Regarding the proposal for shared governance – so much in demand in recent years – Paulina Arroyo, Program Officer of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Andean Amazon Initiative, shared that partnerships between organizations and sectors have been essential to achieve the objectives of effective management of protected areas and indigenous territories. Achieving partnerships and shared governance can sometimes take a long time to materialize, but it has proven to be a key factor in the long term to have resilient conservation areas. Stephanie Arellano, from IUCN’s Regional Office for South America, reaffirmed this idea and said that the participation of governments, local and private actors and representatives of indigenous peoples and communities has been essential in strengthening the work being done in the region.
In this sense, Fermín Chimatani, President of the Association of Executors of Contracts for the Administration of Communal Reserves of Peru – (Asociación de Ejecutores de Contratos de Administración de Reservas Comunales del Perú – ANECAP) and indigenous leader of the Harakbut people, said: “We must emphasize that Sernanp is taking into account the inclusion of the right of effective participation of indigenous peoples in the management of Communal Reserves considering the ECAS as partners in the management of these Communal Reserves and not only as beneficiaries”. Thus, it was made clear that the collective and consensual work carried out by the indigenous communities must be considered and made visible. Similarly, Luciano Régis, founding member of the Network of Young Leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean – Rellac-joven, stated that effective and equitable management of protected areas is not possible without the involvement of the actors who have a relationship with the territories, whether material or symbolic; and in these processes the participation of young people is also necessary for the promotion of a horizontal dialog.
Likewise, Ana Julia Gómez, from the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Women in Conservation, emphasized the construction of a new governance approach based on empathy and a gender perspective. Women have always contributed to the conservation of protected areas from their different knowledge, positions and experiences, and these contributions have only become visible in recent years. Therefore, it is imperative to materialize equity and recognize them as an indispensable part of these governance networks.
At the end of the meeting, Cindy Vergel, Coordinator of Sernanp’s Natural Heritage of Peru Initiative, invited indigenous communities, women and youth to get involved and transform the reality of protected areas: “We can find solutions based on co-design and collective intelligence. Therefore, co-creation is welcome, the generation of new alliances to solve common problems”. It is everyone’s task
