Project 12/12: Veneto region (Italy) – four municipalities in Bolivia

For the second time, PLATFORMA has decided to reward the best city-to-city and region-to-region international cooperation projects. Twelve projects have been shortlisted out of 26 applications. Every day, we are presenting one new project (sorted by alphabetical order). Last but not least, this is how the Veneto region in Italy is presenting its partnership with several municipalities in Bolivia on the project AYLLUS: Biodiversity and agroforestry vocation as means to face poverty, intensive exploitation of natural resources and climate change in the indigenous communities in Bolivia.

«A cooperation project between Veneto Region in Italy and the Bolivian Municipalities of San Javier (Dipartimento del Beni), Baures (GAMB Dipartimento del Beni), Puerto Gonzalo Moreno (GAMPGM Dipartimento del Pando), Puerto Rico (GAMPR Dipartimento del Pando).

Moving from the risk factors for the sustainability of two Departments of the Bolivian Amazonia, Beni and Pando (the poverty of indigenous resident communities and the lack of employment opportunities, intensive exploitation of natural resources that puts biodiversity, climate change, at serious risk due to drought and forest fires), the project intends to invest in the potential of the area (biodiversity and agroforestry vocation) through forest products with greater potential such as wild Cocoa, asai, majo and tamarind.

These productions, due to their nutritional capacity, are able to favor food safety of local populations. These are relatively new production chains within the territory of the Bolivian Amazonia, which require integrated intervention so that the benefits are shared equally among all the actors involved, in particular the indigenous peasant communities.

To increase production and productivity, while maintaining agriculture at family level through the promotion of Agro Forestry Systems (SAF). In fact, the SAFs allow sustainable management of natural resources and territory, by enhancing their potential, by contributing to food security and improving the living conditions of the populations thanks to a diversification of production and the creation of a marketable production surplus.

The project is focused on young people and women, with an active role in the SAF, as they are the protagonists of change.

Direct beneficiaries:

– 902 families devoting themselves to forest management and SAF implementation;

– 844 young people and 1734 unemployed or underemployed women, who will collaborate more permanently with producer groups;

– 11 associations of agroforestry producers;

– 11 municipal governments in the area of intervention;

– the 18 basic indigenous and civil society organizations that prove to be the most active ones as for dialogue with institutions;

Indirect beneficiaries:

– All the induced production and all the actors of the supply chains that will be supported most (cocoa and asaì);

– The other levels of government with competences in the field of economic, rural and environmental development (Departments of Beni and Pando and Central Government);

– The families of the 43 indigenous communities in the intervention area;

– Neighboring communities that can replicate the good practices experimented with the project;

– Associations of Amazonian producers who will be able to benefit from the good practices and the studies carried out within the project;

– The families of urban areas who will consume the products marketed by the associations and the informed, sensitized consumers, thanks to the campaigns promoted by the project (around 1500 families in the South Amazonia, and 1800 in the north);

– The 10,000 estimated recipients of forest protection campaigns and consumption of local products deriving from the SAF production increase.»