To boost the resilience of high Andean communities and protect their ecosystems, the Puna Resilient Puna Project’s Puna Competitive Fund, a financial mechanism for climate adaptation, announced its first call to allocate more than S/4 million to finance local initiatives in 12 districts of Arequipa.
The Puna Competitive Fund will provide resources to local initiatives that include Climate Resilient Value Chains (CVCR) such as South American camelids and high Andean crops and that integrate Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures such as conservation and restoration of wetlands, qochas, agroforestry, among others.
This first call is aimed at local organizations in the districts of San Juan de Tarucani (Arequipa); Chachas, Choco, Orcopampa (Castilla); San Antonio de Chuca, Yanque (Caylloma); Cayarani, Salamanca (Condesuyos); Cotahuasi, Huaynacotas, Pampamarca and Puyca (La Unión).
“Reimbursable and non-reimbursable funds will be provided to support the sustainable development of high Andean communities and strengthen capacities to adapt to climate change,” explained Anton Willems, Executive Director of Profonanpe. He added that the selected proposals will receive between S/300 thousand and S/800 thousand, depending on their scope and focus, as well as specialized technical assistance, among other benefits. “Priority will be given to initiatives that encourage the participation of women, promote intergenerational dialogue and incorporate ancestral knowledge together with modern technologies,” he emphasized.
Stages of the competition in Arequipa
The first stage of the competition will focus on the identification and selection of ideas. Applications will be received until April 15 for Window 1, non-reimbursable funds, in which rural communities, producer associations and cooperatives in the process of formalization in alliance with a Civil Society Organization (CSO) may participate. The results of those shortlisted will be published on May 15.
In parallel, until May 30, reimbursable funds will be received for window 2, which considers micro and small enterprises, community enterprises and cooperatives, as well as for window 3, for small and medium-sized producers and agricultural producers with a proposal approved by Agroideas. The results will be published on June 30.
The pre-selected initiatives will move on to a second stage, in which the proposals will be refined for final evaluation and selection. The deadline for submission of completed local initiatives is September 8 and the results will be published on November 25.
“The Puna Competitive Fund is committed to Arequipa as the first reference in climate change adaptation, supporting high Andean communities, associations, cooperatives and MYPES that present sustainable projects with a focus on gender and inclusion,” Willems said.
With Arequipa as a starting point, the Puna Competitive Fund aims to finance 127 initiatives in five of the country’s departments, conserve or restore 23,914 hectares of ecosystems in five regions and directly benefit more than 60,000 citizens. In addition, nearly 15 million euros will be invested over the next four years to ensure long-term impact.
The Puna Competitive Fund is part of the Resilient Puna project, a multisectoral initiative supported by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), the Ministry of the Environment (Minam), Profonanpe, the Peruvian Environmental Fund, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the Mountain Institute, with financing from the Green Climate Fund and the governments of Germany and Canada.
For more information and access to the application guidelines, please visit https://profonanpe.org.pe/puna/.
