Ahead of the Curve or Out on a Limb CONDESAN’s Strategy By: Dr. Joshua Posner CONDESAN Coordinator April 14th, 2001 The Consortium for Sustainable Development in the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN)

1.Natural resource management and rural poverty are multidisciplinary themes that could best be addressed by a consortium of institutions. 2.The core issues of poverty and resource management require making more local and political alliances, focusing on NGO partners, regional Universities, producer groups, and municipal governments. Meetings held at CIP in the early 1990’s with a group of 60 Andean scientists concluded:

3.The impact of quality work going on in the Andes should be reinforced through the creation of an electronic information-exchange and sharing mechanism (InfoAndina). 4.The Andean research and development consortium would not create additional organizational infrastructure, but rather would be a virtual entity, primarily working through its partners. Conclusions

CONDESAN Mission Statement The Consortium for the Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN) is an association of public and private sector partners working together on research, training, development and policy initiatives, promoting the protection of natural resources and improvements in welfare and equity for the people of the Andes.

Where does CONDESAN FIT ? ?

Eco - Regional Programs Global Challenges System wide Initiatives CONDESAN and the CG Systems CIPCIMMYTIWMIICARDACIAT…

CGIAR Ecorregional Programs Humid sub-humid Tropics of Africa Tropical Latin America Inland valley Consortium Rice-wheat Cropping systems East Africa Highlands Initiative Humid sub-humid Tropics of Asia CONDESAN

CONDESAN and CIP Land Use in Mountain Systems Biodiversity and Conservation of Root and Tuber Crops CONDESAN GMP ICIMOD ICRAF Late Blight IPM Post-Harvest Quality and Market Impact of Root and Tuber Crops

Africa CIP CONDESAN ICIMOD ICRAF African highlands Initiative Mountain ForumGlobal Mountain Program InfoAndina Asia Latin America Europe Latin America AsiaAfrica Research Development Knowledge & Information sharing North America ILRI CIP ILRI Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 MF-Africa CONDESAN and the UN

Who are we?

CONDESAN Membership International Research Centers (4) Latin American NGO’s (30) National Agricultural Research Institutes (5) Latin American Universities (9) Advanced Research Institutes (10)

CONDESAN Organization Board of Directors Coordination Technical Committee Benchmark Sites (BMS) Cross-Andean Themes CIATCIP Partnership Project Partnership Project DG Partners

Mérida La Miel Bogotá El Carchi Quito Cajamarca Lima Puno La Paz Cochabamba CONDESANCONDESAN BENCHMARKSBENCHMARKS

Sustainable Natural Resource Management Improving Rural Incomes Social Equity CONDESAN CONDESAN’s Two-Fold Challenge 1.How to do creative and useful research at the intersection of poverty alleviation and natural resource management?

2.How to do this work as a low-cost consortium rather than as a research institute? DG DDG’s Project Leaders Sub-project Leaders National Research Institutes Advanced Research Institutes NGOs Govt. Agencies Regional Universities CONDESAN

International Public Goods Extrapolation Source of funding Transfer of technology Broaden CIP’s tent CGIAR CIP Members What do our Stakeholders want?

Variables Benchmark Sites Candelaria Mañazo Aroma La Encañada Rio El Angel La Miel Pueblo Llano Physical variables Sociological variables Economic variables Historical variables Models Characterization of the Region Detailed characterization of the benchmark sites International Public Goods & Extrapolation

Transfer of Technology StrategicAppliedAdaptive CIP CONDESAN NGO’s Farmer groups Regional universities INIAs An example: EstablishCajamarca Mapping w/municipal GIS labAtlas & governments Encañada work 3 NGO’s

CONDESAN as Tío Rico SDC Systematizacion IDRC CONDESAN II GTZ Cajamarca Dutch Competitive Grants

An alternative vision to meet a new reality: 1. Increasing importance of bilateral versus regional programs. 3.New evaluation criteria. - “Greening’of the donor’s agenda. - Growing pressure for all programs to show impact on poverty. 4.Increased (unrealistic?) expectations of what the private sector can do 5.Partners with increasing research capabilities. 2.Increased funds available in national competitive grants programs.

In Summary: Increased focus on National issues and local alliances. Desperate need to help governments develop consistent rural development policies. More and more science and necessary technical skills outside of the CG-system.

Is emphasizing benchmark sites, international public goods and extrapolation the only way to work? Very data intensive. A simplistic vision of how NRM decisions are made. An Alternative approach: Instead of collecting more data, focus on information mgt. Georeference data with GIS. Develop the concept of minimum data sets. Toolbook and CD-roms. Pick sites for specific questions, not for representatively. importance of Andean roots and tubers. importance of externalities (e.g. water, biodiversity).

Transfer of Technology: StrategicAppliedAdaptive CIP CONDESAN NGO’s Farmer groups Regional universities INIAs Framework Initiatives CONDESAN PapaAndina ART Program Taste of the Andes Friends of the Andes Farmer Field Schools GILB An Alternative vision: CIP

Information Policy: Making natural resource management data bases (e.g. climate, soils, topography, hydrology) readily available to universities, NGOs, and municipal governments is fundamental if GIS and process based models are to be widely used. Water Policy: Water concessions and pricing policies are outdated and a barrier to investment in agriculture and rural development objectives.

Investment Policy: It is difficult to design projects that are sufficiently profitable to attractive private capital. Incentives will be necessary to attract investment to the Andes. Paramo Policy: The headwaters of the major Andean rivers begin in these grasslands and they are the centers of wild germplasm for certain Andean tubers. A coherent conservation and development policy is necessary to prevent agricultural encroachment, and intensify production closer to the village.

Setting research priorities: Based on the CONDESAN “big umbrella” model of the Andean research community and InfoAndina’s experience with electronic forums, ForAgro, IICA and the TAC have invited us to coordinate a research prioritization exercise in the Andes.

Direct funding support to the Consortium members SDC Sistematizacion IDRC CONDESAN II Dutch Competitive Grants GTZ Cajamarca An alternative vision is to offer primarily technical services to the Consortium members 1.Promote the use of ecorregional tools. - Georeferencing information. - watershed analysis. - estimating environmental sevices. - private investment in the rural sector.

2.Raise to a policy level, “field” issues: - water resources (esp irrigation legislation). - forestry policy in the Andes. - paramo management. 4.Join them, as junior partners, to win competitive grants PronattaIncaAgro PromsaSIBTA 3.Supply information services with InfoAndina - Mountain Forum. - Electronic forums. - Web page. - Distance education. - Virtual shopping.

International Public GoodsInformation management ExtrapolationIdentifying new themes Transfer of CIP technologyFramework policy initiatives Winning project fundsProviding methodologies, tools InfoAndina CONDESAN Improved Portfolio

Civil Society Government Agencies Research Community CONDESAN Under the Community of the Andean Nation’s Umbrella