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Adapting to a Changing Environment

Urku Estudios Amazïnicos

Tarapoto, Perú

An Overview Of Our Solution

Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosistema
Forests
Forests
Freshwater
Freshwater
Additional Information
  • Population Impacted:
  • Continent: South America
General Info

Dirección

Jr. Saposoa # 181, Tarapoto; San Mart�n
Tarapoto NA
Perú

Correo electrónico

carvec2@yahoo.es
Problem

Población impactada

8000 indigenous people.

Size

42 942 hectares

Ocupaciones principales

Agriculture

Recursos locales de los que depende la comunidad y con qué propósito

Rain water, soil, wood, medicinal plants and fauna. Subsistence.

Amenazas locales a los recursos

Deforestation, soil degradation, desertification.

Riesgos climáticos

water deficit, forest fires, river contamination, seasonal changes

Nivel de sensibilidad

Indigenous people are the most vulnerable to climate change. A water deficit makes care of health more difficult, river contamination lowers the number of fish and therefore food and threatens the whole ecosystem of the river, forest fires kill animals and destroy agriculture land, contaminate the air and therefore threaten the food security of the community like seasonal changes do as well.

Nivel de capacidad adaptativa

low due to organizative weakness.
Solution

We focused our efforts to improve organizational capacities of communities, developing plans, and begin a medium-term process to strengthen the identity, as well as social and economic resources. We have prioritized the recuperation of territory in order to conservancy. Now we are promoting sustainability of land and business management. Components: 1 Validating a plan and innovative tools for productive territory management within the context of climatic change. Ecological distribution patterns will be charted and the potential of use and conservation of strategic natural resources (water, soil, and genetic resources such as biodiversity) were established for the design and participative implementation of a ?Territory Use Plan?, which in future will be supported by a bio-mathematical simulation model (software), a GIS base of ecological-economic micro-zoning, and an efficient and low-budget methodological protocol for the evaluation and recording of biological and climatic variables. Impacts: Improved hazard risk management and use of water resources or other natural ecosystem services. 2 Strengthening indigenous production systems. Technical improvements were implemented to the sustainable production of a diversified portfolio of products with an emphasis on medicinal plants, as ?cat?s claw? (Uncaria tomentosa) and other artisanal products, toward competitive markets. Impacts: Improved food security and incomes; diversified or alternative livelihoods. 3 Rescuing and revaluing adaptations and traditional knowledge associated with climatic change within the historical context of the Amazonian peoples, developing proactive attitudes in the indigenous population.

Results

Costos ecológicos

Forecasted losses caused by the acceleration of climatic change in Peru between 2009 and 2050 will be around US$ 729 and US$ 855 thousand million, according to the latest official study. The worsening of the crisis in the production systems will gravely a

Beneficio ecológico

- Improvement of the quality of ecosystem services that improve production conditions.

Indicadores económicos utilizados para medir el beneficio

- Hectares of woods and land in recuperation.

Costo comunitario/social

- Cost for supplying human resources (scarce). - Conflict between communities and people, due to high level of fragmentation of the local society. Public institution could not ensure protection of common resources. The power of indigenous organization to avoid the "tragedy of commons" is questioned and faced.

Beneficio comunitario/social

- People feel valorized and become more self-confident regarding their indigenous identity. - People see that the solutions come from themselves (from inside). - More awareness.

Indicadores comunitarios/sociales utilizados para medir el beneficio

- Participation and self-identification as indigenous people increases.

Costo económico

Organizational cost increases. The implementation of innovative technologies is expensive in face of the capitalization level of communities.

Beneficio económico

- Improve organizational capacities for a higher increase of economic benefits. - Lower production costs. - Improve commercialization conditions. - More competiveness.

Indicadores ecológicos utilizados para medir el beneficio

- Increase of familiar income. - Increase in local account (PBI). - Improve of quality of life (HDI).

What were/are the challenges your community faced in implementing this solution?

1. Our solution is strongly challenged by politicians and local interest of entrepreneurs. We tried to make them aware of the indigenous model and win them for our cause. Opposition from side of community has been overcome step by step with educative actions in alliance with the state. 2. We are developing local business and enterprises in order to generate support for the process, which is slow process while threats are numerous and aggressive. So far, funds are scarce for the continuity of the development model (Despite that Peru registers high economic growth; the poverty is invisible; economic benefits are not well distributed).

Action

Describa el proceso basado en la comunidad utilizado para desarrollar la solución, incluidas las herramientas y los procesos utilizados.

We validated a replicable model of adaptation to climatic change, thanks to the design and participative implementation of a plan that has involved over 8 000 people in 10 communities and 42 942 hectares of indigenous land, supported by a GIS base of ecological-economic micro-zoning, and a methodology to record, evaluate and interpret bioclimatic variables; to improve sustainable agricultural production; and to validate alternative commercialization channels to increase family income. - Several studies of biodiversity, forest management plans, projects, a baseline study and Territorial Management Plans have been done. - A new indigenous people organization was created with an innovative development model idea. The main organization has promoted a necommunity based institution. Now, we are working with native communities, young people organizations, elderly people councils, women organizations, cultural and conservation organizations, an enterprise and an indigenous cooperative as economic organizations. - A Communication Strategy was applied in order to call and involve participation of public and private organizations. We achived to involve to Regional Government of San Mart�n, Environmental Ministry, an ONG specialized in medicinal plants, and several programs with an integral approach through financial and technical support, as well as networking - We began in 2009 and are continuing until now. - We support the solution through management plans, connecting all initiatives under a development approach, searching for strategic partners and mobilizing resources.

Peligro climático de preocupación

Drought

¿Cómo reduce su solución la exposición y amortigua/protege el ecosistema afectado?

As the exposition factors require long-term actions, we begin to promote conservancy and recuperation of the ecosystem. However, in short-term, we are promoting agroforestry and ecological agriculture as a way of reducing exposition and giving more stability for agricultural systems.

How has your solution increased the capacity of the ecosystem to adapt to potential climate changes?

Our solution does not focus in ecosystem adaptability. The ecosystems are adaptive by themselves. We try to improve adaptation capacities of social systems to potential climate changes. How do we? Promoting the planning of use of land, organizing activities in the territory (ecological -economic- cultural- zoning), but mainly, through strengthening the indigenous institutions.

¿Cómo reduce su solución la exposición y amortigua/protege a las comunidades afectadas?

Our solution is mainly an approach. We think that the climate change problem is a development problem. Our communities are high vulnerable (high exposure and sensitivity, low adaptation capacity) because the institution is very weak. The technical solutions fail on their own, because the social local system is unable to endorse them. So, we do all that is possible for strengthening the local institutions. How are we doing it? Applying an integral Development Plan that considers following items: 1. Territorial and resources conservancy. 2. Productive management and alimentary security. 3. Social management, health and nutrition. 4. Educative management, technology and interculturality. 5. Organizational strengthening. 6. Justice and self-determination.

¿Cómo su solución reduce la sensibilidad de las comunidades afectadas?

See above.

¿Cómo ha aumentado su solución la capacidad de las comunidades locales para adaptarse a posibles cambios climáticos?

Indigenous people are depositaries of a rich tradition and ancient knowledge. Their adaptation experiences are rescued and revitalized. We promote native crops and ecological systems to avoid the high-risk monoculture (only cocoa or coffee). We try to investigate innovative techniques for cropping (different of cut and burning) and new and efficient ways for using the water.

Scale

¿Se puede replicar esta solución en otros lugares?

Actually, our solution is replicated in the whole region (51 253 km�, 4% of national territory). Elements of the FEKIHD?s development model have been taken by all indigenous organizations and by the regional government for promoting the Regional System for Conservancy. Innovative issues have been replicated, as proposal of "indigenous conservancy areas" (as concession), "the indigenous corridor" and the concept of Ecological Economic Cultural Zoning. However, regional government and other indigenous organization have not understood yet that a solution is a long-term process that requires integral efforts and it is necessary convert the model in a program with public and private support. References: - Miriam Brandao. Interamerican Foundation (IAF). MBrandao@IAF.GOV - C�sar Villanueva Ar�valo. President of Regional Government of San Martin, Peru. sylvia_reategui@hotmail.com o lcarranzad@gmail.com

Overview
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