Conservation of the Biological Diversity of the Orinoco Delta Biosphere Reserve and Lower Orinoco River Basin

The Orinoco River Delta is a rich storehouse of wetland biodiversity. Although its natural integrity is largely intact, the Delta is increasingly threatened by hunting, fishing, and forest harvesting activities, and is potentially at risk from agricultural expansion, pollution, and development-induced hydrological perturbation. The project would mitigate such threats by: 1] installing new conservation operations in the Orinoco Delta Biosphere Reserve (ODBR) and seeking to encourage conservation compatible land uses at the site; and 2] strategically adapting the environmental management framework for the Lower Orinoco River Basin. Management would be effected by actively involving indigenous communities and other stakeholders in activity implementation, including the private sectors, in a manner suited to the local context. Interventions would be partitioned into phases and sequenced to enable learning and adjustment. Management operations within the ODBR would initially target five biologically representative pilot sites, positioned to control access into interior wildlands. Operations would gradually be consolidated across the Reserve’s landscape as institutional capacities are developed. Conservation objectives would be spearheaded at the wider landscape level by enhancing knowledge of the geo-environmental processes that sustain biodiversity, instituting new decision-making instruments for conservation, and strengthening environmental management functions.