US embassy cable - 05SANJOSE2710

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN JOSE 002710 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: SENV, EAGR, XS, XM, CS, OAS 
SUBJECT:  ON THE ROAD TO SANTA CRUZ:  OAS TECHNICAL WORKSHOP 
AND MODEL FOREST FORUM WEIGH SUSTAINABLE FORESTY, TOURISM 
AND AGRICULTURE 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  On November 2, Regional Environmental Hub 
Officer (REO) and Regional Environmental Assistant (REA) 
joined Dan Martinez, Economic Advisor and Alternate 
Representative for the U.S. Mission to the OAS, Department 
of Agriculture official Catherine Karr-Colque, and other 
U.S. delegation members to attend the Organization of 
American States (OAS) workshop on Sustainable Forestry, 
Agriculture and Tourism.  The session was held at and co- 
hosted by  the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on 
Agriculture (IICA) in San Jose.  The workshop served as a 
preparatory meeting for the 2006 Bolivia ministerial meeting 
on sustainable development.  Discussions clustered around 
three themes: building links across sectors, voluntary 
initiatives, and innovative financing.  Experts present were 
asked to identify potential areas of cooperation and 
innovative ideas, as well as to identify specific measures 
governments could take to foster such cooperation.  One such 
initiative, the Model Forest Global Forum, was showcased 
November 7-10 at the Tropical Agriculture Center for 
Research and Teaching (Centro Agronomo Tropical de 
Investigacion y Ensenanza-CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica. 
End summary. 
 
Sustainability and the Bolivia 2006 Ministerial 
----------------------- 
 
2.  The OAS November 2 workshop initiated a preparatory 
process towards the First Inter-American Ministerial Meeting 
on Sustainable Development to be hosted in 2006 in Santa 
Cruz by the Government of Bolivia.  The informal, one-day 
workshop identified useful steps in promoting sustainable 
agriculture, sustainable forestry and sustainable tourism at 
policy and project levels for potential areas of 
cooperation.  In his welcoming remarks, Costa Rican 
Environment Minister Carlos Rodriguez emphasized the 
challenge of convincing political leaders of the 
contribution of the environment to the country's GDP. 
Citing the work of noted writer Jared Diamond, Rodriguez 
argued ominously that failure to do so jeopardized continued 
human existence. 
 
3.  The freewheeling discussions at the workshop centered on 
three main clusters: building links across sectors, 
voluntary initiatives, and innovative financing.  The 
session grappled with defining sustainable forestry, 
agriculture and forestry; replicating best practices; and 
incorporating trade and environment concerns in 
policy.  Major obstacles identified by participants included 
forest fragmentation, lack of integration among economic 
sectors, and the need to clarify the scope of activities 
described as "sustainable".  A common weakness among 
environmental management plans was the failure to identify 
the financial means to implement them, particularly for 
small and mid-size producers. 
 
4. Co-host Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on 
Agriculture (IICA), which provided the meeting space, 
delivered an overview of the major agreements reached at its 
August 2005 Ministerial meeting.  Costa Rica provided a 
thorough explanation of the importance of the country's 
payment for environmental services program 
(www.fonafifo.com).  Its delegate recommended a strong 
emphasis on objectives meant to be served by mechanisms, and 
in taking account of a country's social and economic reality 
when considering whether to replicate best practices.  The 
U.S. emphasized the importance of incorporating civil 
society and private partners to this process.  The CEC 
(Commission for Environmental Cooperation) and the OECD 
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) 
delegation emphasized the importance of governments' role in 
promoting access to information, in setting limits to the 
proliferation of sustainability programs, and to create new 
markets, among others. 
 
5.  The organizers' summation stressed the need to manage 
ecosystems rather than specific resources, account for 
financial sustainability from the outset, and flagged 
marketing challenges.  The meeting provided ample 
opportunity for participants to share experiences, ideas, 
and creative approaches to integrating forestry, agriculture 
and tourism schemes, with civil society participation. 
 
 
Generating Sustainability: Global Model Forest Forum 
------------------- 
 
6.  One relevant approach was highlighted at the November 7- 
12 commemoration of the International Model Forest Network 
Secretariat's (IMFNS) 10th anniversary.  The celebration 
 
SIPDIS 
brought together representatives from 35 model forests in 17 
countries.  Its objective was to share experiences and 
recall impacts, challenges and opportunities of their 
network at local, national, regional and global levels.  The 
IMFNS was established in 1995 in Canada to support the 
development of a global network of model forests that would 
foster international exchange of ideas on sustainable forest 
management.  The Secretariat aimed as well to facilitate 
international cooperation and support ongoing multilevel 
discussions related to sustainable forest management.  The 
IMFNS carries out its work through site-level support, 
training, and extension activities; facilitation of 
networking among model forests; regional, national, and 
international meetings and workshops; and communications and 
advocacy. 
 
7.  As one of the pillars of sustainable forest management, 
sustainable economic development is a priority for many 
resource-dependent communities.  Stakeholders of model 
forests expect an economic dividend, but they need to be 
able to make informed choices, relying on information on 
alternate methods, non-traditional resources uses, and more 
sustainable natural resource extraction processes, among 
others.  The Forum showcased a variety of products from 
Model Forest projects, from Argentine textiles to Costa 
Rican nuts and Thai lamps. 
 
8.  The term "model forest" was first used in 1991 to 
describe a program developed by the Government of Canada to 
develop broad-based voluntary partnerships within large 
forested landscapes that could translate sustainable forest 
management policies into practice.  The approach to a model 
forest must be flexible given varying conditions among sites 
and regions, but all model forest must share six key 
attributes to encourage program coherence and networking 
opportunities: an inclusive and dynamic partnership; a 
commitment to sustainable forest management; a landscape 
large enough to represent an area's diverse forest uses and 
values; a governance structure that is representative, 
participative, transparent, and accountable; a program of 
activities reflecting partner needs and values; and a 
commitment to knowledge-sharing and networking on all 
levels.  There are currently 40 model forests in the world, 
out of which 10 are in Latin America.  All three model 
forests in the United States dropped out of the program 
three years ago due to funding and coordination problems. 
 
9.   Comment.  The OAS workshop was billed as the beginning 
of a process which would continue through a virtual forum 
and a follow-up meeting in Washington, which would 
contribute towards the final preparatory meeting leading to 
the ministerial.  Representation at the meeting was broad, 
but not deep and few NGOs participated.  One of the 
challenges of the OAS discussions is the preparation of a 
statement that would help guide government efforts on the 
ground, and efforts at the meeting to build consensus on 
definitions and common obstacles are steps in that 
direction.  The technical demands of programs like the Model 
Forest Initiative could be useful in identifying the 
metrics, enforcement capacity, and economic incentives 
needed to implement and track future progress.  Such 
guidance could prove particularly valuable for many 
countries in weighing the potential benefits from 
sustainable economic activity in the context of 
proliferating free trade agreements in the Western 
Hemisphere.  End comment. 
 
10.  The final report with some possible next steps of the 
meeting on sustainability in agriculture, forestry and 
tourism will be included in the website created for the 
Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development in 2006 
(http://www.oas.org/osde/MinisterialMeeting/R eunionInterAm_e 
ng_Wkhp3.htm).  For more information on the IMFNS please 
visit www.imfn.net.  For questions or comments please 
contact Cinthya Alfaro, Environmental Assistant for the 
Regional Environmental Hub for Central America and the 
Caribbean, at alfarocg(at)state.gov, or 506-519-2392. 
 
LANGDALE