The Guna General Congress in Panama and the Bribri and Cabécar Indigenous Network (RIBCA) in Costa Rica, will begin piloting of the Territorial Governance Mechanism (MGT), an initiative to strengthen the governance of indigenous peoples and local communities of their territories .
The Mesoamerican Alliance of Forests and Peoples (AMBP) became part of the MGT, which seeks to strengthen the political, economic, territorial and cultural governance of indigenous peoples and local communities. This strengthening will be expressed through technical and financial support, and one of the ways in which it will be reflected will be in the improvement of access to climate funds by indigenous peoples.
These efforts are key to confronting the threats that surround indigenous territories, as well as to face the climate crisis, aspiring to achieve Good Living and indigenous autonomy. Currently, these funds do not reach indigenous territories in a timely or sufficient manner, diluting these in intermediary actors.
From July 26 to July 30, the MGT team developed a participatory process to start the implementation of the Mechanism and choose the pilot territories. This process consisted of three workshops: in Panama City, with leaders and technicians from the Emberá Wounaan General Congress and the Guna General Congress; in Escuintla, Guatemala, with the Utz Che’ Community Forestry Association of Guatemala; and in Petén, Guatemala, with the Association of Forest Communities of Petén (ACOFOP).
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- Workshop in Panama with Emberá Wounaan General Congress and Guna General Congress
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- Workshop in Guatemala with the Community Forestry Association of Guatemala Utz Che’
The pilot selection prioritized criteria such as having political conditions that allow the mechanism to operate, that they are experiences that strengthen the AMBP, and that the territories are close to each other to improve the possibility of replication, escalation, and impact. It was also sought that they have outstanding governance experiences, their own spokesperson and representativeness, as well as a dynamic of self-management, among other assessments.
Sara Madriz (Directivive Board member of the AMPB) and Déborah Sánchez (Coordinator of Forests, Climate and Biodiversity of the AMPB) were appointed as political focal point, as technical focal point.
The AMBP is defining a work route to initiate actions in both pilot territories in the first quarter of 2023.
The Mechanism is an initiative promoted by Forest Trends; It has a board of directors made up of its partners: AIDESEP, CONFENIAE, AMBP and Forest Trends.
