The Biocorredor Martin Sagrado REDD+ Project aims to address deforestation and its resulting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the Huayabamba river watershed, in the Department of San Martin, Peru. The project’s main objective is to protect the remaining areas of primary forests in Huayabamba watershed, hosting high conservation value ecosystems, and providing multiple ecosystem services for the populations living in the buffer areas around the forests. In particular the forests there host multiple water sources, vital for the populations’ livelihood and agriculture. The project seeks to protect these exceptional ecosystems, while improving the quality of life of the families that live in these areas and depend upon forest resources and services.
The project started in January 2010 at the initiative of PUR Projet, Acopagro cooperative, APROBOC, APAP, APAPMASAR, and APAHUI associations, the latter 3 deciding to gather (along with Oro Verde cooperative) to create, at PUR Projet’s initiative, the “Fundacion Amazonia Viva”, a non-profit democratic organization aiming to coordinate the community activities and projects in favor of community reforestation and conservation in San Martin region. The REDD+ project started as a complementary strategy to the “Alto Huayabamba” community reforestation project, implemented by Acopagro cooperative since 2008 with PUR Projet support, with more than 2,200,000 trees planted by more than 1800 farmers before the end of 2014.
The REDD+ project initially started with the protection of 3 concessions for conservation (El Breo, Martin Sagrado, Montecristo, owned by community associations and cooperatives) over a total area of 384 000 hectares of forest at the heart of Huayabamba watershed, but with a broader and long-term vision to involve all communities in the Huayabamba watershed (over an area close to 2 million hectares) in the sustainable management of their watershed and remaining forests.
The project supported communities in creating democratic organizations (mostly associations) and claiming concessions for conservation, for the populations to sustainably manage and conserve their own forests area. As a result of this large-scale and participative project strategy, more communities wished to join the project and were supported by the project to claim their own area of conservation, with 16 new concessions owned and managed by community associations and organizations, covering 159 785 hectares, already attributed or in the process of being attributed.
The project supports sustainable forest management, agroforestry, non-timber economic activities and livelihood development in the area of influence of the project. The project aims to create long-term diversified income streams that will directly enhance household livelihoods and natural resource management capacity. The project supports rural communities in developing a range of livelihood activities including non-timber forest products, improved agroforestry activities and productivity intensification, community-based ecotourism infrastructure, as well as other economic, social, cultural and environmental activities. The project also helps communities to implement the measures necessary to control and monitor deforestation within the project area, enforce the law.
In 2016, the Biocorredor Martin Sagrado REDD+ project enters a new level of international recognition, with the registration of the surrounding area as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. It covers 2 million hectares, including the REDD+ project zone, the Rio Abiseo National Park and all the buffer zones where communities live, which marks the recognition of the project as a model for community and sustainable management. For the local farmers, who have fully designed and managed the project from the beginning, it is a great pride to see that their efforts and their project are acknowledged at an international level.”
KEY MILESTONES
2008 : Start of the Alto Huayabamba reforestation program in Santa Rosa, with the fair trade and organic cocoa farmers of ACOPAGRO coopertive. Plantation of 20,000 trees.
2009 : Start of a second reforestation program in San Martin, with the fair trade and organic coffee farmers of ORO VERDE cooperative. Plantation of 20,000 trees.
2010 : Start of the REDD+ Biocorredor Martin Sagrado project to preserve 400,000 ha of primary forests. The project started with the protection of El Breo concessions on 100,000 has owned by the Dos de Mayo village association.
2011 : Creation of the Fundavi. Marion Cotillard sponsors the project.
2012 : VCS certification (Voluntary Carbon Standard) of the Alto Huayabamba project
2014 : VCS and CCBA certification of the REDD+ Biocorredor Martin Sagrado project (300 000 ha).
2015 : Bertrand Badre (World Bank’s CFO) sponsors the project.
2015 : VCS certification of the Jubilacion Segura project.
2015 : Registration of the whole area under the “Bosque Modelo / Model Forest” network in 2014 « Bosque Modelo Rio Huayabamba / Abiseo », including the Biocorredor Martin Sagrado, Alto Huayabamba and Jubilacion Segura project areas (800,000 ha)
2016 : Registration of a 2.4 million-hectare area as a Biosphere Reserve at UNESCO spread across 3 regions (San Martin, La Libertad, Amazonas), including all project areas. Gran Pajatén is the 5th Biosphere Reserve registered in Peru.
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The CCBA is a standard promoting land management activities that significantly mitigate global climate change, improve the well-being and reduce the poverty of local communities, and conserve biodiversity.
The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) is a quality standard for voluntary carbon offset industry. Based on the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, VCS establishes criteria for validating, measuring, and monitoring carbon offset projects.
