On Wednesday, March 27, Sernanp, EMAPA Cañete and Profonanpe signed the Agreement on Mechanisms of Remuneration for Ecosystem Services (MERESE) with the presence of the Ministry of the Environment. The purpose of this agreement is to carry out actions aimed at protecting, conserving and recovering the water ecosystem services offered by the Cañete River Basin, included in the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve (RPNYC), located in the province of Yauyos, department of Lima.
The agreement also includes the activities of the Intervention Plan, which are carried out under an Ecosystem-based Adaptation approach. These activities are aimed at the sustainable use of ecosystems and agroecosystems that produce water ecosystem services, generate information on the provision of these services, and raise awareness of their importance among the basin's population.
Renán Segura, President of the Vilca community, and Rebegildo Taype, President of the Miraflores community, began the session by thanking the participating organizations for their presence. They detailed their experience with the installation of EMAPA Cañete in their communities and how this has benefited their drinking water supply. They highlighted the importance of landscape reserves and the conservation of water and the environment.
This agreement represents an important milestone for the conservation of the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve and will contribute to improving the quality of life of the people of the Vilca farming community, who live in this protected natural area and are key players in its participatory management. Therefore, Anton Willems, CEO of Profonanpe, emphasized: «With the signing of this agreement, more than 350 people from 80 families in the Vilca Rural Community will be able to contribute their collective knowledge to the activities planned in the Intervention Plan.».
The event was attended by Juan Carlos Castro, Minister of the Environment, José Carlos Nieto, Head of SERNANP, and César Nieto, General Manager of EMAPA Cañete, who highlighted the importance of strengthening local organizations and the relationship with the rural communities, whose members will actively participate in the participatory management of the protected natural area, contributing their ancestral knowledge.
Through this agreement, Profonanpe reaffirms its commitment to be a strategic partner for the environmental sector, managing funds in a transparent, secure and timely manner.
At the end of the event, the president of the Asociación Ecoturística Artesanal de Vilca Yauyos, Susana Gamión, presented sustainable products made in the Nor Yauyos - Cochas Landscape Reserve.
About the MERESE Agreement
Payment Mechanisms for Ecosystem Services (MERESE) are tools to invest economic resources in the conservation, recovery and sustainable use of ecosystems that provide key services for the population.
Sernanp is empowered to establish MERESE with individuals and companies that utilize these ecosystem services, thus contributing to financial sustainability and the achievement of conservation and sustainable development objectives for protected natural areas.
