Marco de Gestión Ambiental y Social (ESMF)

The ESMF provides the guidelines, legal frameworks, and procedural requirements for managing environmental and social risks for a GEF-funded project in Ecuador's Amazon. It focuses on establishing connectivity corridors in the Putumayo-Aguarico and Palora-Pastaza landscapes, ensuring the protection of biodiversity and the rights of indigenous peoples through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

• The project targets two priority landscapes in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Putumayo-Aguarico (144,915 ha) and Palora-Pastaza (178,129 ha), aiming to improve ecological connectivity to ensure long-term biodiversity conservation.
• The project is classified as Category B, meaning it is a conservation initiative expected to generate significant benefits, with any potential adverse environmental or social impacts being site-specific and mitigatable.
• The project identifies several indigenous nationalities within its scope, including the A’i Kofán, Siekopai, Kichwa, Waorani, Shuar, Achuar, and Sápara/Zápara, and commits to the standard of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for activities that may negatively affect them.
• Potential negative social impacts include local population dissatisfaction due to lack of project knowledge, the exclusion of ancestral knowledge in ecosystem-based management, and perceptions that the project may hinder subsistence activities.
• The project explicitly prohibits the financing of several activities, including the purchase of private lands, the use of invasive species, the use of high-risk pesticides (WHO categories IA, IB, or II), and any activity causing the physical displacement of indigenous peoples or local communities.
• A grievance redress mechanism will be established based on principles of accessibility, timely response (within 14 calendar days), objectivity, and confidentiality, with a typology of complaints ranging from 'mild' to 'very grave' (e.g., corruption or violence).
• The implementation structure involves the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) as the lead executing agency, Conservation International (CI-Ecuador) as the co-executing agency, and a Project Management Unit (PMU) based in Puyo.

APA

WWF International (2020). Marco de Gestión Ambiental y Social (ESMF). https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3fgufbjpct_ESMF_Ecuador_ASL_FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.227182685.194531860.1653506844-938408607.1653319523

Chicago

WWF International. Marco de Gestión Ambiental y Social (ESMF). 2020. https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3fgufbjpct_ESMF_Ecuador_ASL_FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.227182685.194531860.1653506844-938408607.1653319523.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Marco de Gestión Ambiental y Social (ESMF) |date=2020 |url=https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3fgufbjpct_ESMF_Ecuador_ASL_FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.227182685.194531860.1653506844-938408607.1653319523 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2020marco, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Marco de Gestión Ambiental y Social (ESMF)}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, url = {https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/3fgufbjpct_ESMF_Ecuador_ASL_FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.227182685.194531860.1653506844-938408607.1653319523}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }