Forest conservation in the communities of Boca Isiriwe, Masenawa and Puerto Azul, Amarakaeri Communal Reserve

The implementation of a new project requires the social acceptance of the local population. The objectives, strategies to be followed, the conceptual approach to implementation (in this case ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change) needs to be communicated and the communication and coordination mechanisms for the implementation need to be established.

The EbA Amazonia project, implemented jointly with SERNANP and ECAs (Ejecutor del Contrato de Administración de la Reserva / Executor of the Administrative Contract of the Communal Reserve) -representatives of communities - should present a united front with all the actors involved. So from the  day that the communities entered, the project established concrete roles for all actors in the implementation of activities (e.g. SERNANP and ECAs). This generates a vision of unity and projection of activities beyond the life of the project (sustainability) since the SERNANP and ECAs are entities that perpetually interact with the local population.

The process of selection of adaptation measures is one of the pillars of building block 1 (Building trust with the community and local partners), but is an important building block itself to be developed with the community. The approach that has been taken is to base the selection of measures on the local knowledge and preferences of the population. This means that they decide which activity (or activities) is / are the most appropriate for them. They have a sound knowledge of local reality in terms of opportunities and challenges and it is sufficient to ask guiding questions in order to determine with them the conditions to implement a certain adaptation measure. There are tools designed to do this such as the CARE “Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis” and CRiSTAL (Toolkit for Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Project).

The native communities of Boca Isiriwe, Masenawa and Puerto Azul decided to start using chestnut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) that existed within their territories despite having no prior experience in doing so commercially. The first requirement or condition that the EBA Amazonía project established was to exclude the possibility of contamination of the fruits with heavy metals. Samples of soil and fruits of the chestnut were taken. No significant residues could be found, in spite of the proximity of mining operations.

The project supported them as this activity suited well with the ecosystem approach assumed by the project.

A complete database of the occurrence and distribution of the species was created in order to model the changes that the species would suffer based on current and future climatic information. According to the modelling, chestnut will remain a species with a wide distribution throughout the area of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, with slight changes in its distribution. This way, the project responded to the local interest by providing the necessary information to guarantee a sustainable production process.

Conservation agreements are an integral part of the financial sustainability of measures to adapt to climate change and the spatial integrity of the communal reserves. By extending the areas of conservation and sustainable use of the resources of the communal reserve, they enable the use of the communal territory while at the same time allowing for a use of the adjacent natural protected area.

The conservation agreements contribute to the harmonization of management and planning of the communal territory by consolidating the permitted uses for their areas in a contract with the relevant authorities (ECAs and headquarters of national protected areas). In return, the communities gain key allies to continue obtaining technical and financial support to expand productive activities (adaptation measures) that were initially supported by the EbA Amazonía project.

Cooperation projects such as EbA Amazonia are development agents that come and go. In contrast, state institutions, whether national, regional or local, are permanent with the main objective to ensure the welfare of communities in a specific area. Local governments operate close to the rural population.

Capacity transfer is another important issue from the point of view of the project.

To make the development approach of the municipalities compatible with the conservation approach of a protected area is fundamental in order to gain allies for the conservation of an area and the development of the surrounding population. This relates to building block 4 - the generation of conservation agreements between a community and their strategic allies form a solid base to channel support from the local governments in the development and implementation of adaptation measures. At the same time, information and training on how to access the state's public investment system for the local governments broadens their capacity to serve the local population and to access different funding sources.