Development Aspects Impressum Editors

Examples of capacity-building approaches

The following two case studies illustrate approaches to using natural infrastruc- ture in practice, focussing on their capacity-building elements. Following from the above, these centre on a “green economy” approach by harnessing the ability of ecosystems, and ecosystem services, to contribute to problem solving regarding water. They are examples of “green” approaches because they are based on the principle of working together with nature, instead of against it, to achieve sustain- able economic benefits. Both examples also illustrate the opportunities to manage natural and built infrastructure together, capitalizing on the advantages both have to offer.

1. Case Study 1: Capacity-building for the ecosystem approach to water re- sources management: the Tacaná watersheds of Guatemala

This case study was prepared by Welling R., Cordoba, R. and M. Smith (based on Cartin and others, 2012).
The Tacaná watersheds of Guatemala, on the Mexican border, begin in the high-altitude watersheds of the Suchiate and Coatán rivers. These poor and fragile areas are heavily dependent on ecosystem services for livelihoods, but are very vul- nerable in terms of ecological and political factors. Unregulated land-use change has damaged the natural infrastructure of these steep catchments, with deforesta- tion reducing the capacity of the landscape to retain water, which caused increases in runoff, a reduction in the soil water-storage capacity and increases in flood risk after intense rainfall. Tropical storms have also devastated the area in the past. Intensive animal farming and a relatively dense population, with associated poor waste and wastewater management, was contaminating rivers and affecting fish- eries along the Pacific coast.
Governmental authorities are not well integrated, with little connection be- tween local and national levels. This has led to weak institutional presence, inad- equate laws and regulations, budgetary constraints, lack of technical coordination and mutual support among institutions, the absence of integrated policies and lim- ited stakeholder participation and transparency. Historically, there has been no co- ordination of basin management between Mexico and Guatemala for the Coatán and Suchiate rivers. Furthermore, in parts of the basin the marginalization of in- digenous peoples, high illiteracy and mortality rates, very high population growth and a complex system of land-tenure rights are also major challenges. Capacity- building was therefore needed in local communities, at the micro-watershed level and in local governments.
In response, IUCN and partners in Guatemala facilitated capacity-building workshops and training sessions on water-resource management for stakeholders and officials from local through municipal to national levels. During these capacity- building sessions, the interactions between how lower zones of the catchment are affected by the actions of people in the middle and upper zones were analysed and the importance of conservation and management to reduce adverse impacts understood. New knowledge was generated and shared on watershed manage-

ment and particularly on how to use watershed restoration and improved land management as a means of rebuilding natural watershed infrastructure to help meet communities’ needs for water security, diversify farm livelihoods and reduced risk of flood disasters.

Capacity-building for these themes has been increasingly integrated under the banner of climate change adaptation. In 2009, IUCN held its first workshop in San Marcos, Guatemala, to train partners on the use of the CRiSTAL Tool (Community- Based Risk Screening Tool – Adaptation and Livelihoods). This was an important step in the development of strategies for climate change adaptation coordinated through ecosystem management and the integrated management of water re- sources. CRiSTAL helps communities, project planners and managers to under- stand systemically the links among climate, livelihoods and ecosystem services, including watershed functions. Participants learn to use CRiSTAL to evaluate the impacts of current or future projects on the resilience of vulnerable communities, enabling community initiatives and projects to be designed or reoriented to ensure that the most critical priorities are addressed. In the first workshop, 13 facilitators were trained, including staff from IUCN, OXFAM, EcoLogic Development Fund, the National Forest Institute of Guatemala and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Participants applied CRiSTAL in the Community of San Pablo in the Department of San Marcos, using a participatory approach in which 53 com- munity members took part. The results obtained were used to update the workplan of the community of San Pablo. Further training workshops then followed to train students at the University of San Marcos to support applications in other com- munities.
Disaster preparedness is now a high priority for authorities and for water-man- agement institutions when managing climatic variability and climate change adap- tation in the region. Local government committees are now working together to be better prepared using tools such as a geographic information system to identify and map those areas more prone to landslides and the possible evacuation routes. Local communities have organized two micro-watershed Councils around the Coa- tán River and two around the Suchiate River. Built to lead watershed restoration and development that meets their priorities, the Councils were recognized by local governments from the start and mayors participated in the organization process. Learning from these community-led initiatives, a National Micro-watershed Com- mission has been established to recognize the watershed as a planning unit in Guatemala for environmental management and conservation.
The scaling-up of the micro-watershed approach and the creation of new insti- tutions has improved social capital by making new skills related to water manage- ment and to disaster-risk reduction more widely used. By expanding this learning from the local to national level, experiences in the Tacaná watersheds have shown that it is possible to break through a “ceiling of impact” by building up adap- tive capacity through the creation of new coalitions at the national level. Through capacity-building, empowerment and linkages at different levels, communities have been able to bridge the limits of their influence and send their messages up-

wards – including the imperative to sustain and restore the natural infrastructure of watersheds.

Further information on the project is available in Cartin and others (2012).

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