Parks in Peril Celebrates Protecting more than 40 Million Acres Across Latin America and Caribbean
March 23, 2006
Parks in Peril (PiP) is one of the largest international conservation programs in the world, covering over 40 million acres across 17 countries. Since The Nature Conservancy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) started PiP in 1990, Parks in Peril has protected 45 of the most biologically important areas in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the program's inception, PiP has received $74 million in funding from USAID, matched by nearly $27 million raised by TNC and its partner organizations, and indirectly attracting more than $400 million to these sites and other activities in which PiP partner organizations are involved. The program is set to end in 2007, but TNC is currently working to secure the additional USAID funding necessary to support its future evolution and expansion.
The origin of the project dates back to the late 1980s, when a growing concern over the lack of management and resources in Latin America and Caribbean parks prompted the Conservancy to identify 10 sites crucial to protecting biodiversity. After extensive consultations with USAID, the Conservancy and partners launched PiP.
“One of the keys to PiP's success has been its emphasis on on-the-ground results and engagement of local people to ensure proper management for long-term conservation.”
One of the primary goals of PiP was to increase the capacity of local non-governmental and governmental organizations to manage these parks effectively on their own. Since PiP first launched in 1990, the 10 inaugural sites have been declared successes and have graduated from the program, while additional conservation sites have been added several times. Many sites have successfully grown into larger landscapes encompassing protected reserves, buffer zones, corridors and private lands filled with wildlife.
One of the keys to PiP's success has been its emphasis on on-the-ground results and engagement of local people to ensure proper management for long-term conservation. The Nature Conservancy and USAID work with local partners to provide necessary infrastructure, conservation knowledge, and hands-on experience in park management and development.
Over the years, USAID and the Conservancy have conducted regular reviews of the PiP program, the results of which clarified the importance of long-term commitment to conservation and the vital role the U.S. plays in supporting conservation efforts. Among the key findings of the PiP studies are:
- The Latin America and Caribbean regions' understanding of conservation has increased dramatically.
- Many local nongovernmental organizations have become so successful in park management through their PiP partnership that they are managing parks on their own, assisting their government's ministry of the environment or moving individuals into prominent positions within their government.
- Outside involvement is still necessary for many of the parks, including some that have graduated from PiP. This includes long-term financing as a guaranteed source of funding to ensure the best results.
- Involving and enhancing local communities in a park's management increases the success of that park, as well as its legitimacy, and helps ensure long-term conservation results.
For More Information:
- Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Central America and the Caribbean
Central America bridges two vast continents and two immense seas. The Caribbean is home to some of the world's richest land and marine environments, with 40 percent of the plant life here found nowhere else on Earth.
- How We Work: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
The PiP project demonstrates the type of public-private partnership, supported with critical public funding, that can help countries around the world implement national systems of protected areas as called for under the CBD at COP-7. The Conservancy is working at COP-8 to generate additional action and funding on these historic commitments.
- How We Work: Parks in Peril
Parks in Peril's successes range from the coral reefs of the Lesser Antilles to the active volcanoes of Guatemala and from the deserts of Mexico to the rainforests of Brazil.
- Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.
