Meeting in the indigenous community La Colonial
Phynatura
Conservation Agreement
With the signing of the 2012 Conservation Agreement, the project's governance stage was initiated by the Aripao community, initially organized around the Conservation Committee, and formalized in a separate legal entity called the Arpao Afro-descendant Civil Association (ACA Aripao).
The Afro-descendant Civil Association Aripao and Phynatura initiated a feasibility study for Conservation Agreements with the indigenous communities of La Colonial, El Cejal, Payaraima and Karana, bordering the Suapure Conservation Area.
The indigenous communities showed interest in participate considering that their income and their territory could be improved. With the consolidation of the fair trade of non-timber products, the construction and operation of the collection center and the creation of the Civil Association Afro-descendants Aripao as an expression of organized community, the project begins to be accepted by the indigenous community as an alternative of livelihood, consolidating the sustainable development and the importance of conservation of natural resources.
The construction of alternative governance in communities, through empowerment, capacity building and territorial self-recognition, has been key to the sustainability of conservation agreements, allowing us to overcome the institutional weaknesses of the government actors involved with environmental management and education.