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Development of an Environmental Strategy for
Peru
Canadian International Development Agency
ESSA was engaged by the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) to conduct a detailed analysis of Peru's
environmental problems, evaluate the country's institutional capacity
to manage its environment, and develop a preliminary environmental
strategy to guide CIDA's future environment-oriented development
assistance to Peru. ESSA assisted CIDA in the selection of a Peruvian
counterpart and worked with him to select appropriate institutions
for interviews. Over fifty individuals from aid agencies, government
institutions, environment-related non-government organizations,
and academia were contacted and interviewed. The project team undertook
a rigorous systems analysis of the information gathered, which culminated
in the development of a simple conceptual model of Peru's major
environmental problems. The final environmental strategy included
a discussion of possible goals, objectives, and options for CIDA's
environmental program in Peru. It was very well received and was
promoted by CIDA as an example to be followed in other countries
for which environmental strategies are required.
In a follow-up study, ESSA compared the preliminary
environmental strategy with the plans and policies of CIDA's agriculture,
forestry, and water sectors, and from this comparison developed
a set of preliminary environmental selection criteria to guide the
programming of Canada's foreign aid to Peru. These criteria stimulated
considerable discussion within CIDA, as there was concern that environmental
criteria might take priority over other project selection criteria.
The study served to highlight critically important issues inherent
in the adaptation of CIDA to the demands of the new paradigm of
sustainable development. It also pointed out the need for much greater
cross-sectoral integration in program planning.
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