Strengthening capacity for fostering low-emission rural development in the Peruvian Amazon

• Peru contains the fourth largest area of tropical forest in the world and the second largest extent of the Amazon Forest
• Although Peru is still a “high forest cover, low deforestation” country, the deforestation rate is increasing. Agricultural, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) is the dominant GHG emissions sector, and deforestation accounts for more than 50% of national emissions
• The project focuses its interventions in six states where deforestation rates are higher and local authorities are committed to reducing deforestation using a science-based, low-emission rural development strategy as the main public policy to address this challenge
• The Amazonian Regional Commonwealth was a strategic partner for this project due to its potential to scale up local policies and build synergies and interchange of knowledge between authorities to reduce deforestation pressures on forests

The project successfully produced three main outputs to support the LED-R agenda across Peru and the wider region:

• Approval of six regional LED-R strategies created a strong roadmap to reduce deforestation, covering more than 85% of the Peruvian Amazon. The project scaled up these regional policies for public investment to leverage public resources to support activities considered in the strategies. This also included positive incentives for the transformation of the main drivers of deforestation and the adoption of more sustainable agriculture and forest-friendly practices. Three proposals for investment projects and public incentives were jointly designed with regional governments, alongside one guideline on including safeguards against deforestation and inclusion of LED-R activities in public investment portfolios at the regional level
• An interregional LED-R agenda was developed and approved by the Amazon Regional Commonwealth. This has supported a coordinated transition for deforestation-free agricultural production across the Amazon region
• A carbon market assessment and policy recommendation report was produced. This provided detailed information to regional governments on the potential trade-offs and opportunities of alternative mechanisms to monetise forest carbon emissions reduction and removal

These outputs were delivered in conjunction with capacity building on implementation and LED-R in collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). The training course was attended by over 150 officials from the six regions and was recognised as an official postgraduate course.

The project identified rural women as a key disadvantaged group as part of their initial GESI assessment. Throughout the delivery of their outputs, the project supported this group, and some key actions taken include:

• The team worked with rural women leaders to identify a plan for their active participation in the project
• A GESI specialist provided training to the project team and monitored the implementation of the GESI action plan
• GESI was built into the capacity building, policy design and project formulation activities
• Policy briefs, with feedback from rural women leaders, were prepared for decision-makers on how to improve the participation of rural women in nature-based solutions and local policies to reduce deforestation
• The project identified recommendations to improve the structure of LED-R Strategies' governance bodies that can ensure equal representation of rural women to hear and address their concerns over time
• Workshops were held with women representatives of indigenous groups and women representatives dedicated to family agriculture (coffee, camu camu, sugar cane, cacao, and derivatives), known as entrepreneurs. These groups are directly threatened by deforestation due to their close reliance on forests for livelihoods. They also have important roles to play in the conservation and restoration of forests. Therefore, the project recommends official recognition by authorities of their role as caretakers and/or ‘reforesters’

The project provides the context for the implementation of policies and programmes that seek to promote forest and biodiversity conservation, increase the competitiveness of deforestation-free agriculture, and reduce the inclusion gaps that limit the full development of disadvantaged groups in the rural areas of the Peruvian Amazon. Some key recommendations include:

• Leadership at the regional level needs to be promoted and strengthened. This can be done through capacity-building tools in public management, the design of sustainable public investment portfolios with deforestation-free safeguards, and GESI at a transformative level. This could also be supported by increasing science-based knowledge to reduce deforestation and promote low-emission rural development
• It’s important to strengthen the capacities of key actors, such as rural women and indigenous peoples, to design and implement public policies to reduce deforestation. During the focus groups conducted by the project, these actors expressed their interest in improving these capacities to achieve a better impact and positioning of the indigenous agenda and gender inclusion in the Peruvian Amazon