Conservation through Economic Empowerment in the Republic of the Congo (CEERC).

Amendment No. 3:This is Amendment No. 3 to SOL No. 72060520R00001 to provide answers to question received from prospective offeror.Description:Efforts to conserve the forests and biodiversity of the ROC struggle to have an impact at a sufficiently large scale to outpace ecosystem and biodiversity declines. In particular, as described in the CARPE midterm evaluation, efforts to improve livelihoods that support conservation and reduce deforestation have been small-scale. The enabling environment, e.g., lack of access to capital for industries such as ecotourism or markets for sustainably produced or harvested products, has not been favorable. While law enforcement within PAs has reduced wildlife loss through the use of technology enabling improved patrolling, it is much more difficult to enforce wildlife and forest laws in areas controlled by concessions and communities. And unlike some PAs in other parts of Africa with significant tourism and trophy hunting industries, those in ROC do

not generate enough income to cover their operating costs much less to provide economic benefits to local populations. (However, the ecosystem and security benefits of PAs may be considerable.) Benefits to indigenous peoples have been particularly scarce, given their mobility and low status in society. Mitigating the threats outlined in the sections C.3.2.1 and C.3.2.2  will require engagement of a broad range of partners, a more favorable enabling environment, strategies that seek large-scale solutions and more effective approaches informed by continuous learning.Green economic development with conservation and sustainable forest management at its heart is an emerging approach in biodiversity-rich countries, based on the need for wider scale economic benefit, diversified livelihoods and private sector engagement. Two examples from conflict-ridden and poverty-stricken areas are Virunga National Park in DRC and Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. These PAs are building green economies around their core areas to engage the population and stabilize the territory. Longstanding community-based conservation initiatives, which have diversified from ecotourism, are exemplified by the Conservancies of Namibia and Kenya, which USAID has supported over many years. These latter are home to formerly disenfranchised and impoverished indigenous peoples. This experience shows that wildlife tourism can be a direct and powerful means to benefit communities and conservation actors, depending on the scale and modes of benefit distribution. Other options include developing industries around fair trade sustainably harvested tree crops, sustainable fisheries management, and providing alternatives to bushmeat that create job opportunities as well as protein options.The major obstacle to the green economy is the short term, and often highly lucrative, gain that can be derived from the allocation of concessions and territories to extractive industry and unsustainable agribusiness in carbon-rich and biologically important areas. The risk for this type of allocation is already high in ROC. Raising awareness of the risks in policy dialogues and monitoring land use are important interventions but they need to be complemented with positive investments that favor green economy approaches. For instance, strengthening local land and resource tenure can provide the stability and incentives for local actors to invest long-term. Development of infrastructure supporting green options is another important investment. Engaging with key economic actors such as merchants, traders, bankers and consumers is also critical to work across whole value chains. Green economic options cannot be run as charities if they are to compete and survive.Most importantly, bringing a green economy to fruition requires crafting a shared vision and sustaining a coalition of stakeholders who see clear benefits from such an economic model. To enable conservation and sustainable forest management to become “green engines of development” there must be coordinated efforts by government, the private sector, civil society, and local communities. USAID can draw on its extensive experience to facilitate such coordination and investment. Assets that CEERC will draw from also include CARPE partners supported through other mechanisms, who will in turn benefit from the access to expertise, knowledge management systems, private sector linkages and expanded local capacity that CEERC will bring.The purpose of this activity is to deliver services in the biodiversity and sustainable landscapes sectors in support of USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment’s (CARPE) Development Objective, the ecological integrity of the humid forest ecosystem of the Congo Basin maintained.CEERC will reduce threats to biodiversity, carbon-rich forests and peatlands in the ROC by supporting the establishment of sustainable “green industries” that improve the well-being of forests, wildlife and rural dwellers at a scale sufficient to impact large areas and diverse populations. CEERC will need to work at multiple levels to achieve development and conservation objectives.