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Displaying 3161 - 3170 of 6948Sustainable Landscape Program in the Paraguayan Chaco
General
In the Irala Fernandez District, in the dry Chaco region of Paraguay, we have been working together with the municipality, the Ministry of Agriculture, a national research institute, the three major dairy cooperatives, and three indigenous communities to improve production of food crops, enhance land management through silvopastoral grazing schemes, and increase the communities’ climate resilience. The latter is important to deal with prolonged periods of droughts as well as severe flooding, increasingly common in this region. The establishment of a MSP was key to this end, in order to bring actors together, define priorities and identify corresponding action plans. Through the MSP we engaged vulnerable groups, which had the opportunity to make their needs heard and we supported them to prioritize actionable plans. Through this process we have learned that building trust takes a long time and stakeholders need to be involved in every step of the way, from the planning to the execution of the solution, because this gives them a sense of belonging and creates an environment of shared development. At the start of the programme the Mennonite cooperatives and the Paraguayan cooperatives were not on speaking terms, and also the leadership of indigenous communities were reluctant to join the MSP. By investing in a preparatory stage of bilateral meetings with stakeholders, Solidaridad could understand their respective challenges and gain credibility as a trusted partner. In addition, to overcome the hesitation of stakeholders at the start, continuous efforts were made to ensure all actors remained on board. For the indigenous communities, this platform offered the opportunity to co-design and implement solutions to address their main needs, opened a communication channel with the local authorities and successfully engaged with local business. As a result of the joint work, sesame production was introduced as a viable option for income generation in these communities. School orchards were introduced to tackle food insecurity, and water reservoirs were built to collect rain water and facilitate the access during drought periods. The dairy production system in the region was also transformed by the introduction of Climate Smart Practices linked to a Technical Assistance Scheme, reaching 430 producers in 12,900 hectares. Productivity levels increased, the quality of milk improved and dairy producers have become more resilient to the extreme weather events, typical of this region. A major result of the project was that producers have gained better access to credit from the Crédito Agrícola de Habilitación CAH (agricultural finance provider), because we supported CAH to close the information gap and helped them to introduce improved (business) data management systems that is used to de-risk loans. The CAH disbursed around €200,000 in soft loans, thanks to which producers were able to buy new livestock, hay, and invest in silage, water reservoirs, and resizing of paddocks. The work with the CAH triggered the interest of other financial institutions that were initially reluctant to invest in small producers because they were perceived to be of high risk. Solidaridad helped to close the information gap, effectively connecting producers with finance. We see clear signals of scaling up after the project's end: the State government is assisting other dairy producers and indigenous communities. 377 dairy producers in the region have started to replicate the better dairy production practices via their cooperatives, inspired by the positive outcomes from the pilot farms.
Working Landscape Indonesia
General
Introduction Ketapang and Kayong Utara are adjacent districts, covering 3,500,000 hectares in the province of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Over the past 20 years, the landscape in Ketapang and Kayong Utara (referred to as the K-KU landscape below), has experienced massive degradation, mostly due to the expansion of oil palm monoculture plantations on forested lands, including peatlands. Conversion and degradation of peatlands is particularly problematic, because of their high carbon content and susceptibility to fire. Peat fires present a significant source of CO2 emissions and haze. The area under independent smallholder oil palm plantations has also increased rapidly and this presents additional challenges in the landscape, due to uncontrolled growth and unsustainable practices. Overall, oil palm expansion has led to conversion, degradation and fragmentation of forests, with severe consequences for biodiversity, including the endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii). Natural resource governance in both districts is poor, and existing policies, regulations and multi-stakeholder processes do not function effectively. The participation of local communities in land-use decision making processes is limited. Like in many areas in Indonesia, unclear land tenure contributes to poor landscape governance; many communities experience tenure insecurity, and conflicts over tenure are common. The K-KU landscape reflects what is happening in many other parts of Indonesia; poor governance allows for the establishment of large-scale oil palm plantations at the expense of forest and peat areas, followed by uncontrolled expansion of smallholders. Through our work in partnership with various landscape actors, we aim to contribute to a climate smart K-KU landscape, while also providing a model of climate-smart landscape development that can be applied in other areas of Indonesia. We envision a climate smart K-KU landscape, where deforestation is halted, degraded peatlands are restored and managed sustainably, and the remaining patches of forest are connected by ecological corridors. Smallholders maintain or adopt agroforestry practices, using indigenous species for wet or rewetted peatlands. Oil palm plantations, both large-scale and small-scale, are governed under zero-deforestation principles and are managed sustainably. Land-use planning and decision making are based on participatory, inclusive and bottom-up processes, and consistently promote climate-smart approaches. Facilities such as well functioning Village Business Units effectively support Smallholder farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for their climate-smart practices and practices that promote trees in the landscape.
Objectives
Building on promising local initiatives we will develop models for improved practices in the K-KU landscape, providing options for local stakeholders to achieve a climate-smart landscape. Simultaneously, we will develop joint efforts with actors and organizations at the sub-national and national level, to improve policies and regulations, mainstreaming and upscaling the models. In the programme, we will work on three main pathways to achieve climate-smart landscapes. 1. First, the way oil palm estates are integrated in the broader landscape must improve and their contribution to deforestation must stop. We will demonstrate that oil palm plantations can be combined with effective protection and connection of High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) areas. 2. Second, further degradation of peatlands must be stopped and reversed, through the effective community-based protection and sustainable management of peatland areas. This requires income-earning models that link peatland conservation and restoration with sustainable development. Villages and communities need to be supported to protect carbon stocks under the Indonesian NDC, and to use the income as incentive to strengthen community-based peat-swamp forest protection and peatland-adapted agriculture, where local men and women farmers adopt wet-peatland species to restore degraded peatland areas. 3. Third, land use by local communities (small-scale oil palm plantations, agroforests, community forests) should not cause further degradation, and new livelihood options should be developed through sustainable management and restoration.
Securing land rights of Quilombola communities and increasing their civic participation in Maranhao
General
Landrechtesicherung und Vertretung der Interessen von Quilombola-Gemeinden im Bundesstaat Maranhão
Objectives
Landrechtesicherung und Vertretung der Interessen von Quilombola-Gemeinden im Bundesstaat Maranhão
Improving urban poor settlements' access to tenure security and land rights in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
General
Förderung der Selbsthilfe von Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen armer Stadtviertel in Phnom Penh, die von Land- und Wohnraumfragen betroffen sind
Objectives
Förderung der Selbsthilfe von Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen armer Stadtviertel in Phnom Penh, die von Land- und Wohnraumfragen betroffen sind