Between February and the first days of March, the participatory action research methodology Fotovoz was implemented with the community of Suitucancha (Yauli province, Junín), together with representatives of Conservation and Environmental Research (CIAM), Profonanpe, ECOAN and the regional team of Preserves Birds. Over three sessions, the participants used photography and collective dialogue to record their relationship with nature and, based on these images, analyze the opportunities and barriers to getting involved in conservation actions.
The first session focused on presenting the methodology and its tools. Participants received cameras, training on their use, and were asked a guiding question: What is my relationship with nature? Over the next five days, they took photographs that reflected their connection to the environment.
In the following session, the photographs revealed a strong connection between the community and water, as well as the use of medicinal plants, which are central to their daily lives. Based on these findings, the discussion focused on the challenges of raising awareness of their territory and promoting tourism based on its natural resources.
Finally, the community identified everyday barriers to getting involved in conservation, such as limitations in promoting the territory and using its resources, and proposed solutions based on their own experience, also considering the role of other actors who could support this process, explained Camila Dávila, coordinator at ECOAN of the Bird Conservation Initiative.
Participants at the Photovoice workshop in Suitucancha. @Jhonny Salazar / ECOAN.
Methodologies like Fotovoz help strengthen participation, especially that of women.“”Listening to their perspectives is key to strengthening conservation and the development of initiatives,” said Inés Jáuregui, specialist in Equality, Gender and Social Inclusion (IGeIS) of Profonanpe.
These activities were carried out within the framework of the Conserva Aves Initiative, which seeks the creation, consolidation, management, and strengthening of 100 or more protected areas in 9 Latin American countries. The community of Suitucancha has been working to have part of its communal territory recognized as the Nevado de Tunsho Private Conservation Area (PCA), in order to protect more than 3,934 hectares of the high Andean zone, located in the Central Cordillera, in an area near the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve and which will protect emblematic species such as the Cinclodes palliatus, promoting a biocultural conservation model.
Conserva Aves is an alliance between American Bird Conservancy (ABC), National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, Birds Canada and the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Funds Network (RedLAC). In Peru it is implemented by Profonanpe in conjunction with Andean Ecosystems Association (ECOAN). It also has the financial backing of the Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada (GAC). .
