PES for Costa Rican Wetlands: A Proposal for Caño Negro!

Jon Harris Maurer

Pamela McElroy

Richard Hamann

Franklin Paniagua

Wes Ingwersen

!   Introduction to Ecosystem Services !   Overview of Costa Rica’s Wetlands

!   Geography, Threats, and Current Legislation !   The Case of Caño Negro

!   Common Policy Approaches to Conservation !   Costa Rica’s Current PES System for Forests !   Discussion of Proposal

!   Addressing Common PES Challenges !   Addressing Wetland PES Challenges !   Addressing Caño Negro’s Challenges

Presentation Overview!

Focus on Ecosystem Services

!  Historical shift in focus of environmental law toward a more holistic view

!  UN’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

!  $33 trillion, estimated annual value of ecosystem services globally

Wetlands & Ecosystem Services

Wetlands comprise less than 3% of earth’s surface, but may

contribute up to 40% of world’s ecosystem

services annually

Ecosystem Services !   Reservoirs of Biodiversity !   Groundwater Replenishment !   Water Purification !   Flood Control !   Shoreline Stabilization &

Storm Protection !   Sediment and Nutrient

Retention & Export !   Cultural Value, Recreation

and Tourism !   Navigation !   Wetland Products (e.g. fish)

The Wetlands of Costa Rica

360,000 hectares of non-marine/coastal

wetlands (about 7% of national territory)

350 “Declared” Wetlands; About 60% of country’s wetlands officially under some

category of protection

11 Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance)

Wetlands are recognized in domestic legislation as “one of the planet’s most productive ecosystems” and as “natural patrimony of the state,” to be conserved, protected, and managed according to the RAMSAR principle of “rational use.”

Threats to Costa Rican Wetlands

Sedimentation Due to Erosion Caused by

Upstream Land Uses

Deforestation & Drainage for: Agriculture; Cattle;

Residential and Commercial Development

The Inventory of Continental Waters

(2005) found that 66% of Costa Rica’s

wetlands examined were diminishing in size

and 27% had already disappeared.

Overfishing and Poaching of Native

Species

Water Contamination from Agricultural Runoff (Pesticides & Fertilizers)

Costa Rican Legislation Regulating Wetlands !  Currently a combination of:

!  Broad, sweeping policy goals including wetland protection, conservation, and “wise use”

!  Two-tiered system of protection and management of wetlands that differentiates between “declared” and “undeclared” wetlands

!  A range of laws, implemented by a variety of agencies that may be applied to wetlands due to their dual character as terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

!  Common criticisms of current regime: !  Expansive language of law is difficult to apply to specific cases !   System is fragmented, incoherent, and not well-understood !  Lack of coordination among agencies charged with

implementation of various laws !  A general failure to enforce existing law (including agencies’ lack

of regional offices to oversee implementation) !  Failure to seek community involvement in responsible wetland

management

Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge

Caño Negro is one of Costa Rica’s 11 RAMSAR sites, designated as such due largely to its status as an important migratory bird habitat. It is located between Los Chiles, Upala, and Guatuso regions in Alajuela.

Caño Negro was established as a wildlife refuge on March 4, 1984. It covers an area of 9,969 hectares of mixed public and private land.

Caño Negro’s largest lagoons are the Laguna Caño Negro and the Laguna San Sebastián. The area’s various lagoons are fed primarily by the Río Frío.

Migratory Birds of Caño Negro Caño Negro is home to over 230 migratory bird species, endangered species, and species of economic importance..

Other native species, like the turtles, gar fish, and caimans serve as foundations for local economic activity such as fishing, turtle-farming, and trading in caiman skins.

Wildlife refuge status has not been enough to protect the wetlands of Caño Negro

!   In 2003, a fire started by poachers and spread by accumulated, dried-out organic matter in network of drainage ditches burned for 3 weeks and consumed 4,000 hectares (40% of the reserve).

!   Caño Negro wetlands still threatened, as are many other wetlands, by drainage and deforestation, as well as sedimentation and water contamination from upstream agricultural uses.

Community of Caño Negro Faces challenges independent of wetland conservation

!   High poverty rate

!   Limited educational opportunities

!   Limited employment opportunities

!   Poor infrastructure !   Uncertain land tenure

for many (2009 MINAET study)

But preliminary interviews indicate…

!   A desire among certain community members to be involved in management of the wetland

!   A desire for more economically productive uses of land than cattle-grazing

!   An interest in conservation goals

Policy Approaches to Conservation

“Five P’s” for addressing environmental issues

!   Prescription: command and control measures !   Penalties: taxes or fees for non-compliance

!   Persuasion: information-sharing !   Property Rights: changing access or entitlements

!   Payment: subsidies, tax breaks, direct payment

Costa Rica’s Forest PES!!   La Ley Forestal 7575 (1996) !   Four forms of ecosystem services recognized;

four land management practices currently eligible for payment

!   Establishes National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO)

!   Regentes create individual management plans and conduct yearly compliance review

!   Most revenue generated from a carbon tax and international investment

Wetlands: Good Candidates for PES?

!   25% of land under protective designation as national park or private nature reserve

!   Costa Rican law has not traditionally allowed mandatory land use restriction on private land

!   Despite “green country” image, land owners pursuing more intensive, profitable land uses

!   Expense of purchasing of conservation easements

!   Opportunity to adapt existing structure and capitalize on awareness of current forest PES

!   Internalization of ecosystem services provision costs !   Wetlands, even on protected, public land, are severely

affected by private land use in surrounding areas

Q: Why add to existing legislation governing wetlands, rather than improving implementation of existing law?

A: Current legislation sufficiently highlights the national importance of wetlands and a recent executive decree

seeks to improve previous legal challenges to enforcement. A regional, incentive-base approach like the PES system

proposed is not a complete solution, but a significant tool in private wetland protection that could be customized to

local conditions, reduce enforcement burdens and promote social welfare. Our proposal for a wetlands PES

system incorporates critical changes learned after more than a decade of Costa Rica's forest PES.

Challenges of Designing PES System for Caño Negro: Three Levels of Analysis

Addressing Common PES Challenges!!  Identifying services:

!  Involve environmental consultants for initial identification !  Payment should ultimately focus on more easily quantifiable

environmental services (reforestation, filling drainage ditches) !  Regentes paid from a central fund, rather than per parcel

!  Establishing valuation: !  Consider prioritization based on land’s value or level of threat !  Consider possibility of reverse auction for inscription !  Difficult to contextualize against the range of alternative land

uses, may be limited by available funds

Addressing Common PES Challenges!

!  Stimulating participation: !  Focus on areas with lowest alternative opportunity costs !  Public education campaign on wetland importance

!  Identifying funding sources: !  International – EcoMarkets program from the World Bank;

U.S. Migratory Bird Act

!  Domestic – Taxes on agriculture industry (mitigation) or tourism (beneficiaries of ecosystem services); require that damages from environmental infractions go to PES system

Addressing Wetland PES Challenges!

!  Delimiting wetlands (and target PES areas): !  Ecological markers (indicator species, soil) !  Improved mapping of boundaries and seasonal change

!  Expand focus to watersheds feeding into wetlands and identify upland areas of greatest impact

Addressing Wetland PES Challenges!

!   Coordinating broad participation: !   Allow large-scale inscriptions involving multiple

landowners !   Establish regional offices based on geographical

boundaries (e.g., COMCURE, the Reventazón watershed management commission)

!   Consider two-tier system where benefits are paid out to property owners and a community fund to be used for the community and environment’s benefit !   May depend on level of funding available

Addressing Caño Negro’s Challenges!

!   Poverty: !  Provide training and assistance to community

leaders in preparation of initial PES applications !  Allow small landowners to inscribe property jointly

to satisfy mandatory minimum area !  Collaborate with MINAET to identify sustainable,

profitable wetland goods for production on PES lands

Addressing Caño Negro’s Challenges!

!  Land tenure: !  Clarify what activities are permitted on state wetlands

and accretion land; !  Consider PES eligibility for varying “levels” of land

title (e.g. by years of continuous occupation used in the Osa Peninsula)

Conclusion!

This is a very basic proposed structure for a hierarchy and flow of funds and the benefits they should ultimately produce.

Ultimately, the details we’ve discussed must be addressed, but the most important modifications made to the forestry PES system are: (1)  The watershed approach with an emphasis on participatory

management and benefits for the community; and (2)  The creation of a series of taxes based on PES and mitigation rationales