Costa Rica, March 11, 2019. The Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica (MINAE) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Peru (MINAGRI),
today presented a programme that will allow the development of joint actions for the exchange of water harvesting technologies and water resource management experiences associated with the forest between the two countries, with funding up to 600 million colones (US$1 million) from the European Union through the Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystems component of the EUROCLIMA+ programme.
The objective of this initiative is the transfer of practices and successful experiences between the two countries, learning in the case of Costa Rica the practice of water harvesting and in the case of Peru, sharing Costa Rica’s experience in payments for ecosystem services and a water tax with the Peruvian regions of Piura and Ayacucho.
“This programme was born as a Climate Change adaptation measure and it will be implemented in the Lower and Middle Cañas River basin in Guanacaste. The initiative aims to recover water for both human consumption and irrigation,” said Pamela Castillo Barahona, a.i Minister of Environment and Energy.
The initiative has been endorsed by MINAE and MINAGRI, through the Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR); and it was submitted by the Association for Research and Integral Development (AIDER) of Peru as the applicant, and by the Costa Rica National Forest Financing Fund (FONAFIFO), as co-applicant.
In addition, as beneficiaries of the cooperation actions the project will carry out, indigenous people and farmers of both countries in the The Coordinating Association of Indigenous and Community Agroforestry in Central America (ACICAFOC-Costa Rica), the Bartolomé Aripaylla Association (ABA- Peru) and the Regional Water Fund (FORASAN-Peru) will participate.
According to the action plan of this joint proposal, the project will last two years and will work with funds of up to 600 million colones (US$ 1 million).
“The alliance was born from the detection of points whereby the experiences of each country can contribute to the other. Costa Rica, on the one hand, has the challenge of improving water supply in tropical dry forest areas in which Peru has experience; while Peru faces the need for the protection, improvement and restoration of watersheds, through a payment for ecosystem services system and a water tax, which have already been successfully implemented in Costa Rica,” explained Haydeé Rodríguez, Vice Minister of Water and Seas.
A project supported by cooperation
The proposal presented by Peru and Costa Rica to EUROCLIMA+, intends to take advantage of each country's experience in topics such as water harvesting, payment for ecosystem services systems and a water tax to work with the communities most vulnerable to climate change and promote actions that can contribute to mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
“AIDER is a Peruvian NGO that harmonises environmental conservation and sustainable development, managing innovative initiatives for the exploitation of tropical forest resources, always under an approach for gender equity, interculturality, social inclusion and participation of the population that lives in and relies on the forest,” said Jaime Nalvarte, Executive Director of AIDER.
Through this cooperation alliance, the resilience of the populations of both countries will be improved to face the effects of climate change, while also contributing to Peru's ability to develop funding instruments for the conservation and management of its water resources.
Regarding project execution, which will last for 2 years, the alliance proposes forming operational teams in both countries, made up of engineers and technicians specialising in water harvesting, ecosystem services, forests and change climate, as well as a social promoter who will facilitate a relationship with the farmers and residents involved in this action.
These teams will be responsible for conducting field activities and ensuring technology transfer between the two nations, for which there will be a permanent technical exchange of professionals and farmers from both countries to ensure that the technical assistance is direct.
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About AIDER
The applicant for the proposal is AIDER, a leading organisation in environmental conservation and sustainable development in Peru, with more than 30 years of work and experience promoting the management of forest resources and social responsibility in small producers of native and farming communities.
About FONAFIFO
FONAFIFO, co-applicant for the proposal, is an institution attached to the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, created by Forest Law 7575 in 1996. Its general objective is to promote the conservation, management and recovery of Costa Rican forests; therefore, it has been assigned the task of developing and implementing payment schemes for environmental services and the most convenient structures for the distribution of the benefits generated by them. FONAFIFO has the country’s REDD secretariat, so all its activities are framed within the efforts of Costa Rica to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the forest.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.
Press contacts
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For information about EUROCLIMA+, contact the communications area of the Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystems component: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
