15:09 | Lima, Oct. 31 (ANDINA).
Peru has secured $50 million in funding from the Climate Investment Funds' Forest Investment Program (FIP) to be invested in activities that will fight deforestation and forest degradation throughout the country.
The Forest Investment Plan of Peru (FIP-PE) was approved in the FIP Sub Committee that took place in Washington, DC on October 30, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said in a statement.
The plan was presented by a high-level delegation from Peru, composed by members of key Ministries and representatives of indigenous people groups from the country.
The FIP Investment Plan of Peru includes projects that will address a number of activities that will help preserve the rich biodiversity of the country, including titling and registration of rural properties and communal lands with the aim of ending open access to forest resources, improvement of forest and environmental governance, enhancement of the value of environmental assets of forests and degraded areas, and activities for innovation and market development.
The projects will take place at national level and in the regions of San Martin and Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios.
“The FIP represents a great opportunity to test new models of collaboration with key partners that work in the protection of our forests, such as AIDESEP (Inter-Ethnical Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest) and CONAP (Confederation of Nationalities of the Amazon in Peru), associations of smallholders producers, and private sector representatives.
This new collaborative and integrated approach for the protection of our forestry assets represents the transformational impact that FIP promotes” commented Gabriel Quijandria, Vice Minister of the Environment of Peru.
This initiative is part of the pipeline of projects of the IDB in the Forest Investment Plan, which make part of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).
For the last three years, the IDB has collaborated closely with the Peruvian Government, key stakeholders and the World Bank in the design and preparation of this plan.
“Addressing deforestation in the Latin American region is an essential element of any climate change mitigation strategy, and these projects in Peru are a key step in this direction” said Walter Vergara, Chief of the Climate Change division at the IDB.
“Sustainable land and forest management contributes to mitigating climate change, while improving livelihoods of rural populations, particularly indigenous groups, ethnic minorities, and smallholders.
The FIP-Peru aims to promote climate policies that meet the needs of rural poor communities” said Hector Malarin, Chief of the Environment, Rural Development & Disaster Risk Management division at the IDB.
FIP resources will be leveraged by other operations that the IDB is preparing, such as the Bio Climate Fund, the Land Titling and Registration Program – phase III, and Enhancing Strategic Services of Agriculture Innovation Project.
The FIP is also aligned with the more comprehensive the Peruvian REDD+ strategy and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
(END) INT/EEP
Published: 10/31/2013