In order to strengthen territorial capacities, the Knowledge Exchange on Community Mechanisms for Territorial Financing will be held in Morelia, Mexico, from October 7 to 9.
Representatives of agricultural, indigenous and local community organizations from South America, Central America, Asia, Africa and Europe will spend three days analyzing the challenges and good experiences in order to ensure that financing to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity and reverse the degradation of nature reaches communities and territories.
The event is convened by the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and ForestsAMPB), the Mexican Network of Peasant Forest Organizations (Red Mocaf); the Forest & Farm Facility (FFF); the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and the AMPB Mesoamerican Coordinating Committee of Women Territorial Leaders. It is supported by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The scientific evidence supports the importance of the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in caring for forests and ecosystems, as well as the contribution of their actions to the fight against climate change. However, recent recent research However, recent research reveals that a low percentage of climate and conservation funding reaches communities.
During COP26 in Glasgow, UK, the Forest Tenure Funders Group pledged $1.7 billion to support indigenous peoples and local communities.
In response, indigenous peoples and local communities have designed their own financing mechanisms to facilitate direct territorial investment on a significant scale, such as the Mesoamerican Territorial Fund.
In this sense, during the meeting in Michoacán, experiences will be exchanged for the design and implementation of territorial financing mechanisms for learning purposes, identification of common problems and possibilities for cooperation.
Successful experiences
The exchange will include a field visit to learn about two successful experiences in community fund management:
The Mexican Association of Social Sector Credit Unions, manager of a network of social enterprises that provides comprehensive and innovative financial services and products for the social development and inclusion of highly marginalized indigenous rural communities in Mexico.
For 25 years AMUCSS has participated in the creation, operation and supervision of community finance companies and intermediaries, as well as integration organizations, to contribute to the financial inclusion of rural families through optimal distribution of services and products in hard-to-reach areas.
The delegation will also visit San Jerónimo Purenchécuaro, a Purépecha indigenous community belonging to the municipality of Quiroga, in the state of Michoacán. This community is located on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro and is still governed by their customs and traditions. They have worked hard to conserve their forests and wetlands, to the point that they have now established 2,300 hectares of their community (ADVC) as voluntary conservation areas, a category officially recognized by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).
The community established a forest nursery that produces up to 20,000 pine and oak plants annually. The community is also working on the establishment of an aquaculture research center for the preservation of local fauna species.
Building new relationships with donors
The exchange in Morelia will be followed by a meeting with donors in Washington D.C., United States, on October 12-13. This will be a space to meet with potential donors and partners interested in investing in and strengthening indigenous and community-based financing mechanisms.
This meeting will be the first in a series during which options and solutions will be provided to change the current model of climate, biodiversity and development aid. The goal is to reverse the trend and put a large proportion of international finance where change really needs to happen, but also in a way that is relevant to rural communities.
Learn more about the activity here.
