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

1. Ahead of the Curve or Out on a Limb CONDESAN’s Strategy 2001-2005 By: Dr. Joshua Posner CONDESAN Coordinator April 14th, 2001 The Consortium for Sustainable Development in the Andean Ecoregion (CONDESAN)

2. Meetings held at CIP in the early 1990’s with a group of 60 Andean scientists concluded: 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.

3. Conclusions • 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.

4. 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.

5. Where does CONDESAN FIT ? ?

6. CONDESAN and the CG Systems CIP CIAT CIMMYT IWMI ICARDA … Eco - Regional Programs System wide Initiatives Global Challenges

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

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

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

10. Who are we?

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

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

13. B E N C H M A R K S Mérida La Miel C O N D E S A N Bogotá El Carchi Quito Cajamarca Lima Puno La Paz Cochabamba

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

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

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

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

18. An example: Establish Cajamarca Mapping w/municipal GIS lab Atlas & governments Encañada work 3 NGO’s Transfer of Technology Strategic Applied Adaptive NGO’s Farmer groups Regional universities INIAs CONDESAN CIP

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

20. An alternative vision to meet a new reality: 1. Increasing importance of bilateral versus regional programs. 2. Increased funds available in national competitive grants 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.

21. 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.

22. 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).

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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Direct funding support to the Consortium members Dutch Competitive Grants IDRC CONDESAN II SDC Sistematizacion 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.

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

29. CONDESAN Improved Portfolio International Public Goods Information management Extrapolation Identifying new themes Transfer of CIP technology Framework policy initiatives Winning project funds Providing methodologies, tools InfoAndina

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