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Excerpt from the first e-mail sent by the Federación Campesina Hacia el Progreso after installing Internet:
“The greatness of human kind is measured by what one does for others. TNC is an organization that maintains this philosophy. On behalf of our federation, we would like to recognize the support to strengthen our organization, provided by the Parks in Peril program sponsored by USAID through TNC. Our sincerest thanks.”
Esteban Polanco, Director, Federación Campesina Hacia el Progreso, Dominican Republic
The creation of local capacity to conserve biological diversity has been Parks in Peril’s central organizing principle since 1990. Country institutions must own and be able to steward national conservation efforts if these are to be successful in the long term. PiP began its work with a “one-site, one-partner” approach: PiP worked through one local NGO partner at each site to be the face of PiP, working with stakeholders, government authorities, and park guards to manage the site better. PiP sought to build in the NGO partner the full range of technical capacities required; not affected by political swings in regular national elections, NGOs would remain faithful to the conservation vision over the years.
Over 17 years, this approach evolved considerably. An early realization was that partners need institutional strength as well as technical strength. TNC developed its Institutional Self-Assessment Tool (ISA) to diagnose the areas for improvement of NGO partners and prescribe institutional-strengthening action plans to increase their durability. The ISA reflected the recognition of, for example, the supreme importance of an active, informed Board of Directors in guiding the organization, and the crucial role of basic institutional processes such as program and financial management. Deficiencies in any of these factors can lead to organizational ineffectiveness or even extinction. PiP 2000 required the use of the ISA and institutional strengthening activities for primary NGO partners at each consolidation site.
In 2001, PiP began to focus on building coalitions of partner organizations, each bringing its own mission and strengths to the relationship, both for site and multi-site strategies. For example, National Implementation Support Partnerships (NISP) described elsewhere in this document have created coalitions of government, science, financial, and development institutions both to access their expertise and broaden support for the final product. PiP has also increased its involvement with government organizations as the ultimate authorities in national conservation policy and action.
PiP supported a move towards relationship management, depending on transparency and communication among institutions to lay the foundation for long-lasting collaboration. For example, PiP has encouraged a process of “due diligence” at the beginning of collaborations to ensure compatibility of institutional missions and enunciation of a clear, shared vision in which both institutions understand their contributions and implications of the partnership on their institutional profiles. This openness supports alliances of disparate institutions that can focus on shared goals.
Finally, the existence of a great diversity of institutions provides an opportunity for rich collaboration, but the relationship with each institution must be managed with patience and a unique set of expectations. Community-based organizations, for example, normally require an extended period of low-level financial support and opportunities for self-empowerment as they grow into the partnership. NGOs often have strong reputations for specific technical work, but require the support of institutional strengthening experts to help them endure through the years. Government institutions often have bright and dedicated staff, but need access to opportunities to strengthen them in field implementation, outreach to stakeholders, and strategic planning.
Paraguay
To protect the 159,000-acre Mbaracayu Nature Reserve in Paraguay, PiP worked with the Fundación Moises Bertoni (FMB). PiP helped FMB both with its investments in site management, but also provided institutional strengthening. FMB became a regional leader in building other strong NGOs, spinning off several other conservation organizations in the country, including the Foundation for the Sustainable Development of the Chaco, a partner of PiP in Defenders of the Chaco National Park in northern Paraguay. FMB has been in the vanguard to increase the role of civil society in governance, working continually with its partner organizations and the government on all issues related to conservation. For example, Moises Bertoni has been a principle advocate for the Aché indigenous peoples, who retain some tradition use rights of Mbaracayu’s resources. Moises Bertoni also works frequently with the Ministry of the Environment on development and implementation of sound conservation policies.
Dominican Republic
PiP’s strategies in the Dominican Republic have emphasized co-management of national protected areas by government agencies and civil society. PiP’s longtime partners in Dominican Republic—including Pronatura, Fundación Moscoso Puello, Fundación para el Desarrollo Comunitario, Inc. (FUDECO)—each have existing co-management responsibilities. PiP’s aim was to increase the support for co-management activities among community-based organizations (CBOs) in and around the country’s protected areas, ultimately leading to meaningful relationships with government authorities. PiP began with a package of institutional strengthening, training in conservation management tools, and training in extension activities such as agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, beekeeping, and fishing techniques. Pronatura, Fundación Moscoso Puello, and FUDECO then offered institutional strengthening and extension activities to 10 CBOs such as the Beekeepers Association and the Fisherman’s Cooperative of Boca de Yuma. By offering institutional and technical assistance, the NGOs are able to develop stronger relationships with CBOs, while simultaneously enhancing organizational leadership, improving implementation of conservation activities, and solidifying co-management activities with the government.
Mexico
Working with partners greatly extends the reach of a program. Thanks to the generous support from the USAID Mission in Mexico throughout the 1990s, PiP was able to develop a model for partnering. USAID support enabled PiP to work at 10 Mexican PiP sites and to deploy a number of Multi-Site Strategies, giving PiP’s partner-strengthening approach a broad reach across many government, non-government, and parastatal institutions over a 15-year period. TNC began PiP activities in Mexico by introducing partners to conservation planning and management tools and providing assistance for on-site management activities. As TNC felt the need for more tools for conservation, it increasingly turned to its partner organizations in Mexico to help develop and test them. For example, the Mexico partner experience had a formative influence over development of the Site Consolidation Scorecard, and TNC collaborated with Mexican NGOs in the first adaptation of TNC’s Conservation Action Planning methodology to Latin American sites. By 2002, PiP Multi-Site Strategies in Mexico, such as development of a watershed management model and policy strategies, were led by or carried out in partnership with NGOs. PiP partners in Mexico led Conservation Action Planning in a number of sites and provided the primary analysis for several ecoregional assessments.
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