GEF Medium-Sized Project on Biodiversity Rich Sacred Natural Sites

Coordinator: Gonzalo Oviedo, Social Policy Advisor, IUCN Secretariat

Status: The project is currently closed but a first assesment phase of this project has been completed.

Description:

UNEP and GEF have approved funding for the development phase of the project Conservation of Biodiversity Rich Sacred Natural Sites of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples, proposed by IUCN and the Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation (FRMT).

The project aims to create a strengthened enabling environment to support conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity of sacred sites of indigenous and traditional peoples in developing countries. The project proposes that sacred natural sites of indigenous and traditional peoples of the world be recognized as an integral part of protected area networks, and thus receive the necessary support for their effective protection and management.  The project has global scope but works at the national-level for learning and field testing in Latin America (Mexico, Ecuador, Peru) and Africa (Kenya and Guinea-Bissau).  The Project’s major components are awareness, knowledge and documentation, policy development, capacity building, and local conservation interventions.

The project development phase will be executed jointly by IUCN (through the Central American Office, Headquarters, and the WCPA CSVPA Task Force), and the FRMT.  Other international partners that will be invited to join the project include the International Indigenous Initiative for Peace, UNESCO, The Nature Conservancy, WWF and the World Bank.  At the national level, key players will be organizations representing indigenous and traditional peoples, such as the “Quechua-Aymara Association for Sustainable Livelihoods” of Peru and the Mexico branch of Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation, as well as governmental protected area agencies.  The technical work for the project development phase is coordinated by the Culturas Vivas (Living Cultures) Foundation from Mexico.   

Deliverable, 2005:  A detailed project proposal, developed through a fully participatory process, for submission to UNEP/GEF.