rule of law or government effectiveness and accountability in rural areas coupled with grinding poverty, high birth rates, and unsustainable natural resource management practices in farming, forestry, and fishing systems has placed enormous pressures on the country’s natural habitats such that 80% of the original forest cover has been lost and coastal and marine ecosystems have been severely depleted. Maintaining

Madagascar’s biodiversity is, therefore, both a critical conservation challenge and a human welfare imperative.

Madagascar’s problems are further compounded by the fact that aside from its renowned biodiversity and mineral wealth the country has largely been forgotten by much of the international community as a development assistance recipient. While Madagascar more than meets thresholds to qualify for international aid, indeed it is among the world’s most needy, it consistently receives a fraction of the assistance that other developing countries receive. This is perhaps due to its geographic isolation, the language barrier it has with trading partners in eastern and southern Africa, and the fact that debilitating and protracted periods of civil unrest do not erupt into the kinds of mass bloodshed events that gain worldwide media attention. As a result, beyond a certain number of intrepid international tourists who come to see its highly threatened biodiversity and some international companies interested in acting in an ethical manner, Madagascar instead has come to the attention of corrupt actors both within and outside of the country. These parties are primarily interested in extracting Madagascar’s resources in a self-serving manner that erodes the rule of law and impedes the broad-based economic growth that the country so desperately needs. These are also the actors responsible for the illicit trade in wildlife that plagues the country leading to illegal and unsustainable harvesting of precious woods, reptiles, and marine species.

More importantly, these actors co-opt the Government of Madagascar (GOM) at multiple levels through political favoritism and bribery and then establish their own parallel illegal structures of governance in many parts of the country that threaten the long-term viability of the nation state itself.

At the same time, climate change is an emerging threat that will make biodiversity conservation and human development in Madagascar more challenging to achieve and maintain. The international risk analysis firm, Maplecroft, recently ranked Madagascar third highest in its level of climate risk, behind only Bangladesh and India in its 2011 report.6 In other years Madagascar has not ranked as high, but is still projected to be among the countries most impacted by climate change in the future. While powerful cyclones, torrential monsoon rains, and severe droughts have routinely pummeled the country, climate change is expected to render these extreme events more unpredictable, frequent, and damaging. While some models predict that the frequency of cyclones is projected to decrease in the coming decades, their severity is expected to increase and shift north, increasing risks to both human populations and ecosystems. In addition, Madagascar is significantly affected by the ENSO (El Niño Southern

Oscillation), which intensifies drought in the south and flooding in other areas of the country. These changes will exacerbate the difficulties faced by poor rural natural resource-dependent communities.

Climate effects will impact the country in numerous ways. For example, as crop production becomes more difficult due to changes in rainfall patterns, temperatures, and pest outbreaks, people are ill prepared to adopt alternative behaviors and practices in response to these pressures. As a result, they may increasingly turn to unsustainable collection of forest products, including wild-caught protein sources and

Climate Change Vulnerability Risk Index 2011, https://maplecroft.com/about/news/ccvi.html .

https://maplecroft.com/about/news/ccvi.html other foods, as well as the collection of rare plants and animals to sell to national and international markets. These methods usually do not enrich the people engaged in these activities, but rather simply enable them to meet their immediate needs. Persistent drought and sea level rise will also produce more out-migration from zones affected by these impacts and these migrants will increase pressures on arable land, biodiversity resources, and social services for existing populations in areas where they re-settle on either a seasonal or permanent basis. In addition, coastal and marine resources will be impacted as wetland and mangrove ecosystems that line the coasts are more impacted by sea level rise caused by climate change and corals reefs are rendered more vulnerable to bleaching and changes in ocean chemistry that are also ultimately linked to climate change. Fisheries may bear the brunt of climate change impacts, as changes in seasonal ocean currents and weather patterns may dramatically affect primary productivity, reproduction, migration of marine species, and overall reef health.7 The GOM is aware of these problems, but is incapable of addressing them and has publicly stated this it needs donor assistance to put in place systems to respond to climate change and lessen its impact. In addition, the country’s ecosystems play vital roles in moderating the effects of climate change and these roles need to be recognized, defined, valued, and protected.

Gender relations in Madagascar present unique challenges in ensuring that natural resource management becomes more equitable and empowering to women. Women have inequitable access to land and their role is minimized or marginalized in public discussions, community decision-making and governance, and control of household resources. Culture and tradition tend to favor the education of males over females, and as a result, more women are illiterate and impoverished. This is particularly evident in rural areas, given that rural women generally are less educated, more constrained by customary law, control less income, and are more likely to have lower socio-political status than men. Women also face particular challenges in accessing the forest and fishery resources they need and cultural differences affect the manner in which men and women understand and use forest and fishery resources. Inadequate recognition of these differences can result in natural resource policies that create significant gender-differentiated impacts that oftentimes put women at a disadvantage. Women’s lack of secure access to forest and fishery resources can lead to a variety of inequities, including limited decision-making power;

more vulnerability for women who are unmarried, divorced, or widowed; and greater likelihood that forest or fisheries conservation schemes like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation) or Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) will not benefit women and men equitably.

Failure to engage and include women can, therefore, lead to unsuccessful efforts to protect biodiversity and natural resources.

Youth concerns are also an extremely important consideration in the country given that over half the

Malagasy population is under the age of 25. Across Madagascar youth experience high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Most youth have also received poor social services historically, particularly during the coup period from 2009-2014, and educational attainment and health statistics reflect this fact. However, youth in rural areas where most of the country’s remaining biodiversity can be found usually suffer higher rates of unemployment, illiteracy, and poor health than their urban peers.

Younger households also tend to be poorer, more food insecure, and have less access to land in many rural communities due to custom and tradition. Without other options these poor households are often forced to cut down forests, overfish, and overharvest resources from all ecosystems.

World Bank Climate Change Portal for Madagascar, http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportalb/home.cfm?page=country_profile&CCode=MDG&ThisTab=Dashboard.

http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportalb/home.cfm?page=country_profile&CCode=MDG&ThisTab=Dashboard

C.3 Linkage of Activity to US Government and Government of Madagascar Priorities

The Hay Tao activity has been designed to align directly with the goals of the Conservation and

Communities Project (CCP). In the absence of a Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS),8

CCP, and by extension the Hay Tao activity, has been designed to directly align with the third goal of the

US Government Mission to Madagascar’s Integrated Country Strategy (ICS) under Objective 3.1, “Conserve biodiversity and secure natural resources while promoting resilient livelihoods in

Madagascar.” In addition, Hay Tao, under CCP, has been developed to respond to the following USAID and US Government policies and priorities: the USAID Biodiversity Policy; the USAID Climate Change and Development Strategy; Executive Order 13677 on Climate-Resilient International Development; the

US National Strategy for Combatting Wildlife Trafficking; the US Presidential Task Force on Combatting

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud; the USAID Vision for Ending Extreme

Poverty; the USAID Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Strategy; USAID Policy on

Gender Equity and Female Empowerment; USAID’s Securing the Future: A Strategy for Economic

Growth; USAID’s history of Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) initiatives; and USAID

Forward principles to promote innovative development approaches and support improved local capacity in Madagascar.

In terms of alignment with and support for Government of Madagascar (GOM) priorities, Hay Tao, under

CCP, promotes the overall national priority of conserving biodiversity for sustainable, resilient development. In particular, Hay Tao is aligned with the following GOM policies and strategies: State

General Policy of 2014; the 2015-2019 National Development Program and its Implementation Plan; the new Environment Plan for Sustainable Development; GOM commitments at the Sixth IUCN World Parks

Congress of 2014 in Sydney, Australia; national environmental laws and regulations; decentralization laws and regulations; land policy (especially the 2015 Land Policy Letter); international conventions such as the Algiers Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Law 70-004); the

Convention on Biological Diversity (Law 95-013); the International Convention on Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES) (Law 75-014); the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Law

98-004); the World Heritage Convention (ratified 9/12/82); the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

(ratified in October 2000;) and the Climate Change Convention (Law 98-020); and International Climate

Change Agreements and Plans, including the GOM’s 2015 submission of its Intended Nationally

Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC).

C.4 Guiding Principles

The Hay Tao activity is expected to incorporate the following Guiding Principles into overall activity planning and implementation:

C.4.1 Ensure focused support for Mikajy Activity

While responsible for improving the broader enabling environment for community engagement in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, Hay Tao will explicitly support the efforts of

USAID/Madagascar’s site-based program Mikajy in its implementation sites. With this in mind, Hay Tao will cooperate closely with Mikajy in the design of work plans and activities to make certain that Hay Tao provides timely and appropriate support to Mikajy’s beneficiaries throughout the life of both activities.

USAID Madagascar was downgraded to an “Office” by the Africa Bureau on April 23, 2013. Because of that designation, USAID Madagascar is not eligible to develop a Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) at this time.

C.4.2 Build on prior experience and promote innovations

Under Hay Tao, USAID seeks to apply the lessons learned in Madagascar’s environmental sector, while incorporating innovations from global state of the art biodiversity conservation and development practices as and where appropriate. Madagascar has a rich history of conservation activities led and supported by the GOM, international donors, conservation NGOs, civil society organizations, community institutions, and other partners. Hay Tao, therefore, should capitalize wherever possible on effective partnership structures and best practices that have been achieved over many years of engagement in the environment sector while equally learning from failures and setbacks encountered over the same period. Hay Tao activities also should seek to support and strengthen existing institutions and management arrangements, build trust with stakeholders, and incorporate evidence-based best practices.

C.4.3 Employ an integrated landscape/seascape approach

Through an integrated landscape/seascape approach, Hay Tao will operate to link biodiversity conservation with a variety of development sectors at the national level, particularly the Ministry of

Environment, Ecology, and Forests and the Ministry of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries, in order to influence policy and practice in support of more sustainable use and improved valuation of biodiversity and accompanying ecosystem services in national planning and budget allocations. Hay Tao will assure closer ties to the Ministries of Mines, Agriculture, and Livestock and their associated partners acknowledging the interconnections between biodiversity conservation and other important natural resource-based development activities. In addition, Hay Tao will collaborate and interact with other

Ministries and partners focused such social sectors such as health, land tenure, water and sanitation, and others involved in social and economic support programs that could impact or be impacted by the status of biodiversity resources in the country.

C.4.4 Ensure effective coordination between stakeholders

The expected linkages between biodiversity conservation and other development outcomes will be articulated and, where possible, measured and documented in order to strengthen stakeholders’ understanding of important roles that biodiversity conservation plays in long-term sustainable development and the roles that development programs can play in biodiversity conservation. Hay Tao will also seek collaboration with and leverage the knowledge, experience, and resources of external partners, including other donors such as GIZ, EU, World Bank, AFD, UNDP, and others working on biodiversity conservation and other sectors where biodiversity is an important consideration. This approach has great potential to contribute to each partner’s development outcomes and to build a community of practice around these shared interests and approaches. Coordination with other donors will be particularly important in bridging gaps and addressing concerns that affect Hay Tao, but are beyond the scope of the activity (e.g. economic enabling environment, democracy and governance, etc.). Coordination will be promoted by (1) requiring Hay Tao’s implementing partners to outline their areas of collaboration with other USAID programs in annual work plans, and (2) by regularly convening implementing partners through the auspices of Hay Tao to meet with other USAID program leads and key donor representatives.

This will take the form of an Advisory Group that will meet regularly with USAID, Hay Tao’s contractor, and major sub-contractors/grantees under Hay Tao to discuss strategic and programmatic issues, including collaboration in the field.

C.4.5 Focus on sustainability from the start of the activity

Hay Tao will work to foster inclusion of important considerations related to community-based biodiversity conservation into national level discussions and policy development including climate resilience, valuation of biodiversity and related ecosystem services, gender and youth inclusion and empowerment, conservation finance, effective management of biodiversity resources, and natural resource tenure security and governance. In addition, though a Grants Under Contract mechanism, Hay

Tao will help USAID target more sustainable outcomes through building the capacity of important local organizations in such a way that they can take ownership of the development objectives under CCP and in certain cases potentially be eligible to receive direct grants from USAID at some point in the future.

C.4.6 Plan strategically to share knowledge and learning and to document lessons learned

The implementing partner is expected to share project effectiveness information, research, and monitoring data with other partners in a timely manner and incorporate this information into a central database and/or information management systems and also assure the inclusion of lessons learned under the Hay Tao activity and with other partners in the community of practice mentioned under C.4.4. Improved tools and knowledge products supported under Hay Tao will be incorporated into interventions supported by Hay

Tao, Mikajy, and other donor, conservation, and/or private sector partners.

C.4.7 Follow an adaptive management approach

Utilizing an adaptive management approach, Hay Tao can better respond to the evolution of relevant policy reforms and developments in Madagascar as well as the changes occurring in the biodiversity, natural resources, and climate change sectors. In this way, Hay Tao can best adapt to changes in its external environment in order to respond to opportunities and challenges as they arise. If programmatic assumptions prove to be impractical or unwise to implement given changes outside of the control of

USAID or the Hay Tao Prime and its partners, USAID will need to work with the Hay Tao team to identify flexible and responsive approaches to take advantage of lessons learned and realign activities as needed to meet programmatic objectives.

C.5 Other technical considerations

C.5.1 Linkages with other USAID programs

Hay Tao also will build on and partner with other USAID/Madagascar and US Government programs.

These include USAID/Madagascar’s health, water and sanitation, food security, and governance programs as well as programs of Peace Corps Madagascar, the Department of Defense’s Office of Security

Cooperation, the US Embassy’s Political/Economic Section, and the US Embassy’s Public Affairs

Section. In particular, Hay Tao will build on results and lessons learned from the Preserving

Madagascar’s Natural Resources (SCAPES) Activity, which has been working from 2013-2016 to enhance the capabilities of the Malagasy people, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the GOM to combat the illegal exploitation of Madagascar’s natural resources through improved understanding of illegal practices, standardized community-based monitoring systems, CSO-led advocacy efforts, and increased exposure of abusive practices. To this end, Hay Tao may also collaborate with regional counter-wildlife trafficking programming based with the USAID/Southern Africa Mission.

C.5.2 Collaboration with donors and other technical partners

Through the consultative process leading to the development of the Conservation and Communities

Project, USAID/Madagascar reached out to government and non-government actors in Madagascar to learn more about what was being done in the areas of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, climate resilience, and sustainable development. Based on the Mission’s dialogues with key donor and conservation partners, the Hay Tao activity will actively seek opportunities to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with these partners to form synergistic relationships that leverage resources to achieve the activity’s goals. Hay Tao will also support an important objective of CCP to build and contribute to a community of practice that works to improve biodiversity conservation, reduce poverty, and contribute to economic growth. Key potential donor partners in the environment sector include: the German

International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the German Development Bank (KfW), the World Bank, the

European Union (EU), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the United Nations Development

Programme, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Important conservation organizations that present collaboration opportunities include: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Conservation International (CI), and Blue Ventures (BV).

C.5.3 Public-Private partnership opportunities

During the consultative process leading to the development of the Conservation and Communities

Project, USAID/Madagascar contacted a number of private sector actors to better gauge opportunities to work with them on livelihood activities that could provide important income generation for communities located in and near areas of high biodiversity value while also achieving important biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, climate resilience, and sustainable development goals. Hay Tao will work to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with these actors to identify avenues for collaboration that can leverage resources needed to achieve the activity’s goals and also benefit the livelihood goals of the

Mikajy activity. Private sector partners could include ecotourism operators, biodiversity-friendly and climate smart agricultural enterprises, conservation finance institutions, or others.

C.6 Activity objectives, expected results, and key deliverables

C.6.1 Hay Tao Objectives

Through the Hay Tao activity USAID/Madagascar will support the enabling environment for improved community-based biodiversity conservation and sustainable development approaches for natural resource-dependent communities in a way that can be shared broadly with a wide range of partners and interested parties in Madagascar and internationally while also ensuring that programmatic interventions complement and support other activities under the Conservation and Communities Project (CCP), and in particular the site-based conservation work to be implemented under the Mikajy activity. Through Hay

Tao, USAID will meet the following overall development objective for USAID/Madagascar’s

Conservation and Communities Project (CCP):

Conserve biodiversity and secure natural resources while promoting resilient livelihoods

In the achievement of this objective, Hay Tao will support the following Intermediate Results (IRs) as activity objectives:

IR1: Targeted ecosystems sustainably managed through improved community-based natural resource management and better protected area management

1.1: Management of targeted protected areas enhanced through effective engagement of neighboring communities, government, and non-governmental partners

1.2: Community-based natural resource management improved in targeted ecosystems of High

Biodiversity Value

1.3: Innovative financing mechanisms leveraged for improved management of biodiversity in targeted areas

IR2. Human wellbeing improved near selected areas of High Biodiversity Value through economic development and social support programs that help protect biodiversity

2.1 Community-based, market-driven livelihood and conservation activities expanded

2.2 Leveraging of USAID or other development programs increased for food security and health benefits to targeted communities near areas of High Biodiversity Value

IR3. Decentralized natural resource governance enhanced through more effective environmental policy, tenure security, and civil society engagement

3.1 Decentralized landscape/seascape management and natural resource tenure regimes strengthened

3.2 Civil society capacity improved in support of effective advocacy on decentralized natural resource governance and protection of natural resource tenure rights

C.6.2 Expected Results and Key Deliverables under Hay Tao

Objective 1: Targeted ecosystems sustainably managed through improved community-based natural resource management and better protected area management

Sub-objectives:

1.1: Management of targeted protected areas enhanced through effective engagement of neighboring communities, government, and non-governmental partners

1.2: Community-based natural resource management improved in targeted ecosystems of High

Biodiversity Value

1.3: Innovative financing mechanisms leveraged for improved management of biodiversity in targeted areas

Interventions under the first objective will focus on community-based sustainable management of key ecosystems in Madagascar with a focus on protected areas, given that they are the foundation for biodiversity conservation in the country and offer the greatest chances for success in the near term. Hay

Tao will work to reduce threats to targeted ecosystems, both terrestrial and marine, by improving protected area management, including grounding management protocols in robust science and best management practices. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) offers an effective framework for changing the behavior of people who live near protected areas and other areas of High

Biodiversity Value (HBV) so that they will be able to increasingly use resources more sustainably and reduce damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services. When coupled with effective local law enforcement and sustainable alternatives, CBNRM can be a powerful driving force for curbing unsustainable practices and providing long-term protection for habitats and species. Under this objective, Hay Tao will strengthen existing and develop new capacity building programs to improve the effectiveness of management systems for areas of high biodiversity value and key species of concern as well as support knowledge management systems to improve oversight of biodiversity activities and strengthen the exchange of emerging best practices in the country.

Hay Tao will pay a strong role in assuring that the enabling environment and conditions to support activities under Mikajy are developed for use in targeted priority zones, but also more broadly in

Madagascar as applicable. Hay Tao will establish critical linkages to the principal development partners of concern under Objective 1 in order to build a community of practice for improved community-based management and/or co-management of biodiversity in Madagascar. Hay Tao will also inform partners about the successes and lessons learned of activities under Mikajy while also sharing lessons learned from other partners with the implementing partners for Mikajy in order to help promote the success of biodiversity conservation in Madagascar as a whole.

In addition, under this objective Hay Tao will provide support to improve capacity building for long-term biodiversity conservation through support for knowledge management systems and databases to track management improvements in the target zones of Mikajy, but also across the country; training programs and training opportunities to enhance management and co-management capabilities related to CBNRM for protected area managers and community-based natural resource managers; and support innovative initiatives to improve the management of biodiversity. These initiatives could include (1) developing approaches to improve community management or co-management technologies and systems, (2) introducing climate-resilient biodiversity conservation management actions; (3) promoting effective engagement strategies to ensure that women and youth are more engaged in and benefit from management in areas of High Biodiversity Value; (4) strengthening civil society’s national role in support of CBNRM and effective protected area management for local communities around the country.

Hay Tao’s activities will increase understanding of how to incorporate climate resilience into the effective management of protected areas and other areas of High Biodiversity Value. In addition to performing a climate vulnerability and resilience assessment as an early deliverable, Hay Tao will support applied research activities and development of policy briefs about and informational materials on emerging international best practices on this topic as well as creating a learning approach with other donors to share with the Hay Tao activity and more broadly in Madagascar. Information collected, analyzed, and shared by Hay Tao will inform the development of specific interventions in the target zones of Mikajy.

Hay Tao will pay particular attention to the constraints faced by women and youth in management of forest and seascape environments and within the cultural and economic structures of these areas. Given these considerations, all policy support approaches, training curricula design principles and components, database management tracking systems, and civil society support priorities under Hay Tao will have to be designed to constructively and effectively address these challenges. Information collected, analyzed, and shared by Hay Tao will inform the development of specific interventions in Mikajy’s target zones.

Expected results and key deliverables for Hay Tao under Objective 1 are included below.

Expected Results for Hay Tao under Objective 1:

Utilization of a data portal and national biodiversity database established with support from

USAID under the Hay Tao activity that improves policy/decision-making and implementation of more effective law enforcement initiatives and biodiversity monitoring and reporting at multiple levels in support of the National System of Protected Areas (SAPM)

Institutional capacity to analyze, interpret, and report on biodiversity data is improved at the national level as well as the site-based protected area and CBNRM level and made available to help prioritize conservation actions

Improved management oversight of the Madagascar Protected Area Network (e.g., development and/or improvement of management database, training program for database management staff, etc., with an focus on sites supported under Mikajy)

Enhanced technical capacity of decision makers to track the status of biodiversity resources, and how climate resilience and women/youth engagement considerations can impact the status of biodiversity with a focus on Mikajy sites as pilot zones

Successful training programs have been developed and are being implemented to enable community-based natural resource managers and protected area technicians to effectively conduct ecological monitoring to support monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems needed to access financing for improved natural resource management and biodiversity conservation

Successful campaigns launched to raise awareness nationally about conservation issues and the benefits of CBNRM with a focus on USAID’s experience in the Mikajy target sites

Through Hay Tao USAID is playing an active role in national efforts to obtain conservation financing and make the protected area network more financially viable

Increased capacity of the Madagascar Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity (FAPBM) and Tany Meva Foundation to provide leadership in community-based approaches for protected area management or co-management and conservation financing for the protected area network

Improved coordination of donor and technical partners to assure complementarity and improved collaboration

Science and technology solutions employed to improve protected area management/CBNRM approaches and prioritize conservation actions, including support to (1) enhance the effectiveness of conservation approaches; (2) better understand the socio-economic drivers of biodiversity loss;

(3) identify and deploy viable climate resilience responses; (4) increase opportunities to effectively engage woman and youth in biodiversity conservation

Key deliverables for Hay Tao under Objective 1:

Data portal and national biodiversity database established and operational in support of improved management of protected area network and biodiversity resources.

Training program developed and implemented with key institutions to improve in-country capacity to analyze, interpret, and report on biodiversity data at national level in order to track and help prioritize conservation actions

Training programs refined or developed and then implemented for improved community-based management and/or co-management of areas of High Biodiversity Value, including conducting ecological monitoring to support monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems needed to access and maintain financing for improved natural resource management and biodiversity conservation

Conservation finance strategy and capacities developed in partnership with government and non-government actors to support the protected area network

Improved GOM, donor, and technical partner coordination system in place to assure complementarity and improved collaboration for biodiversity conservation

Targeted science and technology innovations introduced to improve community management and/or co-management aspects of protected area management/CBNRM approaches

Successful campaigns developed and made to raise awareness nationally about conservation issues and the benefits of CBNRM

Objective 2: Human wellbeing improved near selected areas of High Biodiversity Value through economic development and social support programs that help protect biodiversity

Sub-objective results expected include:

2.1 Community-based, market-driven livelihood and conservation activities expanded

2.2 Leveraging of USAID or other development programs increased for food security and health benefits to targeted communities near areas of High Biodiversity Value

In support of this objective Hay Tao will promote efforts to improve the policy and legal framework for sustainable uses of biodiversity by community-based actors and their partners. This will include the economic valuation of biodiversity resources and related ecosystem services that are crucial in identifying the actual benefits that stem from these resources and the ecological processes that they support. With this information, Mikajy can help communities and their partners to increase economic returns from non-destructive natural resource use and leverage additional financing to further protect them. In addition, the monitoring, reporting, and valuation (MRV) systems that will be promoted by Hay Tao (and utilized and refined by Mikajy) will be important aspects of assessing the value of biodiversity resources and ecological services over time. The data portal supported under Hay Tao will enable better tracking of biodiversity resources and could help regroup sites of High Biodiversity Value into areas of a size large enough to attract more significant conservation investment and financing. Hay Tao’s work on improved natural resource and land tenure security through support to policy development and civil society engagement under Objective 3 can help clarify rights and responsibilities, which would serve to provide incentives for biodiversity-friendly enterprises and green investing.

In addition, Hay Tao will serve to help support the integration of field-based activities under Mikajy with other USAID health and food security programs or programs of other partners to improve water and sanitation, health, nutrition, family planning, and food security practices. As USAID’s principal support mechanism for donor coordination and GOM engagement, USAID will utilize Hay Tao’s resources to ensure that lessons learned about integrated programming approaches and their impact on both biodiversity and development outcomes are shared in donor and other multi-stakeholder meetings and also provided to national-level civil society partners supported through Hay Tao for diffusion to broader audiences. Hay Tao can also support policies, operational frameworks, and learning events for integrated programming at the national level, including the existing Madagascar Population-Health-Environment

Network.

Concerning CCP’s cross-cutting issues, Hay Tao can provide support to influence policy and institutional practices related to the sustainable economic use of biodiversity resources by sharing and publicizing results through various formats. Hay Tao will analyze the work of Mikajy and other partners to help craft policies that better value biodiversity services and reduce climate threats to them, including the role that biodiversity plays in mitigating effects of climate change and its role in helping the country adapt to predicted climate change effects. In terms of supporting women and youth under Objective 2, Hay Tao will work through its networks of policy makers, donors, private sector organizations, and civil society partners on the national stage to identify how women and youth can best be supported to protect biodiversity and gain economically from doing so. Hay Tao can take lessons learned from Mikajy and other partners and translate them for decision makers and the general public. Hay Tao also can foster the wider diffusion of science and technology innovations and solutions employed to support biodiversity-friendly climate-resilient livelihood and economic growth activities in Mikajy sites and sites of other partners by recommending them to government and non-government partners involved in biodiversity conservation and by providing discussion platforms at the national level and publicizing them to wider audiences, including private sector actors and impact investors.

Expected Results and Key Deliverables for Hay Tao under Objective 2 are included below.

Expected Results for Hay Tao under Objective 2:

Conservation-focused climate resilient alternative and sustainable livelihoods for individuals/households/communities, including for women and youth that are successfully employed in targeted zones under Mikajy are successfully diffused by Hay Tao to a wide audience of decision makers and private sector actors who can use these approaches to develop similar activities in their zones of operation

Policy and legal framework for sustainable uses of biodiversity is improved due to the work supported by USAID and other partners

Economic valuation of natural capital derived from biodiversity resources and ecosystem services, including climate resilience, is improved and provides clearer market signals that can inform investments in biodiversity-friendly climate-resilient enterprises and investment funds

Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems can provide increasingly valuable and important market information on the status of natural capital stocks over time

Clearer rights and responsibilities about natural resource and land tenure enable less risky investments to parties interested in biodiversity-friendly climate-resilient economic development

Value of integrated Population-Health-Environment (PHE) interventions in terms of improved human wellbeing is documented for wider diffusion in Madagascar and internationally and the policy framework for PHE is improved at the national level

Wider diffusion of science and technology innovations in biodiversity-friendly climate-resilient livelihood and wellbeing activities that are also improving the condition of biodiversity resources

Key Deliverables for Hay Tao under Objective 2:

Policies supporting natural capital valuation are developed or improved and then implemented to improve development planning and increase private sector engagement

Outreach materials on the value of CBNRM for improved biodiversity-friendly climate resilient livelihoods produced, primarily derived from Mikajy’s activities

Analyses performed on how strategies and approaches to best engage women and youth in biodiversity-friendly livelihoods and utilized by Mikajy and other partners

Training programs developed or refined on the operation of Monitoring-Reporting-Verification

(MRV) systems that inform market information on natural capital stocks

Policy actions supported to clarify natural resource and land tenure rights and responsibilities and help to stimulate private sector investments that reduce threats to biodiversity and assure long-term sustainability to climate change shocks

Training programs for sustainable livelihoods developed, including training components to that target improving resilience to climate change through climate smart agriculture or reforestation efforts and increasing sensitivity to gender and youth inclusion in sustainable livelihoods

Lessons learned documents produced and shared with interested parties concerning the value of integrated PHE programming

Targeted science and technology innovations introduced to enhance livelihood and wellbeing programs (e.g., applied research, new tools, new approaches, enhanced data sharing, etc.)

Objective 3: Decentralized natural resource governance enhanced through more effective environmental policy, tenure security, and civil society engagement

Sub-objective results expected include:

3.1 Decentralized landscape/seascape management and natural resource tenure regimes strengthened

3.2 Civil society capacity improved in support of effective advocacy on decentralized natural resource governance…