Who pays the bills? Funding protected areas

1. Who pays the bills? Funding protected areas Jim Barborak, CI

2. Basic principles • Government and NGO PA management agencies can and should try to become more self sufficient, particularly to pay for recurrent personnel and operations costs • There are a number of techniques and mechanisms to achieve this

3. A key goal should be to develop the planning, budgeting, and administrative systems and financial strategies needed for an agency, program or project to meet its goals and objectives with the greatest effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability possible.This requires keeping fixed costs low!

4. There are no miraculous solutions for the challenge of financial sustainability. Financial strategies are need to resolve both short and long term funding needs and to cover both operational and development costs.

5. It is vital to begin the source for support in house, then locally, then regionally, then nationally, and only then think about outside resources and support from abroad.

6. Regular and special budget allocations User fees and tariffs for direct and indirect users Environmental service fee and payment systems Alliances with other agencies: tourism, agrarian reform, planning, tourism, education, defense, public security, public works Creation of foundations, endowments and trust funds Funding techniques

7. Other mechanisms • Fiscal stamps and excise taxes • Hunting and fishing licenses and permits for scientific research and use and export of wildlife, timber, fisheries • Excise taxes (guns, ammo, fishing and camping gear) • Fines and auction of confiscated goods and use of confiscated equipment • Tourism taxes • Commemorative stamps and coins • Tax breaks and other fiscal incentives in return for donations of cash, equipment, land, materials • Souvenirs and book sales

8. External sources of support Multilaterals • UNDP, UNEP, FAO, BIRF (B. Mundial) • Regional Banks: Asia, Africa, IDB, etc. • GEF • European Union • Regional bodies like OAS in Americas

9. CIDA (Canadá) JICA USAID DANIDA NORAD FINNIDA GTZ/KFW HOLLAND AECID International volunteers National resource management agencies (USDA USDA from USA) * U.S. AIDBilateral agencies

10. International Conventions • Ramsar • World Heritage • ITTO • GEF

11. New mechanisms • Debt swaps under TFCA and other programs • REDD and global carbon market • Environmental service payment systems • National and Regional Environmental Funds • Trust Funds and Endowments

12. Sources of scholarships, research grants, technical assistance • Universities • Museums • Science Foundations • DAAD • USIA, Fulbright • CUSO • Other governments

13. Sources of direct revenue • Tourism activities • Fundraising campaigns and appeals • Souvenir sales • Visitor center proceeds • Concerts, art sales, galas • Membership dues • Corporate and individual philanthropic donations

14. Don´t forget! • NGOs are not necessarily good entrepreneurs, neither are governments • NGOs, concessions, etc. require very clear and well thought out statutes and administrative and financial controls

15. Finally…. • Being good at fundraising is not enough—you must development administrative and leadership skills and show clear results derived from donations or you will have a boom then bust • Some times institutional reform, or bringing in new partners is needed to create the flexibility and administrative and financial capacity needed to successfully use many funding tools.

16. You must build your staff and partner capacity not just in fundraising but in management skills, administration, and marketing and build public- private partnershipsLegal and policy frameworks often create barriers to successful entrepreneurship in conservation and tie the hands of managers, particularly in government agencies