The issue of multiple, large-scale wildfires was confronted by the Bureau of Land Management, through Oregon Consensus in Portland, Oregon in December of 2014.   CDR Associates was engaged to help Harney County, OR face the specter of mega-fires in sagebrush country.

With the help of a “Core Team” made up of Federal officials (from BLM and US Fish and Wildlife Service), scientists (USDA Agricultural Research Service), environmentalists (The Nature Conservancy), a County Commissioner, and ranchers, CDR began working on this project in February 2015.  First, CDR and the Core Team first worked  to create a larger group called the Harney County Wildfire Collaborative.  The Collaborative included members from Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, members of six Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (the volunteer firefighters for the county), firefighters from federal agencies, members of two other environmental groups, as well as chiefs of tribal, city and county fire departments.

The Collaborative agreed to meet for a full day once a month in Burns.  Further, they agreed that the purpose of the Collaborative was to reach consensus on specific, achievable, tangible and measurable steps to be taken by all entities (both public and private) to reduce the potential for and impact of mega-fires in Harney County.

The first topic addressed by the Collaborative was suppression — defined as the communication, coordination and integration of actions taken to put fires out in both initial attack and extended attack.  The Collaborative will then tackle the issue of prevention – meaning, what has changed ecologically and administratively in addressing mega-fires.  The Collaborative identified where their energy could be focused to reduce both the instance of and the damage done by mega-fires.

The next tasks for CDR and the Collaborative are 1) to identify a pilot site and 2) Agree on the most effective tools to reduce the site’s vulnerability to mega-fire.

If you would like to know more, find Mary Margaret’s contact information here.

Estuary programs are multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives to protect and restore water quality and the ecological integrity of estuaries of significance. They commonly involve diverse Federal, State, and local government agencies and stakeholders from the private and non-profit sectors. See https://www.epa.gov/nep/overview-national-estuary-program for more information on EPA’s National Estuary Program.)

Stakeholders in the Brownsville area of Texas are in the process of establishing an estuary program for the Lower Laguna Madre, a long, shallow hypersaline lagoon along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Participating groups hope that in the future, the program will be recognized and supported by the U.S. Congress and incorporated into the national network of estuary programs.

CDR was asked by the local Laguna Madre Estuary Program coordinating committee – composed of representatives from multiple universities, counties, cities and EPA – to provide assistance in the design and facilitation of the Program’s first large public stakeholder engagement workshop.

The purposes of the workshop were to identify interested local partners, solicit their input on issues the Program should address and secure commitments for future participation.  CDR Partner Christopher Moore worked with the committee and EPA to design the workshop, facilitate it and prepare local facilitators to conduct topic-focused working sessions.

Close to 50 people attended the workshop, which has been followed up by numerous public education meetings and working groups.  For more information on the Lower Laguna Madre Estuary Program, contact:  Augusto Sánchez González, Director of Estuary, Environmental and Special Projects – Cameron County Region and Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. augusto.sanchezgonzalez@utrgv.edu or (956) 882-6605

For more information on CDR’s work in stakeholder engagement on development and environmental projects and programs, find Christopher Moore’s contact information here.

Liberia

The Liberian government’s new land policy involves new procedures for customary communities to secure legal ownership of community land, which previously has been considered public land owned by the Government. To secure community ownership, customary communities will be required to identify their members (including women and minorities who may have come from or be members of other ethnic communities), negotiate boundaries with adjoining communities, and establish broadly representative governance structures for community land management and administration.

During 2016, CDR Associates Partner, Christopher Moore, conducted research with its Liberian partner, Parley, and wrote a monograph on Harmonizing Boundaries: Effective Negotiation Procedures for Delimiting, Demarcating and Resolving Disputes over Boundaries. This monograph is available on CDR’s website at here.

To facilitate the implementation of boundary harmonization, Moore designed and conducted training programs for staff of Liberian government agencies and non-governmental organizations to prepare them to work with communities to collaboratively delimit and demarcate their boundaries. Subsequently, Parley conducted multiple joint boundary harmonization workshops for adjoining communities and provided coaching assistance as they negotiated and established their common boundaries.

CDR’s assistance has been provided directly for the Liberian Land Commission and through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Tetra Tech’s Land Dispute Resolution Project (LCRP) and Land Governance Support Project (LGSA).

Timor-Leste

In the fall of 2016, CDR Partner Christopher Moore conducted a speaking tour in Timor-Leste to discuss land issues and dispute resolution systems that could be implemented to effectively resolve them. During the week-long tour, Chris met with government agencies, non-governmental organizations and university faculty and students.  His presentations focused on systems and procedures developed in other countries that could be used to address the kinds of land disputes that will inevitably arise with the passage of the country’s new law.  Chris also made a presentation to print and electronic media reporters on approaches for fair and impartial reporting on land issues and the new law.  The goal of the presentation was to provide guidance and techniques for reporters that would help them to inform members of the public on the new law and mitigate problems and disputes related to its implementation.

For more information on a range of CDR’s international development, environmental, land and water projects, find Chris Moore’s contact information here.

As Colorado’s principal policy and planning agency for the Colorado River, the Colorado River District covers 15 counties on Colorado’s Western Slope as it winds its way through seven western states into Mexico. While the River District has a long and accomplished history in the Colorado River Basin, meeting its mission of protecting, conserving and developing the Colorado River’s resources for the diverse and evolving needs of western Colorado – including significant agricultural, municipal, environmental and recreational interests – is no easy feat. This is particularly true in an era of increasing uncertainty, competition for water resources, and rapidly changing demographics, culture, and technology. CDR Associates facilitated a process for the District’s Board, representing 15 counties throughout western Colorado, to identify and prioritize strategic goals for the District as it enters a new era of reallocation, scarcity and variability. This process required understanding the diverse and varying needs of the river’s sub-basins, balancing short-term water needs with long-term goals, weighing climate projections, considering inter-state Compact requirements and needs, and striving to protect western agriculture while representing evolving priorities of the ‘new West.’ It required staying true to the District’s advocacy mission and history, while continuing to integrate collaborative approaches to help meet the District’s goals. The planning process will be reflected in an updated strategic plan for the District to help guide it through this time of significant change for District and the entire Colorado River Basin. For more information, contact Ryan Golten or Chris Moore, visit our water practice page, or visit the Colorado River District’s website.

Liberia possesses some of the most extensive and bio-diverse primary tropical rain forests in the world.  They cover 4.3 million hectares, are an important national environmental and social endowment, and are central to the economic development of the country and critical for livelihoods of its citizens. The Government of Liberia is embarking on a major national and international venture to help address global climate change. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Government of Liberia is participating in the Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative to

CDR Associates, with  partner Parley Liberia, has been supporting the Liberian Forest Development Authority and concerned stakeholders to develop an effective Feedback and Grievance Redress Mechanism (FGRM) that will effectively address disputes that may arise during REDD+ visioning, planning and implementation phases.  Having a FGRM in place is a requirement for REDD+ readiness. To date, CDR has prepared the Inception Report for the project, is supporting fieldwork conducted by Parley, and is helping convene a representative group of stakeholders to participate in multiple “designshops” to design and build national capacities to implement the FGRM. For more information, contact Chris Moore or Susan Wildau or visit our sustainable development practice area page.

In order to effectively enforce legalized marijuana in Colorado, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division has a software system to track the process from marijuana harvest to retail sales—the Metrc system (Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting Compliance) which is also used in Alaska and Oregon. CDR Associates, as part of the Rebound Solutions team, facilitated meetings among state government employees and users of the system including cultivators, manufacturers, retail stores and third-party vendors. The user group provides recommendations on how to enhance the software, and the State Licensing Authority and Marijuana Enforcement Division make all decisions on what upgrades to make. In order to prioritize enhancements, the group identified criteria and developed a list of priorities for 3-month intervals. They also discussed principles for data integrity. Meetings provide an opportunity for the software developer, Franwell, to share updates and respond to questions, and refine next steps for updates. For more information, contact Laura Sneeringer or visit the Marijuana Enforcement Division or Metrc websites.