How it started

In 2006, RIMISP, Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural (Latin-American Centre for Rural Development), a regional non-profit organization, was contracted by FAO to establish a network of communities and farmers’ groups engaged in activities to foster SARD. The purpose was to promote information exchange and learning on a set of locally tested good practices on natural resources management, through community exchanges among indigenous communities from selected Latin American countries.

Accomplishments for 2006

Documenting good practices
Sixteen small producers' organizations of indigenous peoples from six countries were identified and a number of good practices were documented in Bolivia (8 practices), Honduras (2 practices), Nicaragua (2 practices), Peru (2 practices), Ecuador (1 practice) and Guatemala (1 practice), with the essential contribution of local communities and the technical team of the various support projects. All the good practices identified address the following areas: i) soil management and conservation, ii) water conservation management, iii) biodiversity conservation and iv) payment for environmental services.

Exchanging experiences
In June, RIMISP organized a one-week exchange workshop in Bolivia, inviting 17 indigenous rural community leaders and producer organizations' leaders and 4 project support staff from 6 countries. They analyzed 16 good practices introduced by other participants, and made proposals on how to adapt and replicate what they had learnt in their communities. As part of the exchange experience, the participants visited four selected practices, two in the medium plateau, in the zones of Coroico and two in the high plateau in the areas of the Lake Titicaca, in Bolivia. The last activity of the community exchange was a review of all recommendations participants were taking home, based on information shared during the event. Community organization, water conservation and forest management practices were very well taken by community leaders.

Lessons learned
The most important lessons learned of the exchange workshop are:

Rural indigenous communities are very aware of the issues related to the use, conservation and recovery of natural resources. Unlike many of rural organization of small scale farmers, indigenous peoples’ ones are willing to allocate human and financial resources to conserve and recover the natural assets, even when it is under collective exploitation.

Rural indigenous communities have also a positive attitude towards sharing their experiences and ancestral practices of which they are very proud.

Collective decisions taken by the rural organization on management, conservation and recovery of natural resources are essential to voluntary establish reserves, protect areas of considerable size, with the aim to maintain water sources and avoid soil erosion.

Indigenous peoples accept and comply with the principle of hunting-closed season of threatened species, for instance they exploit the vicuña wool while allowing the animals to return to their natural status and to reproduce and constitute herds in protected areas.

Indigenous communities also express a strong interest and predisposition in organic farming, including recuperation of traditional knowledge to control pests and plant disease, utilization of medical plants as insect repellents.

Policy maker exposure visit
The project concluded with one-day policy maker exposure visit in La Paz. Seven out of the 36 officials invited attended the working session and where informed on the most significant characteristics of the 16 good practices. Discussion was centered on how the national policies could be changed to provide the farmers with basic conditions to achieve resource conservation and sustainable agricultural productivity.

Useful links

RIMISP Latin-American Centre for the Rural Development
http://www.rimisp.org/

To read the 14 cases go to the SARD Initiative Good Practices Database