Señor de la Cumbre Local Forest: More than 3 thousand hectares provide ecosystem services to Madre de Dios.

In 2020, after more than 10 years of work, the declaration of Señor de la Cumbre as a Local Forest was announced. The State recognizes the importance of access to natural resources and benefits for the population of the 3,179 hectares located at kilometer 148 of the Madre de Dios - Cusco highway. This forest provides scenic beauty, biodiversity maintenance, carbon sequestration, and storage, and plays a fundamental role in water regulation. It is relevant because it is home to the headwaters of the Jayave River that reach the La Pastora catchment point, providing drinking water to Puerto Maldonado and water to irrigate local agriculture.

"After a SUNASS resolution, a small part of the amount of the water bill in Puerto Maldonado is destined for the conservation of the Señor de la Cumbre Local Forest, managed through the Mechanism of Remuneration for Ecosystemic Water Services (MERESE-H). This will allow the service provider EMAPAT, in coordination with taxpayers, such as the Señor de la Cumbre Local Forest Association and the Primavera Alta and Baja Fish Farmers Association, to implement actions to mitigate threats to the forest,” said Leonardo Olivera, Associate Officer of WWF Peru.

Finding solutions, different stakeholders such as the Asociación de Acuicultores de Primavera Alta y Baja, the Asociación del Bosque Local Señor de la Cumbre, the Municipalidad Distrital de Inambari, EMAPAT, SUNASS, ACCA, WWF and others, who make up the Driving Group, have met to identify problems and prioritize strategies to address issues in the implementation of MERESE -H.

Some of the main difficulties identified are the lack of clarity in the execution of the fund, the absence of technical support, a complex budget, and the lack of awareness and oversight. As a solution, priority has been given to strengthening the partner's capacities of the Señor de la Cumbre Local Forest in sustainable economic activities, river cleaning techniques, and restoration of degraded areas with seedlings and materials for the maintenance of the site. In addition, searching other conservation modalities such as “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures” (OMEC) and Private Conservation Areas (ACPs) to seek the sustainability of the site.

At the meeting, Nemesio Darío Barrientos Ortiz, president of the Primavera Alta y Baja Aquaculture Association, stressed the need to strengthen the capacities of the communities near the local forest, involve more people and promote the control and monitoring of the properties to combat illegal activities. He also called for logistical support to protect taxpayers from threats affecting the territory.

In this type of mechanism, MERESE, local or Indigenous communities (contributors) partner to care for and conserve ecosystems such as forests and lagoons, while the retribution, who benefit from these ecosystem's conservation, invest to support these actions. Water and Sanitation Utilities, responsible for guaranteeing the supply of drinking water, can act as a channel of economic retribution for communities that protect water sources, such as the Señor de la Cumbre Local Forest Association, by financing conservation projects through the funds generated by MERESE.

At WWF Peru we are committed to mobilizing processes of change that allow us to sustainably manage nature with the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities. To promote these changes, we have defined five key strategies, conceived in a synergistic manner that seek to ensure the sustainable conservation of the landscapes where we intervene hand in hand and for the benefit of the population. This initiative contributes to the strategies Conservation Mechanisms for Connectivity and Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Communities Strengthened for the Conservation of their Resources and Territories. To learn more, please visit: https://www.wwf.org.pe/nuestro_trabajo/estrategias/

Connecting the Landscape for the Well-being of People and Nature

In Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, these actions are being carried out to conserve essential natural resources for all and build a future in which both people and nature thrive, within the framework of the project 'Connecting Landscape for the Well-being of People and Nature'.