EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT BASIC INFORMATION (Updated 14.02.2013) EXPIRY DATE: Please note in order to keep the clearing-house up-to-date LifeWeb Expressions of Interest will be profiled for a limited duration of one year. After one year you will be invited to update and renew the Expression of Interest. However without confirmation it will be archived and removed until further notice. COUNTRY/COUNTRIES Cambodia and Lao PDR PROJECT TITLE Safeguarding critical sites for threatened Mekong Megafauna LEAD CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS LIFEWEB EXPRESSION OF INTEREST Name and contact information (to be consulted on content and revisions) Name: Email: Phone: Organisation: Dr Thomas N.E. Gray, Regional Species Manager Thomas.gray@wwfgreatermekong.org Phone +855 23 218 034 WWF Greater Mekong IMPLEMENTING INSTITUTION(S) Please list the implementing institution(s) for this project Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Royal Government of Cambodia Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR WWF Greater Mekong Cambodia and Lao PDR Country Programmes ABSTRACT Please briefly describe the project in two to three sentences and explain why it is important to conserving biodiversity, addressing climate change, securing livelihoods and contributing toward the achievement of areabased Aichi Targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 The Mekong river supports a unique assemblage of chronically threatened freshwater giant fish (‘Mekong Megafauna’) of which four species are IUCN Critically Endangered (Giant Carp, Mekong Giant Catfish, Dog-eating Catfish, Mekong Giant Salmon Carp). This project will develop effective conservation strategies for these species through improving understanding of their distribution and natural history based on novel survey techniques, developing community managed Fish Conservation Zones at critical locations, and providing scientifically robust information to influence sustainable hydro-power development. The project has strong links to the Aichi Targets of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity through improving the conservation status, and thus reducing extinction risk, of some of Asia’s most threatened freshwater biodiversity (Target 12) and through supporting sustainably managed freshwater fisheries (Target 6). GEOGRAPHIC SCALE Please select one of the following. X Multinational National Sub-national LINKS WITH THE WORLD DATABASE ON PROTECTED AREAS If this project’s scope involves protected areas registered in the World Database on Protected Areas, please include the URL links where the sites appear on http://www. protectedplanet.net of all the areas involved in this project. If the area(s) are not registered in the WDPA, please indicate the complete name(s). The project will work developing Fish Conservation Zones across critical locations in the Mekong dependent on results of eDNA surveys. Some FCZs may, therefore, be within one protected area in the World Database on Protected Areas, Stoeng Treng Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance http://protectedplanet.net/sites/Middle_Stretches_Of_The_Mekong_River_North_Of_Stoeng_Treng _Ramsar_Site_Wetland_Of_International_Importance MAPS Please send high quality digital GIS files or scanned maps situating and describing the project area. These files may be made available for download on the LifeWeb website and may be used in CBD and LifeWeb communication materials Name of attachment Description 1. 2. 2 3. Add additional rows as needed. Alternatively, please indicate latitude and longitude coordinates for the center of the project. For help, see: www.getlatlon.com. Latitude Longitude The project will work on the Middle and Lower Mekong mainstream between central Lao PDR and Phnom Penh. Locations for the establishment of community managed Fish Conservation Zones will be identified through robust eDNA sampling at locations with historic records of Mekong Megafuna. Therefore exact project locations can not yet be effectively mapped. The project will however fall into the following CEPF freshwater key biodiversity areas (from north to south): LA027, LA013, LA014, LA016, LA035 KMH17 Note: if the LifeWeb Expression of Interest includes protected areas that are not included in the World Database on Protected Areas and are not visible on the http://www.protectedplanet.net, you will be directed, through the process of submission, to the manager of the World Database on Protected Area to ensure the areas are represented correctly on the global protected areas map as noted in CBD COP IX/18, para 11. IMAGES Please send high quality images and any additional media (videos, web pages, brochure, etc.) of the project. Please note that images will be used to profile your Expression of Interest on the CBD LifeWeb Website and may also be used for other CBD LifeWeb communication materials. Please note that at least one image is required. Name of attachment Description 1. WEB_112651 Giant Carp (Catlocarpio siamensis). One of the ASAP eligible species of Mekong Megafauna that this project will protect. This carp weighed 102kg and measured 172cm in total length. Cambodia December 2002. Copyright: © Zeb Hogan / WWF-Canon 2. MGC_2 3. WEB_112652 Mekong Giant Catfish (Pangasianodon gigas). The freshwater flagship for the Mekong and one of the species which the project will target through establishing Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) on the Lower Mekong. © Zeb Hogan Giant Freshwater Stingray (Himantura chaophraya). The disk of this fish measured 202cm and 413cm from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. Himantura chaophraya may be the largest species of freshwater fish in the world. Although globally endangered this species is not ASAP eligible but is likely to be conserved through FCZs in critical locations for other Megafauna species. © Zeb Hogan / WWF-Canon Add additional rows as needed. 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION LOCAL CONTEXT AND PROBLEMS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE PROJECT Please describe the context and challenges (including threats to biodiversity) in the area. You are welcome to attach supporting documents. The Mekong river has been ranked among the top three rivers globally in terms of fish species richness supporting the highest number of species per unit area of any freshwater ecosystem. The Mekong remains relatively pristine compared to other Asian mega-rivers e.g. the Yangtze River which, in the 21st century, experienced the first human-induced extinction of a cetacean with the disappearance of the Baiji Lipotes vexillifer. The Mekong supports a unique assemblage of freshwater Megafauna (species >90-kg and >180-cm long) including four of the six largest freshwater species on earth three of which (Giant Carp Catlocarpio siamensis, Mekong Giant Catfish Pangasianodon gigas and Dog-eating Catfish Pangasius sanitwongsei) are ASAP eligible species. However there are significant threats to Mekong freshwater biodiversity, particularly the charismatic and endemic Mekong MegaFauna, from unsustainable fishing and unsustainable and poorly planned mega-infrastructure projects. These pressures are having profound impacts on Mekong freshwater biodiversity, fisheries, and human livelihoods. The effective conservation of these river giants is undermined by a lack of knowledge on basic natural history parameters and critical sites for management interventions. This project would focus on the four Mekong Megafauna fish species (the three ASAP species plus the IUCN-Endangered Giant Freshwater Stingray Himantura chaophraya) plus another ASAP species, the Mekong Giant Salmon Carp Aaptosyax grypus. This project will use cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to identify important spawning, migration, and nursery sites for these species in the Lower Mekong in order to: 1) develop community Fish Conservation Zones for their protection and 2) inform the scientific debate on sustainable mainstream hydropower developments. Project implementing partner WWF Greater Mekong successfully tested the concept of eDNA sampling for detecting Mekong Giant Catfish in freshwater during the 2013/14 dry-season. WWF also have an extremely strong track record in supporting governments and communities in developing sustainably managed Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) that provide benefits to both local livelihoods and biodiversity conservation through demonstrably increasing fish stocks. FCZs are effective at protecting spawning habitat and, in the Lower Mekong, have been identified as a more effective method for protecting depleted stocks of large fish that legal restrictions on methods or gear type which are largely unenforceable. 4 Please provide a brief description of each objective and, if possible, estimate of funding required for each, as well as the overall expected results. Please add or delete rows for objectives, as needed. MEASURABLE RESULTS FUNDING OBJECTIVES NEEDED* 1. Critical spawning, nursery, and migration sites for ASAP species of Mekong Megafauna identified through novel, non-invasive eDNA genetic sampling. 2. Community Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) established at critical locations for ASAP species of Mekong Megafauna. # of sites surveyed for eDNA of target species 50,000 US$ # of eDNA detections of ASAP species # of FCZs established in Cambodia and Lao PDR 120,000 US$ # of FCZs sustainably managed Improved status of management as measured through WWF Law Enforcement Standards Presence of ASAP species monitored through eDNA 4. Robust scientific information on status # of peer-reviewed scientific and migration of ASAP species of Mekong publications Megafauna informs debate on # of publications for broad sustainable hydro-power development information dissemination (i.e. on the Mekong mainstream. IEC booklets, posters, etc.) TOTAL FUNDING NEEDED 3. Community Fish Conservation Zones sustainably managed with regulations ensuring recovery of ASAP species of Mekong Megafauna and which are effectively enforced. 60,000 US$ 20,000 US$ 250,000 US$ *Please provide amounts in USD or Euros and specify the currency. TIMEFRAME Please indicate the estimated number of years required to implement the project, ranging from 1 to 5 years. 3 Years ALIGNMENT WITH NATIONAL PLANNING1 Consistent with decision X/31, please indicate the relevance between this submission and the following national planning processes. Please be specific and attach supporting documents in Section 5. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and action plans for implementing the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) 1 National-scale submissions must be endorsed in writing by the Ministry of Environment’s authority responsible for coordinating international cooperation. We also encourage all Expressions of Interest to be endorsed by national authorities for coordinating international cooperation, as appropriate. 5 The proposal is strongly aligned with the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans of Cambodia and Laos which both highlight conservation of critically threatened freshwater biodiversity and awareness and capacity building amongst communities for sustainable use of biological resources. Other national planning strategies (e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSPs), National Climate Change Strategies, REDD+ strategies, National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs), economic and sustainable development plans, national resource mobilization strategy, infrastructure plans, land use plans, strategies for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, etc.) The proposal is also aligned with the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the government of Lao PDR and the countries strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Through developing sustainably managed Fish Conservation Zones fish-stocks (across all species) are likely to increase thus improving food security in critical communities. ECOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTION Please indicate the extent to which the area(s) is/are ecological priority(s) for the national protected area system, based on contribution to ecological representation, connectivity, viability and/or irreplaceability within the protected area system. If available, please refer to the national ecological gap analysis or other geographic prioritisation exercises. The project will operate largely outside the current Protected Area network in Cambodia and Laos though some FCZs may be created within the Stoeng Treng Ramsar Site and proposed Mekong Flooded Forest Protected Forest. However critical areas of freshwater biodiversity are largely outside of, and unrepresented in, Protected Area networks and, given the important livelihood value of fisheries, traditional strict protected areas are unlikely to achieve the biodiversity and poverty alleviation goals required. Instead a new network of community managed FCZs in critical locations for Mekong Megafauna is likely to be an effective conservation strategy. That is the goal that this project will pursue. CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change mitigation Please indicate information about carbon sequestration and/or storage benefits from this project. If specific figures are currently available, please include them here. Not Applicable Climate change adaptation Please indicate information about climate change adaptation benefits from this project, such as storm barriers, flood control, protection against sea level rise, enabling specific mobility in the face of climate change, etc. Establishing a network of sustainably managed Fish Conservation Zones in the Lower Mekong is likely to have climate change adaptation benefits through both food security (see below) and, potentially, facilitating the dispersal of threatened fish species in response to climate change. 6 OTHER ECOSYSTEM GOODS, SERVICES AND LIVELIHOODS Please provide a brief description of benefits of this project to providing the following ecosystem goods and services applicable to this project. Freshwater security (e.g. water provision for household consumption, industrial production, grazing and agriculture, avoiding desertification, etc.) Not applicable Food security (e.g. mitigating spread of invasive alien species, increasing fish stocks, increasing variety of local foods, conserving crop wild relatives etc.) The critical role of Lower Mekong fisheries for food security is widely acknowledged. In Lao PDR 83% of households engage in capture fisheries with 20% of animal protein arising from fish. In Cambodia, the widely quotes figures, are that 47-80% of animal protein intake across the population is from freshwater fish. The role of community managed FCZs in ensuring sustainable fish stocks is widely documented. Therefore the projects objectives of establishing a new network of FCZs is likely to positively benefit food security. Human health and wellbeing (e.g. regulating the emergence and spread of disease, increasing physical activity, providing sources of traditional knowledge, medicines, biomedical research opportunities, etc.) Not applicable Income generation (e.g. tourism-related activities, harvesting of non-forest timber products, fishing, etc.) The project is likely to provide some benefits for income generation, particularly amongst the poorest sectors of society, through increased fish stocks close to FCZs as a result of improved recruitment to fish populations. Cultural and spiritual enrichment (e.g. protection of natural sacred sites, sanctuary for culturally important species, preservation of pilgrimage routes, etc.) Not applicable Optional: Please indicate any additional information and attach supporting documents. Not applicable INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT Please indicate the partners to be involved in this project and their roles. PARTNER NAME ROLE IN THIS PROJECT Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR 2. Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Royal Government of Cambodia 3. FishBio (http://fishbio.com ) 1. Supporting survey work and designation of FCZs in Lao Supporting survey work and designation of FCZs in Cambodia Supporting fieldwork associated with eDNA sampling in 7 SpyGen (http://www.spygen.fr/fr/index.p hp ) 5. WWF Greater Mekong 4. Laos and Cambodia Undertaking genetic analysis of eDNA samples Providing technical support and overall project oversight, delivery, budget management, and reporting Add additional rows as needed. COUNTERPART FUNDING CATEGORIES TOTAL PROJECT COST COUNTERPART FUNDING SECURED Domestic funding secured GEF allocations International funding secured ADDITIONAL FUNDING NEEDED INSTRUCTIONS SOURCE(S) AMOUNT Please indicate the total budget and currency required for this project. Please indicate domestic funding committed, including government budgets, private foundations and NGOs, as well as in-country financing mechanisms such as trust funds, park entry fees, water funds, airport fees, development fees, etc. Please indicate your countries’ GEF allocation that has been used towards these protected area activities. Please see here for information about national GEF allocations: http://www.gefonline.org/Country/CountryProfi le.cfm WWF Switzerland to WWF GMP. Unsecured funding – Please indicate any funding that has been committed from international sources, including please find attached multilateral and bilateral donors, international project foundations and international NGOs. proposal document. 950,000 US$ This amount should be equivalent to total project cost minus counterpart funding secured. 250,000 US$ 700,000 US$ 8 LINKS TO THE CBD PROGRAMME OF WORK ON PROTECTED AREAS The following section is to be filled in only if the project is aligned with the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas. Please attach supporting documents and list them in Section VI. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Please indicate institutional commitments and/or sustainable financing mechanisms that will contribute to the project’s sustainability. The approach of this project, through developing community managed Fish Conservation Zones in locations critical for Mekong Megafauna population recovery, is inherently sustainable. Enforcement and management of FCZs will be community led with motivation derived from the clear benefits of increasing fish stock around the FCZs. Based on WWF Greater Mekong experiences in Lao and Cambodia active support and management of FCZs from outsiders (NGO/provincial and district government) is only required for the first 12-24 months. Subsequently FCZs are largely self-sustaining and self-regulating. PARTICIPATION AND EQUITY Please indicate how this project will (ensure) the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and the equitable sharing of costs and benefits with indigenous and/or local communities. The project will work closely with local communities for the establishment of community managed Fish Conservation Zones. WWF Greater Mekong has extensive experience of undertaking full and effective participation with local communities for FCZ establishment and the project will follow best-practice guidelines for participatory decision making. GOVERNANCE TYPES If applicable, please explain how this project will contribute to a greater diversity of governance types in the national protected area system. Leveraging a greater diversity of governance types across ‘protected areas’ will be an integral outcome of this project. As mentioned above critical areas for freshwater biodiversity are largely outside of, and unrepresented in, the existing Protected Area networks in Lao and Cambodia. By establishing new community managed Fish Conservation Zones the project will diversify the type, and governance structure, of protected areas contributing to the protection of critically threatened species. 9 LINK WITH THE 2011-2020 STRATEGIC PLAN FOR BIODIVERSITY AND THE AICHI TARGETS LifeWeb facilitates financing that contribute toward the achievement of the area-based Aichi Targets in the 2011-2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. Please indicate below how the proposed project contributes toward these targets. Please be specific and attach supporting documentation as necessary in Section V. AICHI TARGET 5 “By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 5 EN, ES, FR) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 5 (if applicable) Not applicable AICHI TARGET 9 “By 2020, invasive alien species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority species are controlled or eradicated, and measures are in place to manage pathways to prevent their introduction and establishment.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 9 EN) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 9 (if applicable) Not applicable AICHI TARGET 10 “By 2015, the multiple anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable ecosystems impacted by climate change or ocean acidification are minimized, so as to maintain their integrity and functioning.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 10 EN) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 10 (if applicable) Not applicable 10 AICHI TARGET 11 “By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 11 EN, ES) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 11 (if applicable) The areas under consideration for this project are key to freshwater biodiversity in the Mekong river itself but also in the larger context of the Lower Mekong basin. By providing safe haven to fish during their migration – either horizontal or vertical – FCZ are in effect an intricate network of small-scale protected areas spread out all over the river basins, very much integrated in the wider landscapes, as the spillover effect of fish in conservation zones participates in the replenishing of the whole river system. In addition, the information generated through this project can be used to design better freshwater biodiversity conservation initiatives in wider existing protected areas. AICHI TARGET 12 “By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 12 EN, ES, FR) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 12 (if applicable) This project focuses on contributing to the achievement of Aichi Target 12 through improving the conservation status of threatened Mekong Megafauna. These species are chronically threatened largely through unsustainable fishing practices resulting in over-fishing. Through using robust and novel science to identify critical locations for these species and protecting these sites, through employing a method successfully implemented for fish recovery in numerous sites in the Lower Mekong, the project will significantly contribute to improving conservation status, and thus reduced extinction risk, for four Critically Endangered ASAP eligible species. In addition unsustainable hydropower developments are major threats to these species. By providing sciencebased evidence of key locations and migratory routes for Mekong Megafuna to governments, developers, and the public we believe can successful promote the development of sustainable hydropower projects. AICHI TARGET 13 “By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is maintained, and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 13 EN) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 13 (if applicable) Not applicable 11 AICHI TARGET 14 “By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 14 EN) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 14 (if applicable) The benefits of setting up fisheries co-management structures, and in particular fish conservation zones, are significant for local people’s wellbeing, health and quality of nutrition. Fish conservation zones indeed contribute to the overall improvement of people’s livelihoods by increasing fish stocks and hence the rivers’ productivity. This is of particular importance for the poor and vulnerable, who mostly rely only on natural resources for their subsistence. AICHI TARGET 15 “By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification.” (CBD Quick Guide to Aichi Target 15 EN, ES, FR) Please indicate how this project contributes toward achieving Aichi Target 15 (if applicable) Not applicable Contribution to any other Aichi Targets Please describe contributions to any other Aichi Target (if applicable) Through establishing Fish Conservation Zones, thus improving fish recruitment in areas adjacent to the FCZs, this project will also contribute to Aichi Biodiversity Target 6 in which harvested freshwater biodiversity is managed sustainably and fisheries have no significant impact on threatened species. 12 ADDITIONAL PROJECT INFORMATION ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Please indicate any additional information not captured elsewhere in this Expression of Interest The project will directly implement activities supporting three of the objectives of the ASAP call related to Life Web’s Zero Extinction Campaign. The project will identify critical sites for threatened Mekong MegaFauna through innovative research methodologies (eDNA sampling) that will then lead to site-based action and protection of unprotected sites through creating new Fish Conservation Zones in areas identified as important for these species. KEYWORDS Please check the following keywords that apply to this project. Threats addressed: Habitat Types: Encroachment and development Arctic Global climate change Coastal X Inappropriate resource management policies Coral reefs X Infrastructure for energy and transportation Deep seas Invasive alien species Dry and sub-humid lands X Over-harvesting Forests Unregulated tourism and recreation Grasslands Other threat addressed X Inland waters (lakes and rivers inland of oceans) Islands Mangroves Mountains Other habitat type Other keywords: REDD-plus Climate change adaptation and/or mitigation Conflict prevention and resolution Trade Business Renewable energy Restoration X Wildlife protection X Endangered species Reduce deforestation Traditional knowledge X Capacity building X Transboundary conservation Cross-cutting issues: Access and benefit sharing Children and youth Communication and awareness building Indigenous peoples X Local community management X Monitoring, indicators and assessments X Sustainable use Other cross-cutting issue 13 ATTACHMENTS Please indicate the file names of any supporting documents/annexes attached to this Expression of Interest. Name of attachment Description 1. Project description Proposal document for counterpart matching funding (currently Lao_Thai fisheries_4.3 unsecured) from WWF Switzerland to project implementing partners WWF Greater Mekong. 2. 3. 4. 5. Add additional rows as needed. SIGNATURE: _THOMAS GRAY___________________________ DATE: _13 JUNE 2014___________________________ 14