Ahead of the Curve or Out on a LimbCONDESAN’s Strategy 2001-2005

By: Dr. Joshua PosnerCONDESAN 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

CIP CIMMYT IWMI ICARDACIAT …

CGIAR Ecorregional Programs

Humid sub-humidTropics of Africa

TropicalLatin America

Inland valleyConsortium

Rice-wheatCropping systems

East AfricaHighlands Initiative

Humid sub-humidTropics of Asia

CONDESAN

CONDESAN and CIP

Land Use inMountain Systems

Biodiversity and Conservation of

Root and Tuber Crops

CONDESAN

GMP

ICIMODICRAF

Late Blight

IPM

Post-Harvest Quality and Market Impact of Root and

Tuber Crops

Africa

CIPCONDESAN

ICIMODICRAF

African highlandsInitiative

Mountain ForumGlobal Mountain Program

InfoAndina

AsiaLatinAmerica

EuropeLatinAmerica

Asia Africa

Research Development

Knowledge & Information sharing

NorthAmerica

ILRICIP

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 PartnershipProject

PartnershipProject

DG DG

Partners

MéridaLa Miel

Bogotá

El Carchi

Quito

Cajamarca

Lima

PunoLa Paz

Cochabamba

CONDESAN

BENCHMARKS

Sustainable NaturalResource Management

Improving RuralIncomes

SocialEquity

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-projectLeaders

NationalResearchInstitutes

AdvancedResearch Institutes

NGOsGovt.

AgenciesRegional

Universities

CONDESAN

International Public GoodsExtrapolation

Source of fundingTransfer of technologyBroaden CIP’s tent

CGIAR

CIP

Members

What do our Stakeholders want?

Variables

BenchmarkSites

Candelaria

Mañazo

Aroma

La Encañada

Rio El Angel

La Miel

Pueblo Llano

Physicalvariables

Sociologicalvariables

Economicvariables

Historicalvariables

Models

• Characterization of the Region

• Detailed characterization of the benchmark sites

International Public Goods & Extrapolation

Transfer of Technology

Strategic Applied Adaptive

CIP CONDESANNGO’sFarmer groupsRegional universitiesINIAs

An example:

Establish Cajamarca Mapping w/municipal GIS lab Atlas & governments

Encañada work 3 NGO’s

CONDESAN as Tío Rico

SDC

System

atiza

cion

IDRC

CONDESAN II

GTZ Cajamarca

Dutch C

ompetitiv

e

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:

Strategic Applied Adaptive

CIP CONDESANNGO’sFarmer groupsRegional universitiesINIAs

Framework

Initiatives

CONDESANPapaAndinaART ProgramTaste of the AndesFriends of the AndesFarmer Field SchoolsGILB

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

Sistem

atiza

cion

IDRC

CONDESAN IIDutch

Competi

tive

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 grantsPronatta IncaAgroPromsa SIBTA

3. Supply information services with InfoAndina- Mountain Forum.- Electronic forums.- Web page.- Distance education.- Virtual shopping.

International Public Goods Information managementExtrapolation Identifying new themes

Transfer of CIP technology Framework policy initiatives

Winning project funds Providing methodologies, toolsInfoAndina

CONDESAN Improved Portfolio

Civil Society GovernmentAgencies

Research Community

CONDESAN

Under the Community of the Andean Nation’s Umbrella