In situ and Ex situ Conservation of Commercial Tropical Trees - ITTO

114• new partnerships among government, civil society and the private sector toanalyze environmental problems and seek solutions;• integrated environmental management instruments, including ecologicaleconomiczoning, for evaluation, monitoring and control actions; althoughzoning work has produced valuable information, there has been only limitedpublic discussion and negotiation of a land use policy at state or municipallevel;• decentralized environmental issues, introducing them in State politicalagendas, while establishing the legitimacy and leadership of stateenvironment organizations and strengthening state and municipalgovernments to progressively take on these functions;• advances in the development and implementation of public policies, includingsustainable funding mechanisms;• building consensus as part of the Project’s management strategy, graduallyenhancing mutual understanding among participants. Planning procedureshave been improved but continue to require further adjustments. Complexdecision-making processes and relationships among actors have improvedwith expanded dialogue and increased mutual confidence. This process,however, limited implementation.• identifying project management issues and make several conceptual andmanagement improvements; and• training numerous groups, contributing significantly to strengthenenvironmental management institutions, especially with technical cooperationassistance.Project Concept and Design IssuesHowever, among the limitations identified during the mid-term review werethat:• The project defined environmental management strategies based commandand control instruments. For several historical reasons, it had not, untilrecently, addressed federal and state coordination with other, largelydevelopment-oriented public policies, This has limited the application ofsustainable development principles to natural resource management andthe capacity to prevent and solve problems. The MMA recognizes thisneed to expand the scope of its actions and is asserting itself with otherfederal agencies, whether or not they included as part of this project.• The Integrated Environmental Management Plans (IEMPs or PGAIs) areeffective tools for participatory planning, contrary to the first phase ofinstitutional strengthening without clear objectives and geographic limits.