- The first National Congress for the Exchange of Experiences between Regional Conservation Areas culminated with the signing of the Cordillera Escalera Declaration, in which representatives of the RCAs and various civil society actors committed themselves to a series of actions focused on facing current and future challenges in the management of these areas.
- An agreement was also signed between Sernanp and the National Assembly of Regional Governments, focused on working to strengthen natural protected areas, especially RCAs.
For two days, the city of Tarapoto, in San Martin, hosted the first National Congress for the Exchange of Experiences between Regional Conservation Areas (RCAs). An unprecedented event in the history of their management, bringing together governors, officials, representatives of the RCAs of 19 departments of the country, and civil society actors, who agreed to form a national network of regional conservation areas.
This first RCA congress, organized by the Regional Government of San Martin, brought together more than 150 authorities and specialists from other natural protected areas across the country, who shared their experiences and reflected on opportunities to strengthen their work, and how to better face current and future challenges in conservation.
“The regional conservation areas help boost productive conservation, improving the income of the communities. RCAs are a great opportunity for this,’ said Edgardo Marthans, representative of the General Direction of Biological Diversity of the Ministry of Environment (Minam), at the opening of the congress.
Werner Salcedo, governor of Cusco and current president of the National Assembly of Regional Governments (ANGR), participated alongside José Carlos Nieto, head of the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), who together, signed an inter-institutional cooperation agreement to implement actions aimed at guaranteeing biodiversity conservation and the sustainable development of protected natural areas, especially in RCAs.
Challenges and steps for the establishment of new regional conservation areas; conservation agreements; sustainable use of natural resources in RCAs and challenges for the financial sustainability of RCAs were addressed. In addition, input was provided for the Master Plan and a roadmap for the management of RCAs was drawn up, which will serve as input to the work plan of the National Network of Regional Conservation Areas.
Regarding financial sustainability for the RCAs, Javier Sinti, from the Huallaga Central and Bajo Mayo, indicated that they should ‘aim for financial sustainability, in order to, for example, continue hiring more park rangers” and cover other needs of the regional conservation areas.
Communities as allies
Working with plans focused on achieving financial sustainability, maintaining the articulation between actors involved in the management of these areas at the national level, and generating better conditions and opportunities for the participation of the communities, were some of the common reflections throughout the congress.
‘The ideal management model for the areas must be participatory, in which all actors are involved,’ said Gustavo Montoya, representative of the Cordillera Azul National Park. Margarita Medina, representative of the Andes Amazon Fund, agreed with this, highlighting the importance of community vigilance, indicating that ‘the communities surrounding (the RCAs) are the best allies to ensure this task’. For her part, Silvana Baldovino, director of the Biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples Program of the SPDA (Peruvian Society of Environmental Law), emphasized that ‘the more communities are involved, the more successful the management of the areas will be’.
National network of regional conservation areas
A reflection that was constantly repeated at the congress was the need to maintain constant coordination between the management of all the RCAs in the country, as a way to guarantee continuous learning from the different experiences, and to jointly devise possible solutions to the challenges they face.
Luis Alfaro, coordinator of Sernanp's Natural Heritage of Peru Initiative, raised this need during the panel ‘Benefits and Opportunities for the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Regional Conservation Areas’. “A network of regional conservation areas should be formed for a constant exchange of experiences”, he said.
Luis Espinel Cuba, executive director of Conservation International, agreed with this proposal, pointing out that there is a ‘lack of communication or an exchange network’ for RCAs. In this sense, he highlighted the importance of spaces such as this RCA congress because it allows them to learn from the experiences of others.
All the reflections made during the two days, by the representatives of the RCAs at the national level, national and international technical cooperation and various civil society actors, were drafted in the Cordillera Escalera Declaration. In this document they agree to create a national network of regional conservation areas, foster exchanges, and join efforts towards building stronger management. They also put forward proposals for financial sustainability, capacity building, and the active participation of the population close to the regional conservation areas in their management.
The Fact:
- During the congress it was agreed that the second congress of regional conservation areas will be held in Cajamarca in 2025.