GEF 37644 Global Support forWilderness Areas GEF IN ACTION: SUSTAINING WILDERNESS AREAS To promote the long-term conservation of wilder- the peninsula's endemic species and subspecies. ness ecosystems, the Global Environment Facility As the area has become more open and accessible (GEF) supports projects that work at the level of to outsiders, and as government protected area national protected area systems to catalyze pro- budgets have declined, these resources have come tected area sustainability. GEF-funded projects that under increased threat from poaching and from do not directly target wilderness areas may have unmanaged and unrestricted human use. vital conservation components that help protect the larger wilderness landscape. The GEF believes A recently approved GEF project seeks to demon- that conservation efforts must expand to inte- strate sustainable conservation of biological diver- grate communities and landscapes that reach well sityinfourrepresentativeprotectedareasinRussia's beyond formal protected area boundaries. Where Kamchatka Oblast. Activities are designed to these biodiversity-rich areas are located in centers strengthen administrative and management capac- of population pressure, a conservation approach is ity of protected areas, develop a more supportive needed that reconciles the needs and aspirations of legal foundation for protected areas, increase local and indigenous people while protecting these stakeholder awareness of biodiversity conservation, key biodiversity refuges. Keeping wilderness areas promote alternative livelihoods through micro- intact can provide sustainable economic returns credit facilities, and improve collaboration between for both local and remote human communities federal and regional protected area authorities. through such activities as ecological research, eco- tourism, the harvesting of medicinal plants, and CONSERVING THE DANA AND the provision of environmental services. AZRAQ PROTECTED AREAS The following project examples show the range Jordan created the Dana Nature Reserve and the of work that the GEF supports in protecting wil- Azraq Wetland Reserve to protect some of the derness areas. most important biological diversity in the nation. At the time this project began, little management DEMONSTRATING SUSTAINABLE had been undertaken at either site. The Dana CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL Reserve is an arid and semi-arid area including 20 DIVERSITY IN RUSSIAN PROTECTED percent of Jordan's native floral species and small AREAS but viable populations of ibex, gazelles, and wolves. Unsustainable resource use by local communities The Russian Federation's Kamchatka Peninsula pro- had led to severe environmental degradation. A vides a rich array of globally significant ecosystems. cement plant and planned copper mine posed Many endemic species and subspecies of plants added threats. The Azraq Oasis once supported and animals inhabit the peninsula. For example, 10 rich biodiversity in an extensive system of spring-fed percent of Kamchatka's 1,168 plants are endemic. marshes and pools. The oasis provided critical habi- As a result of its island-like environment, there is tat to millions of migratory birds, breeding habitat also an ongoing process of diversification among for waterbirds, and wintering habitat for water- www.theGEF.org fowl. The Azraq constitutes the only significant ing systems, and provide permanent trained staff tract of its type within a large arid region. Extraction for each area. of water for urban and agricultural use threatened to dry up the springs and render the aquifer useless Local participation is the lynchpin of ARPA. The as a source of drinking or irrigation water because project committee includes scientists, local offi- of the intrusion of saline water into wells. cials, rubber tappers, nut gatherers, fishing com- munities, farmers, indigenous peoples, and other Two GEF projects were designed to maintain this stakeholders. Interacting with scientists, these and other important biodiversity in Jordan. The first, stakeholders chose the new protected areas based a pilot phase, began rehabilitating the two areas on geographical and ecological representation, and provided institutional support to the Royal potential for partnerships with NGOs, and the Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), a degree of environmental threat. nongovernmental organization (NGO) responsible for both reserves. The World Bank assisted with the CROSSING BOUNDARIES TO Dana component in the pilot phase. The current CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY project is building on these efforts, addressing new threats, and capturing new opportunities posed The Western Congo Basin Moist Forest Ecoregion by rapidly increasing tourism and other pressures (WCBMFE) constitutes a large part of the tropical stimulated by the Middle East Peace Accord. This wildernessofCentralAfrica,theworld'ssecondlarg- project is working to complete restoration of the est expanse of rainforest. A GEF-supported project Dana Reserve, while documenting its recovery to is focusing on this ecoregion, covering transbound- assist in other similar efforts worldwide. ary forests extending from Cameroon to Gabon to Congo. This area includes 35,968 km2 of protected SUPPORTING THE AMAZON REGION areas in various national parks. The long-term goal PROTECTED AREAS PROGRAM of the project is to conserve globally significant biodiversity in the Congo Basin through integra- To protect the biological treasures of the Brazilian tion of conservation objectives into the national Amazon, the Brazilian government--in partner- and regional sustainable development plans in the ship with the GEF, World Wildlife Fund, the devel- Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkebe (TRIDOM). opment bank KfW of Germany, the World Bank, and others--has launched the Amazon Region To ensure long-term conservation of its protected Protected Areas Program (ARPA). Brazil currently area system, the project will promote integrated, has approximately 12 million hectares of tropi- sustainable, and participatory management in the cal forest under strict protection in the Amazon interzonebetweentheprotectedareas.Theproject region. The largest joint initiative for the conserva- willstrengthenthewildernessareaatbothnational tion of tropical forests in history, the ARPA would and regional levels by designing and implementing incorporate an additional 25 million hectares to a cost-effective model for the management of a reach the goal of 37 million hectares under protec- mosaic of different uses that will not only increase tion. This will triple the existing extent of Brazil's the landscape resilience, but clearly consolidate protected areas by 2012 to an area equivalent to the overall protected area system. Collectively, the FOR MORE the size of Spain. activities undertaken will demonstrate cost-effective INFORMATION and replicable ways and means for facilitating Shirley Geer The support from GEF and the others is being the broad-based participation of communities, the Acting Team Leader, used to establish an independent endowment, private sector, and other key actors in the project External Relations make targeted investments in alternative rev- area. Ultimately, it will improve prospects for Global Environment Facility enue-generating activities by local people, sustainability of the protected area systems in a 1818 H Street NW develop management and biodiversity monitor- significant way at national and regional levels. Washington DC 20433 USA Tel: 202-473-0508 Fax: 202-522-3240 September 2005