English - Global Environment Facility

3. For the design and operation of an Ecotourism Impact Monitoring System (ETIMS), during
the first six months of the project, the Ecotourism Specialist will assist the biodiversity personnel
at ANAM to develop a locally appropriate, adaptive, integrated and cost-effective data
management system, building on existing scientific and socioeconomic monitoring initiatives
and information. Resources for this activity have been incorporated in Component 2 with a view
to later integrating this program`s monitoring system into the PMEMAP and applying it to the
entire SINAP. The ETIMS is intended to expand the data already being collected for PMEMAP,
providing more specific information on the following aspects of ecotourism and biodiversity in
PAs: (i) an ecological dimension, with a view to assessing the impacts of tourism visitation
(including specific activities such as hiking, rafting, diving) on ecosystem health through the
analysis of trends in biological and threat reduction indicators compared against established
baselines in line-transects or quadrants around visited sites such as trails and overlooks. The
monitoring approach which is fully described in the Biodiversity Report and summarized in the
Monitoring and Evaluation Annex calls for the use of biological and threat reduction indicators
for the following: (a) vegetation (% cover, degree of fragmentation, species/community
diversity/abundance, presence of threatened and/or endangered species); (b) avifauna
(resident/migratory populations, species diversity/abundance, nesting concentrations, threatened
and/or endangered species, critical habitats); (c) mammals (presence/absence of primates,
predators, carnivores etc…; relative abundance, threatened and/or endangered species, critical
habitats); (d) freshwater biota (index of biological integrity); (e) coral reefs (live coral cover,
species diversity and abundance, coral condition including mortality, disease and bleaching); (f)
marine turtles (species diversity, nesting populations). Biophysical indicators (water quality, soil
stability and erosion, and solid waste) will also be monitored at and in the vicinity of ecotourism
sites. Threat reduction indicators will be monitored in each PA on the basis of the specific and
predominant threats identified (see Annex E), including forest fires, invasive species, illegal
settlements, illegal logging and other illegal activities etc… Protocols have been recommended
for each indicator to assess the impact of ecotourism activities on ecosystem condition and
diversity; (ii) a socioeconomic dimension, with a view to assessing the impact of ecotourism
visitation on social, cultural and economic context of local communities, as well as local and
national stakeholders; (iii) an ecotourism management dimension, assessing both demand
characteristics (visitor demographics and profile, preferences, satisfaction, expenditure patterns
as well as visitation flows) and supply (facilities, quantity and quality of services offered); and
(iv) a PA management dimension, including both the application of the GEF Tracking Tools to
assess implementation effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses of PAs management, and the
linkage of the ETIMS to PMEMAP. The total estimated cost for the development and
implementation of the program`s monitoring system for the 9 protected areas (Project
Component 2) is expected to reach US$195,500.
4. The ETIMS will provide the information for the impact evaluation plan required by the IDB for
all its projects. The proposal is to use a reflexive methodology relying on the management
effectiveness monitoring and evaluation tool generated by PMEMAP (expanded to include the
ecotourism management data) to be applied individually to the 9 protected areas included as
priorities for the project. PMEMAP is based on an internationally recognized methodology that
is used for all protected areas that receive GEF financing and enables a comparison of
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