Peru: Indigenous communities hold key to 2020 zero deforestation targets
10/05/2016
Peru is home to one of the largest, most biodiverse and intact tropical forest areas in the world. Half of its land base is classified as forest. Ambitious programmes are underway to reduce deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon to zero by 2020 under the “National Programme for Forest Conversion for Climate Change Mitigation.”
Forest concessions are expected to play a key part of this Programme, yet many indigenous peoples who traditionally hold a large part of Peruvian forests have viewed the initiative as a measure to privatize their lands. The type of arrangements under this new regime – and the extent to which indigenous peoples will be involved and benefit – are expected to either make or break the 2020 zero deforestation targets, experts say.
The participation of local communities in monitoring the state of forests – known as community or participatory monitoring – is recognized as a more efficient model for collecting relevant information and observations about forests, and thereby strengthening governance and management. Community forest monitoring acts as a mechanism of Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM), or activities undertaken by a third party to monitor processes of utilization and assessment of forest resources.
Civil society organization CEDISA is working in the San Martin Region of Peru – where there is an ascending trajectory of deforestation largely due to agricultural expansion – to strengthen and implement the Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria. A total of 18 indigenous leaders – both men and women – have been designated as veedores or custodians of the forest with corresponding technical functions through the Coordination of Development and Defence for Indigenous San Martin People (CODEPISAM), an indigenous organization made up of eight federations of the Awajun, Kechwas and Shawi peoples. The veedores are being trained on issues such as transparent procurement procedures for land use, changes of land and forest use, timber and illegal commerce of forest products, sustainable forest management procedures and governance of related organizations and communities. CEDISA is also providing support to organize directors of the federations and assist communities to manage access to forest areas.
Eighteen indigenous technicians affiliated with CODEPISAM are being trained as veedores (two from each member Federation) and have started offering technical support to communities and organizations to: resolve land-rights issues in the context of illegal logging; improve the understanding of regulations on the management of timber and non-timber resources, and associated sanctions; and facilitate the process to approve plans on the management of forest and non-forest resources.
The aim is to have the Veeduría Forestal Comunitaria (VFC) implemented and a strategy for the independent observation mechanism in place by 2016. The VFC will serve as a mechanism of independent observation and thus render indigenous communities key players in governing their forests, contributing to the zero-deforestation targets. Support for the Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria is being managed by CEDISA through CODEPISAM, with the technical and financial support of the European Union by its Programme FAO FLEGT.
The goal under “The National Programme for Forest Conversion for Climate Change Mitigation” is to sustainably manage 3.2 million hectares of forested areas in the San Martin Sregion through natural protected areas, indigenous territories, concessions (timber and non) and Zones for Conservation and the Recuperation of Ecosystems (ZoCRE).
Forest concessions are expected to play a key part of this Programme, yet many indigenous peoples who traditionally hold a large part of Peruvian forests have viewed the initiative as a measure to privatize their lands. The type of arrangements under this new regime – and the extent to which indigenous peoples will be involved and benefit – are expected to either make or break the 2020 zero deforestation targets, experts say.
Establishing community forest monitoring for more efficient and equitable forest management
After a broad consultation process, a new forest law was approved in 2011 which foresees the provision of stronger support for community territorial monitoring, known as Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria (VFC). The Veeduiría Forestal Comunitaria are technical units of indigenous communities that work as part of the community structure and were created to serve indigenous peoples’ needs regarding community forest management. These innovative initiatives emerged to strengthen indigenous peoples’ ability to respond to their rights to manage forest resources and generate benefits from goods and services that forests provide.The participation of local communities in monitoring the state of forests – known as community or participatory monitoring – is recognized as a more efficient model for collecting relevant information and observations about forests, and thereby strengthening governance and management. Community forest monitoring acts as a mechanism of Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM), or activities undertaken by a third party to monitor processes of utilization and assessment of forest resources.
Civil society organization CEDISA is working in the San Martin Region of Peru – where there is an ascending trajectory of deforestation largely due to agricultural expansion – to strengthen and implement the Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria. A total of 18 indigenous leaders – both men and women – have been designated as veedores or custodians of the forest with corresponding technical functions through the Coordination of Development and Defence for Indigenous San Martin People (CODEPISAM), an indigenous organization made up of eight federations of the Awajun, Kechwas and Shawi peoples. The veedores are being trained on issues such as transparent procurement procedures for land use, changes of land and forest use, timber and illegal commerce of forest products, sustainable forest management procedures and governance of related organizations and communities. CEDISA is also providing support to organize directors of the federations and assist communities to manage access to forest areas.
“The mechanism of independent observation that is being established will be consolidated when, in a follow-up process of government and/or international donor support, the network of community forest veedores in the 39 communities in the Region of San Martin is supported with protocols or guides for the involvement of all actors in the technical-administrative process for the sustainable management of community forests”, explains Teddi Peñaherrera, President of CEDISA.
“At the same time, these should be implemented with the information technology necessary to ensure that the information is communicated in real time for timely decision making on forest governance in the San Martin region,” added Peñaherrera
Building capacities of veedores to monitor forests
A core component of the Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria entails collaborating with the governmental organization that supervises flora and fauna – OSINFOR – which facilitates capacity-building for veedores in the context of Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM). OSINFOR – in coordination with CEDISA and CODEPISAM – is providing the community veedores with the tools to enable them to supervise and perform basic accounting on permits issued to exploit timber and non-timber resources and to verify information through inventory, forestry censuses and maps. Subsequently, agreements will be issued with other civil society organizations and the regional government of San Martin to sustainably harvest forest resources. CODEPISAM is nurturing strategic alliances with institutions such as OSINFOR to better manage the capacity of the veedores to participate in the mechanism of independent observation.Eighteen indigenous technicians affiliated with CODEPISAM are being trained as veedores (two from each member Federation) and have started offering technical support to communities and organizations to: resolve land-rights issues in the context of illegal logging; improve the understanding of regulations on the management of timber and non-timber resources, and associated sanctions; and facilitate the process to approve plans on the management of forest and non-forest resources.
The aim is to have the Veeduría Forestal Comunitaria (VFC) implemented and a strategy for the independent observation mechanism in place by 2016. The VFC will serve as a mechanism of independent observation and thus render indigenous communities key players in governing their forests, contributing to the zero-deforestation targets. Support for the Veeduria Forestal Comunitaria is being managed by CEDISA through CODEPISAM, with the technical and financial support of the European Union by its Programme FAO FLEGT.
State of forests in Peru
Traditionally Peru boasts low levels of deforestation, partly because forest areas are so difficult to access. Selective logging – or only cutting trees that exceed a certain trunk diameter – is an established forest management activity which can contribute to sustainable resource management, yet as much as 80 percent of the timber exported from Peru is thought to be illegal. High levels of poverty, unemployment, insufficient funds, infrastructure development (e.g. road access for gold mining) and other issues such as forest conversion attracts neighbouring Brazilians which have posed an increasing threat to the Peruvian Amazon in recent years, and made effective law enforcement immensely challenging. Independent Forest Monitoring is viewed as a means to bolster law enforcement and increase transparency.The goal under “The National Programme for Forest Conversion for Climate Change Mitigation” is to sustainably manage 3.2 million hectares of forested areas in the San Martin Sregion through natural protected areas, indigenous territories, concessions (timber and non) and Zones for Conservation and the Recuperation of Ecosystems (ZoCRE).