Photo from left to right: Doris Guardia, Director General of Territorial Planning and Integrated Management of Natural Resources at MINAM, Omar Corilloclla, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at Profonanpe, Fabricio Astudillo, Project Officer at the IUCN Regional Office, Mariana Escobar, FAO Representative, Yamina Silva, Vice Minister of Strategic Resources at MINAM, Yoni Rivera, Regional Manager of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the Piura Region, Julio Benites, Regional Manager of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the Tumbes Region, Elithza Díaz, Environment Manager of the La Libertad Region, and Teófilo Farroñan, Regional Manager of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the Lambayeque Region.
On November 30th, the official launch of the project “Sustainable Management and Restoration of the Dry Forest of the North Coast of Peru” took place in the auditorium of the Piura regional government. Funded by the GEF, the project aims to promote the conservation and recovery of dry forests in this area of Peru, strengthen the connectivity and resilience of prioritized ecosystems, increase the adaptive capacity of local populations, and generate sustainable local livelihoods.
During the event, which highlighted the importance of prioritizing work in these ecosystems that have been suffering degradation in recent years, the following individuals participated: Yamina Silva, Vice Minister of Strategic Resources of the Ministry of the Environment; Doris Guardia, General Director of Territorial Planning and Integrated Management of Natural Resources of the Ministry of the Environment; Fabricio Astudillo, Project Officer of the IUCN Regional Office; Mariana Escobar, FAO Representative in Peru; Omar Corilloclla, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of Profonanpe; and representatives of the regional governments of Piura, Tumbes, La Libertad, and Lambayeque.
Mariana Escobar, from the FAO, emphasized the urgency of taking action regarding the progressive degradation of the dry forest: “It is essential to raise awareness of the situation of Peru’s dry forest, an ecosystem vital to the region and the world.” For his part, Omar Corilloclla mentioned that Profonanpe—as the project’s operational partner—is committed to its proper implementation, which entails efficient and transparent resource management: «We are responsible for the project’s technical, administrative, and financial management; this means ensuring a high-level technical team, initiating a kick-off workshop, developing an operations manual, and overseeing the proper use of resources.”.
It is worth highlighting that 114 rural communities live in the dry forests of Peru's northern coast, some of which have developed capacities for sustainable forest management and livestock farming, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and the building of resilience. In this sense, the project seeks to continue these advances, considering that it addresses several of the Sustainable Development Goals, as dry forests are crucial ecosystems for climate change adaptation and mitigation. To achieve this, work will focus on four components, which aim to guarantee human well-being and resilience in the forests of our northern coast.
Project technical specifications:
Duration: 5 years
Scope of intervention: Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad
Total amount: USD 65,500,012.42
- GEF donation: USD 7,666,491
- Co-financing from public and private entities: USD 57,833,521.41
(in donations, public investment or in kind)
