1International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative
Secretariat UNU/IAS
IPSI Partner: Bioversity International

Collaboration among IPSI partners to develop indicators ofimproved livelihoods and well-being for communities in socialecological production landscapes (Satoyama)Communities and Agricultural Landscapes in Cuban Man andBiosphere Reserves(Draft work plan and budget for discussion)
15 February 2010
Contact: Dr. Pablo B. Eyzaguirre
Senior Scientist
Bioversity International
Via dei Tre Denari 472
00057 Maccarese, Rome, Italy.
Tel +39 06 611 8267
p.eyzaguirre@cgiar.org

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1. The Setting: Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation and UNESCO Biosphere
Reserves: Bridging managed and natural landscapes in Cuba.
The landscapes, ecosystems and agricultural biodiversity that underpin rural foodsecurity are rapidly eroding. Increasingly, communities are driven into poverty andforced to relinquish traditional lifeways and environmentally sustainable agricultural
practices. Some of the most biologically rich, beautiful, and culturally significant
agricultural landscapes can be found in UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves
around the world. Yet, while biodiversity conservation has always been afundamental tenet in the management of these reserves, the protection of agriculturallandscapes has largely been neglected. The result is a continuing tension between
conservationists and agricultural communities living in protected areas. Needed is aninnovative and flexible approach to nature conservation that bridges the objectives ofecosystem and agrobiodiversity conservation and the enhanced wellbeing ofagricultural communities. The communities that act as custodians of social andecologically significant agrarian landscapes are also potential innovators in the use of
biodiversity for adaptation of agriculture to meet changing environmental conditions
and human needs.
By focusing on distinct UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserves, the project aims toreinvigorate and improve traditional production systems that are compatible withbiodiversity conservation, assessing their multiple values and ensuring that thesevalues are recognized by policy makers and in markets. Lessons on how
communities can positively influence the integrity and resilience of managed andnatural landscapes will be relevant for a protected area system with over 550 reserveareas in 107 countries and can have major impacts for sustainable agriculture andbiodiversity conservation worldwide.
Intended outcomes of the Cuban MAB agrobiodiversity project are:i.
Improvement in the livelihoods of communities living within and around theBiosphere Reserves through benefit sharing mechanisms that support thesustainable use of agricultural biodiversity.
ii.
Strengthened conservation of agricultural landscapes and crop and wildbiodiversity in Biosphere Reserves.
iii.
Sound management of Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve system throughenhanced leadership and decision-making capacity of all stakeholders,
including farmers.
iv.
A set of globally tested social-ecological indicators that measure the impact ofagricultural and other land management practices on ecosystem integrity andcommunity wellbeing.
2. Rationale:
The collaboration with UNU-IAS under the International Partnership for the Satoyama
Initiative will allow Cuban farming communities, biodiversity scientists, and protected3
area managers to benefit from the latest experiences integrating traditional ecologicalknowledge and modern science to promote innovative conservation and management ofsocial ecological landscapes. Collaboration with IPSI would also provide a benefit toCuban reserves and landscapes by exploring new forms of co-management systems orframeworks of community managed landscapes on public or private lands for publicbenefit.
IPSI would benefit from this collaboration with diverse and complementary partners, e.g.
United Nations University-IAS, UNESCO division of ecological sciences, INIFATCuba’s fundamental agricultural research organization, Cuban farmers organizations, andcultural agencies can work with Bioversity International to develop the indicators andmodels that will make the Satoyama concept more globally relevant. It would also
provide a practical model experience and a set of widely applicable indicators of how
Satoyama landscapes can create synergies between agricultural livelihoods, natural
ecosystems and conservation, and the maintenance of ecosystem services, cultural
practices and knowledge that imbue each landscape with a potential to promote more
harmonious relationships.
Collaborative Project Objectives:a. Development and testing of indicators in practice in agrarian communities in
Cuba MAB Reserves.
b. Identify opportunities and potentialities for application of indicators andexchange of experience across Satoyama landscapes worldwide.
c. Identify needs and opportunities to build institutional capacity to support andcreate the link between community practices in Satoyama landscapes andconservation policy and guidelines and strategies to implement Millennium
Development Goals for poverty reduction and improved community wellbeing.
3. Partners: INIFAT Cuba, CNAP Cuba, UNESCO Ecological Sciences Division, UNUIAS, Bioversity International, as coordinating partner.
4. Time frame: March 2011-November 2011
5. Activities:
a. Review of existing livelihood and well being indicators and methodologies.
(see key background documents). Apply and adapt existing approaches andindicators. March 2011
b. Identify additional perspectives and entry points e.g. territorial (terroir)
approaches, ecosystems services to other production sectors fromconservation and sustainable agricultural practices in Satoyama landscapes.
c. April-May 2011: Field visit and stakeholder meetings in Cuba to present anddiscuss indicator approaches. Meet with key policymakers and institutions,visit key social ecological production landscapes within MAB reserves.

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June-September 2011: Scale out indicators, possible exchange visits to otherIPSI partners sites, MAB reserves, and mosaic agrarian landscapes thatencompass natural and protected ecosystems.
e. Produce indicators brochure for practitioners, joint UNU-IAS, Bioversity,UNESCO, Cuban publication. WEB pages for posting. November 2011.
6. Budget: US$ 75,000 to support field components, scaling out and publication,including consultancy for agroecosystems and livelihood indicator specialists.
a. In kind contributions by IPSI and Cuban partners in the implementationb. Consultancies $20,000
i. Review ecosystems indicators for synergies between cultivated (‘sato’)and natural (‘yama’) components of landscapes and traditional
agroecosystems.
ii. Review livelihood streams and mechanisms to improve well-being offarming communities within MAB reserves in light of other studies,
experiences, institutional and policy frameworks.
c. Travel, per diem, and meeting costs in Cuba: $10,000.
d. International travel of experts: $ 13,000.
e. Echange visits to other Satoyama partner landscapes, Peru, or Spain, orMorocco (MAB): $15,000
f. Bioversity management and publication costs: $17,000.
Summary budget tableITEMConsultancies
National meeting and travel
International travel
Exchange visits
Bioversity management and publications
TOTAL

USD
20,00010,00013,00015,00017,00075,000Key Working Documents for Development of Social Ecological Indicators forCommunity Well-being in Satoyama landscapes.
1. Learning from the Practitioners: Benefit Sharing Perspectives from EnterprisingCommunities. UNU-IAS, UNEP 2009.
2. COMPACT: Engaging local communities in stewardship of globally significant
protected areas. UNDP/SGP 2010.
3. “Bridging Managed and Natural Landscapes. The role of traditional agriculture inmaintaining the diversity and resilience of social-ecological systems”.Sustainable
Use of Biological Diversity in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes:
Background to the ‘Satoyama’ Initiative for the Beneﬁt of Biodiversity andHuman Well-Being. (CBD Technical Series no. 52, 2010).

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4. Van Oudenhoven, F., Mijatovic, D. and Eyzaguirre, P., Social-ecologicalindicators of resilience in agrarian and natural landscapes. Management ofEnvironmental Quality: An International Journal, 22(2), pp.154-173. 2011.
.
Contact persons:
Bioversity International: Dr. P. Eyzaguirre, N. Bergamini, MSc, Jessica Rosen, MSc
INIFAT Cuba: Dr. Leonor Castiñeiras
CNAP Cuba: Dr. Maritza Garcia
UNESCO: Mr. Guillén Calvo, Dr. Salvatore Arico
UNU-IAS: IPSI Ms. Fumiko Nakao

Indicators to measure the resilience ofFigure 2. Using indicators tosocial-ecologicalmeasure the resilience ofsocialsystems
ecological systems

Retention and acquisition of indigenous
knowledge
Complexity and intensity of interactions
with the ecosystem

Conservation of resources

Multiple uses of land and plants

Food sovereignty and self-sufficiency

Customary laws, social institutions andautonomy

Demographics

Cultural values

Use of indigenous and local languagesHigh resilience
Low resilience