Terms of reference for study investigating the financial sustainability of nature parks in the Dutch Caribbean Introduction The Nature Policy Plan Caribbean Netherlands identifies the need to Evaluate the financial instruments available for nature conservation in the Caribbean Netherlands and make recommendations aimed at guaranteeing a sustainable financial future as one of its strategic actions. For the Caribbean Netherlands the change in status within the Kingdom has also resulted in a change in funding streams and mechanisms, with more funds coming in from the Netherlands. With nature conservation on the islands mandated by law to the islands, the basic responsibility for nature conservation and the discretion on how to use any available funds for nature lies with the islands themselves. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (Ministry EZ) is responsible for compliance with international agreements on biodiversity conservation, and has an obligation to facilitate and support the islands to this end. The financial sustainability of nature park management is, of course, a prerequisite for the protection of biodiversity. The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), a non- governmental foundation, unites the nature parks and nature conservation organisations in order to strengthen cooperation, build capacity, and actively work towards financial sustainability for the management of nature parks, on all of the Dutch Caribbean islands. The Dutch Caribbean is made up of the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba, St Eustatius) as well as Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, each an independent entity within the Kingdom and fully responsible for its own nature management. Aruba s situation has not changed since the constitutional change in 2010, but Curaçao and St. Maarten no longer receive funding from the Dutch government. It is unclear what this has meant for the nature parks. In this changed financial landscape World Wildlife Fund (WNF NL) has offered their assistance by initiating this study and is working with the Ministry of EZ and DCNA in order to facilitate this review of the financial needs, resources and opportunities for funding. Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a financial road map for the protected area management organisations and concrete recommendations for the Ministry of Economic Affairs (The Netherlands), the island governments and park management organisations to ensure a sustainable financial future for the nature parks in the Dutch Caribbean. Scope The scope of this study shall cover the nature parks on all 6 islands of the Dutch Kingdom in the Caribbean: Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Maarten, Curacao and Aruba.
Background There are ten officially established protected areas (nature parks) in the Dutch Caribbean of which 5 have been recognized by the Dutch Government as National Parks : Bonaire National Marine Park, St. Eustatius National Marine Park the Quill/Boven National Park, Saba National Marine Park en Saba Bank National Park. The nature parks are financed through the funds from the local government, from institutionalized tourism fees, grants and fundraising. The lack of continuous funding to support day to day management of the region s nature parks, has long been recognized as one of the most significant factors threatening the continuity of protected areas in the Dutch Caribbean. In 2003 the former Antillean Central Government Department of Nature and Environment (MINA) commissioned a study, funded by the Dutch Government which was carried out by AID Environment, EcoVision and Barry Spergel and the report of their work was published in February 2005. The study identified ways to create a sustainable funding future for protected areas in the Dutch Caribbean and concluded that a core element should be the establishment of a trust fund sufficiently large that the revenues would cover the operational costs of one terrestrial and one marine park per island for Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. This would be complimented by several parallel funding mechanisms or tracks. Acting on the results of the study a Conservation Trust Fund was established by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance in 2005 with seed funding from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and the Dutch Postcode Lottery. The Trust Fund was set up with the view that when fully capitalized the revenues would cover the essential operational costs of park management, while governments and park management organisations would continue to explore ways to generate income through contributions from the island governments, donations etc. The intention is that the annual revenues of the Trust Fund when fully capitalized annually will provide core reliable funding to the parks on an annual basis to finance the minimum costs for management of the parks and that the regular income stream provides adequate funding for park management. Nine years after the original study was commissioned some protected area management organisations are still struggling to obtain sufficient funds to cover their basic operational costs and most are still unable to fulfill their mandate due to lack of funding. It is important to re- assess the basic financial needs of the parks to determine how much funding is required to ensure adequate day to day park management. Furthermore it is important to re- assess existing funding sources and to determine what potential new alternative income sources exist in the current financial environment. Objectives The objectives of this study are to: 1. Re- assess, in consultation with DCNA and the parks, the island government, and the Dutch Ministry of EZ, a.) the financial requirements of the parks at a level which will ensure adequate day to day ( basic ) management, b.) all current actual sources of income and whether or not these are being fully exploited, and determine how big is the gap between current income and basic management needs?
2. Re- assess potential alternative or new sources of income based on the current financial situation i.e. carry out a new donor assessment, including tools and mechanisms to tap into such resources and feasibility of applying these tools in the Caribbean island context. 3. Review the status of the DCNA Trust Fund and provide realistic projections regarding the potential funding abilities of this as a source of income for the park management organizations. 4. To use results from points 1-3 above to provide a financial road map for the nature parks and to formulate concrete recommendations for the Ministry of Economic affairs, island governments and park management organisations. The 2005 Sustainable Funding for the Nature Parks of the Netherlands Antilles should form the starting point for this work as well as the Begroting en financieringsplan voor de beheerskosten van belangrijke natuurgebieden van de Nederlandse Antillen. The study should not focus solely on all available instruments in order to create the Trust Fund, but on an optimal financial situation for the park management organisations in general. Recommendations from this study should be concrete and applicable to the current financial and political climate, informed by state- of- the- art fundraising strategies and tools. Output/deliverables The output of the study must be a report, which includes the following elements: 1. A clear overview of the current financial situation of the 6 parks: Assessment of the adequacy of relevant island policy, agreements and legislation Inventory of the basic tasks/responsibilities of the park management organisations required to ensure adequate day to day management of the protected areas Assessment of the current financial requirements to carry out these tasks Overview of any additional tasks which park management organizations carry out inside and outside of protected areas (such as road maintenance, vessel surveillance, waste management etc) Inventory of current income sources and whether or not these are being fully exploited (e.g. user fees, local government subsidies, grants, souvenir sales, concessions, fee for service, donations etc) A gap analysis based on basic management tasks, actual additional tasks, current income and maximized current income per park management authority 2. Assessment of potential alternate or new sources of income for protected area management organization including: An updated donor assessment for the protected areas in general (i.e. not limited to trust funds) Overview of new income sources emerging in the current global financial climate, (e.g. EU funds, global funding sources, foundations funding, private sector, donors, public sourcing etc), including tools and mechanisms to tap into the resources and feasibility of applying these tools in the Caribbean island context. SWOT analysis of park management funding options 3. Provide advice regarding the Trust Fund:
Examination of the role of the Trust Fund in the new constitutional construction Re- assessment of the capital required for the Trust Fund to fulfill its original goal and the feasibility of acquiring this capital Appraisal of the realistic current and future potential of the Trust Fund as a source of income for the park management organisations 4. Financial strategy; a road map (or business plan) for the nature parks as well as a list of concrete recommendations for the Ministry EZ, 6 island governments and park management organisations regarding sustainable finance of their nature parks Approach To implement this study WWF- NL, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and DCNA, will commission a consultant. The consultant will be assisted throughout the study by a Support Group, consisting of representatives from DCNA, Ministry EZ (Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland), WWF- NL Prior to commencement of the study the NGO community as well as the civil servants responsible for nature management on the 6 islands will be informed about this study and will be asked to co- operate and participate in the process. The study itself will be carried out according to the following steps: Collecting relevant information and data on the islands (primarily to be derived from DCNA, the park authorities and the island government civil servants responsible for nature, particularly on the Caribbean Netherlands islands) A desktop review of current global and regional financial options and assessment of their applicability to the situation in the Dutch Caribbean Personal interviews will be conducted with selected key individuals on each island 1 such as government representatives, banks, tourism, civil sector). Formulation of a draft report as outlined above. This draft will be submitted to the Support Group for review. The consultant will receive the comments within an agreed time span. The consultant will incorporate the comments into a final draft report. The final draft report will be sent to the Support Group and shared with the local governments and other stakeholders. Comments will be taken into account and the report will be finalized and submitted to the contractor for publishing. Profile consultant The contracted consultant must have the following qualifications (as documented by cv s): acknowledged expertise in (international) conservation finance an understanding of the nature conservation issues in the Dutch Caribbean an independent position with regard to all stakeholders (Ministry of Economics, island governments, park management organisations, WNF and DCNA) 1 To be determined with input from Support Group
Procedures/process The principal (with support from the support group) will select a consultant who will be commissioned to implement the study. Acceptance of the commission will be confirmed by the consultant by signing and returning the letter of commission to the principal (WWF- NL). WWF- NL will supervise the work, and the consultant will report to WWF- NL. All final documents, reports and declarations will exclusively be submitted to the principal after review by the support group. The support group will oversee the subsequent distribution to the relevant bodies, inter alia the nature conservation organizations and local governments. The consultant will present a draft report to the principal for discussion. The principal will be assisted in this by the support group. The principal reserves the right to require a second draft report if the first deviates too much from reasonable quality criteria. After receiving the official comments in writing, the report will be revised and finalized. The principal will provide comments on the draft report within a period of six weeks. Twelve copies of the draft report will be submitted to the principal. Twelve copies of the final report will be submitted to the principal. Together with the final report an electronic version of the report in MS Word format will also be submitted. Timeline The tender must include a description of the proposed approach, and a general time schedule for the various activities and proceedings (including a schedule for the preliminary consultation, presentation and discussion of draft and principal s comments). The total time from acceptance of the commission till submission of the draft report will not exceed 4 months. After receipt of the official comments on the draft report from the principal, the revised and/or final report will be submitted to the principal within two weeks. Terms of payment The commission will be based on a fixed assignment/contract sum, which includes all expenses (including air tickets etc.); 50% of the fixed sum will be paid upfront, 30% upon receipt of the first draft and 20% upon receipt of the final draft. References AID Environment, Barry Spergel, EcoVision. 2005, Sustainable Funding for the Nature Parks of the Netherlands Antilles, (In three parts A, B and C) DCNA, 2012, Trust Fund, Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, accessed 10 November 2013 < http://www.dcnanature.org/about- dcna/trust- fund/> MINA, 2000, Begroting en financieringsplan voor de beheerskosten van belandrijke natuurgebieden van de Nederlandse Antillen. (Budget and Financing Plan for the Management Costs of the Main Nature Conservation Areas in the Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands Antilles Nature Conservation Initiative), Nature Forum 2000, Willemstad, December 2000