Integrated Silvo-Pastoral Approaches to Ecosystem Management (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia)

Objectives

To improve eco-systems functioning in three countries through the development of intensified silvopastoral systems that provide global ecological services and local socio economic benefits.
To develop, at farm and community level, benefit sharing mechanisms for biodiversity and carbon sequestration services as incentives to produce global environmental benefits resulting from an integrated ecosystem management approach.
To prepare policy guidelines for sustainable intensification of livestock production, which enhances biodiversity and mitigates global warming, and make concrete recommendations for sector and environmental policies in terms of land use and environmental services provided by well managed ecosystems.

Indicators of Sustainability

Sustainable silvopastoral systems established in three Latin American countries (35,000 ha).
Increased habitat for at least 50 bird species provided in each of the three countries.
Stable carbon sequestered in the soil and in commercial wood under silvopastoral systems (490,000 ton/year).
Increased water quality in three important watersheds in Latin America.
Improved resource monitoring methodologies developed for measuring carbon sequestration , biodiversity conservation, water quality in watersheds and socio economic aspects.
Increased awareness of the potential in environmental services provided by integrated ecosystem management and experience gained for future development of the integrated ecosystem management program.
Guidance for future funding, lessons for replication/best practice, and policy requirements for environmental services in livestock production defined.

Project outcomes

The main purpose of the project is to assist local institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua to upscale, promote, demonstrate and assess the environmental and socio-economic benefits of integrated ecosystems management technologies through the introduction of silvopastoral systems. The benefits of the project would be multiple: conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, reduction of the risk of climate change by a holistic management approach, equitable participation of local community members in the economic benefits derived from the environmental services and the identification of the foundations for a comprehensive policy dialogue that leads to natural resource management for lasting regional and global benefits. To achieve this, the proposal seeks to deliver the following products:

Significant areas with improved eco-systems functioning through the introduction of silvopastoral systems, as confirmed by soil, water and bio-diversity characteristics;
Trained stakeholders and strengthened local organisations, which are better informed on integrated ecosystem management and the implementation of sustainable livestock production systems;
Key scientific information and understanding of the potential of intensified silvopastoral systems in providing global ecological services and local socio economic benefits;
Initial information on the response at community and beneficiaries level to incentive systems to produce global environmental benefits through biodiversity conservation and global climate change; and
Policy guidelines to promote sustainable intensification of livestock production and specific recommendations for sector and environmental policies in terms of land use, environmental services and socio-economic development.

Partners

Centro Internacional de Investigación y Enseñanza CATIE (Costa Rica) - Instituto NITAPLAN (Nicaragua) - Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV (Colombia) -
American Bird Conservancy ABC (USA)

Funding

The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility GEF with co-financing from LEAD, CATIE, CIPAV, NITLAPAN and ABC. Project duration is 5 years.

Downloads

Bulletin concerning the GEF-silvopastoral project (HTML)

Press Release: GEF Project to Protect Livestock and Forest (PDF, 15kb)