Forest Alliance

(Peru): The purpose of USAID's Forest Alliance activity is to support the conservation and sustainable management of indigenous community forests in the region of Ucayali. USAID is working with seven indigenous communities located in forest landscapes in the Peruvian Amazon Region of Ucayali. The activity will support the restoration of degraded lands and scale-up an innovative Community Forest Management (CFM) model. This model is designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions and to improve Indigenous Peoples livelihoods in the Peruvian Amazon. The activity will promote private sector engagement in forest activities, securing indigenous peoples' rights and promoting the sustainable management of natural resources..In FY20, USAID will provide training and technical assistance in the seven communities and geo-referencing of their lands to support community forest control and surveillance committees, thus preventing land conflicts. To improve indigenous livelihoods through sustainable businesses, USAID will strengthen capacities for sustainable production of non-timber forest products, sustainable logging and monitoring, and commercial forest plantations and agroforestry. USAID will also support the communities in business management through the enhancement of Nii Biri (a forest based business initiative run by indigenous communities). Training will include women artisans on textile handcrafting techniques, a shiringa (latex) business plan, sustainable logging, and the installation of 160 hectares of cocoa in five communities. .USAID will establish a roadmap towards the CFM model transfer and identify opportunities for scaling up with the Ucayali Regional Government and the National Program for Forest Conservation in the Ministry of Environment - supporting the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) outcomes of the Forest Alliance activity and informing similar CFM platforms..