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50 Andean projects share their innovative development ideas in a virtual space

10.03.2021

A solar-powered irrigation system, hand-made alpaca wool clothing and a group of women protecting water at the foot of the Kunurana mountain. For the last three years, 50 communities in the Peruvian Andes in the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) have been on a journey to find solutions based on nature and their ancestral knowledge. These lessons learned are now being shared virtually through the SGP Peru Knowledge Fair or Encuentro de Saberes.

Besides being united geographically and culturally by the Andes range, these experiences reflect on the resilience and innovation of rural communities and how they coexist sustainably with nature.

Even before the pandemic, rural Peru was in crisis. Almost 88 percent of all rural families were in a state of vulnerability, facing challenges like ecosystem degradation, lack of water, and climate change and poverty. This situation has only worsened as the health crisis has dawned on them. This is why streamlining a path between rural communities – their problems, knowledge and solutions – and decision-makers is more important than ever.

After a capacity strengthening process, implemented by the SGP and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and backed by the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, local leaders designed environmental proposals using their ancestral knowledge, passed down through generations. From these experiences, nine sustainable development models were made, as well as six decision-maker recommendation compilations, with the goal of boosting the development of one of the country’s most strategic areas.

The “Yachachiq” (wise person) models gather knowledge from Andean experts on natural resource management, while the “Kamachiq” (leader) recommendations are public policy guidelines promoting socioecological resilience. Both recognize the vital contribution of indigenous communities to local solutions with global environmental benefits.

These proposals are being showcased in the Encuentro de Saberes series of virtual conferences, with the participation of representatives of these rural communities, field specialists, public officials and civil society organizations on six key topics: bio businesses, agrobiodiversity, camelids, bio craftmanship, water management, women’s empowerment, solar energy solutions and community-based ecotourism.

The conferences are freely accessible and available with real-time translation in Quechua, a language spoken by almost 3.7 million people in Peru and the most spoken indigenous language in Latin America.

“The Andes are our biggest source of water and food, but they are in constant danger. Faced with this, we need nature-based solutions that make use of our ancestral knowledge,” pointed out Luisa Guinand, Vice Minister of Natural Resource Strategic Development of the Ministry of the Environment, during the event’s launch.

These SGP Peru experiences conform a living innovation lab and prove that strengthening local leadership is key to eradicate inequality, and that no local action is too small to not have a global impact.

These solutions, turned into roadmaps, were born deep in the Andes through the partnership between SGP and the rural communities. Later, these initiatives received methodological assistance by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, in a process that included workshops, dialogues, interviews, surveys and other virtual approaches.

“Local women and men can protect the environment, improve their productivity and contribute to sustainable development. Through this programme, we work with them to create nature-based solutions that bring a positive impact and can be replicated,” highlighted María del Carmen Sacasa, UNDP Peru Resident Representative.

Learn more

Watch the recordings on Helvetas Perú's Facebook

News originally publish by UNDP Perú