Bridging gaps through public management and investment and the indigenous agenda in Peru
Indigenous peoples and local communities play a crucial role in nature conservation worldwide. ILO Convention 169, the main binding international treaty on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, has been ratified by Peru. It establishes the right of these peoples to maintain their cultures, institutions and ways of life, guaranteeing their active participation in any decision affecting their territories and lives.
However, significant challenges remain in Peru. The vast distances between many Amazonian communities, limited access to state services and support, and the scarcity of disaggregated data on their living conditions create gaps that hinder the allocation of public funds to improve their quality of life.
Against this backdrop, since 2024 WWF Peru has been implementing various initiatives, within the framework of the BLF Andes Amazon project, aimed at bringing the indigenous agenda closer to public administration and helping to bridge these gaps in the provinces of Condorcanqui and Bagua in the Amazonas Region and Datem del Marañón in the Loreto Region.
© Lenin Quevedo / WWF Peru
A first step was the conduct of an assessment that revealed some of the main institutional, technical and operational gaps that make it difficult for indigenous peoples to access the State’s Budget Programmes (PPs), notably:
- Legal uncertainty and lack of a legal framework. The Autonomous Territorial Governments (GTAs) established by indigenous peoples still face challenges in gaining full recognition within the institutional system, which limits their participation in coordination forums with the authorities.
- Limitations in institutional capacity. At regional and local levels, there is still scope to improve the way in which public services reach indigenous peoples, taking into account their territorial, cultural and organisational realities.
- Resources that do not always reach where they are most needed. They are not effectively targeted at their needs due to geographical dispersion and a lack of disaggregated data on the quality of life of indigenous peoples.
- Gaps in investment and planning. There is no investment aimed at closing the inequalities in indigenous territories.
- Difficulties in implementing rights. Despite progress in national legislation, the effective implementation of rights, such as land titling, territorial demarcation and prior consultation, remains a challenge.
© Gabriela Nolasco / WWF Peru
Based on this analysis, five budgetary programmes linked to ecosystem conservation, forest management, sustainable production and territorial development were identified as having the potential to generate synergies between the programmes’ objectives and the indigenous agenda: SERNAP’s PP 0057, PRODUCE’s 0094 and 0130, MIDAGRI’s 0121 and MINAM’s 0144. This helped to open up opportunities for dialogue and coordination between the authorities and indigenous organisations, such as the Awajún and Wampis Autonomous Territorial Governments.
Capacity building for public officials and indigenous leaders
An important aspect of the process of bridging the gaps is the strengthening of local capacities, which is why the School of Indigenous Governance and Amazonian Development (EGIDA) of AIDESEP and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), together with WWF Peru, developed specialised courses aimed at public officials and indigenous leaders for the formulation of public investment projects in the environmental sector with a focus on the sustainable use of biodiversity.
Leonidas Noningo, a member of the technical team of the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation (GTANW), highlights that “this first step in coordinating with indigenous organisations allows us, together with the Amazonas regional government, to design projects that will have an impact on the territory. We are in the communities, and coordinating real information will ensure that projects respond to the actual needs of indigenous peoples”.
Upon completing the specialised courses, civil servants have developed three public investment project concepts which they now aim to design as investment profiles to continue the process within the INVIERTE.PE system and subsequently consolidate their implementation in indigenous territories in the northern Amazon region of Peru.
“The progress made over these two years of work has enabled us to draw up a roadmap that begins with strengthening the GTAs in areas related to mechanisms for accessing sustainable financing from the State itself and international cooperation. The aim is to highlight the gaps and promote action to include the indigenous agenda in institutional planning,” says Walter Aguirre, a specialist at WWF Peru.
The power of coordination
WWF Peru highlights the institutional efforts of the Ministry of the Environment, the Amazonas Regional Government and indigenous organisations to identify ways of working together that bring public policies closer to context-appropriate mechanisms through conversation, dialogue and collaboration, thereby driving the development of the Amazon with an inclusive conservation approach.
These actions demonstrate that it is possible to drive participatory processes led by indigenous peoples, promoting both the protection of their rights and the improvement of their quality of life, with actions tailored to the reality of each Amazonian community.
© Ana María Pinedo
BLF Andes Amazon
The BLF Andes Amazon Project is funded by UK International Development through the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund and is implemented by a consortium led by Practical Action and comprising Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, AIDESEP, WWF, TERRA NUOVA and COSPE.
