Practical Action to forge a sustainable future for the Andes Amazon region

Critical work in Peru and Ecuador will help nearly a third of a million people live sustainably, protect millions of hectares of pristine land and maintain vital biodiversity.

Over six years, Practical Action will work with partner organisations and local and national governments so that regenerative farming and sustainable livelihoods can flourish in this vital region.

It is part of a £100m programme of work announced by the UK Government at the UN General Assembly in 2019 in six environmentally critical landscapes across the globe.

Known as the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF), it will address the triple challenge of poverty, biodiversity loss, and the climate emergency. Practical Action will lead work in the Andes Amazon region in Peru and Ecuador.

The programme will focus on protecting ecosystems and the communities that rely on them by promoting sustainable livelihoods, strengthening local governance, empowering women, and enhancing climate resilience.

It will also ensure there is greater finance given to indigenous communities living in this vital landscape, so they can maintain the landscape in the way they want.

The problem

The planet is facing rapid climate change and unprecedented biodiversity loss. Global rates of extinction are higher than at any time over millions of years, and they are accelerating.

Around one in four plant and animal species are threatened by human activity. Hundreds of thousands of species face extinction. The destruction of tropical forests and other essential landscapes for agricultural and other uses is further contributing to climate change.

The Andes Amazon landscape is rich in biodiversity and cultural heritage. It covers more than eleven million hectares. It is home to countless species and a source of life and livelihood for nearly a million people, including seven distinct Amazonian indigenous groups.

The ecosystems contained within it include cloud forests and jungle mountains, Andean grasslands and tropical dry forests. It is a powerful carbon sink, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to stabilise the global climate.

However, this landscape is under threat. Climate change is altering weather patterns and increasing temperatures, putting pressure on all ecosystems within it. Unsustainable agricultural practices and illegal activities are accelerating deforestation and degrading the environment, even within protected areas. This not only endangers the region’s rich biodiversity but also undermines the well-being and futures of the communities who rely on these natural resources.

Environmental degradation goes hand-in-hand with social inequality, deepening the divide among local communities. Indigenous people, who have been living in these lands for generations, often find themselves sidelined in decision-making processes despite their invaluable knowledge and connection to the environment.

The solution

Practical Action will lead a consortium that brings together indigenous organisations, conservation organisations, development agencies and governments of Peru and Ecuador.

By adopting an approach that prioritises connecting local people with the land, we will focus the efforts of all key actors on a common goal of sustainable management and conservation. This consortium includes Nature and Culture International (NCI), Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Terra Nuova, and Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti (COSPE).

As a consortium, we will focus on three key outcomes:

1. Nature: Safeguarding and restoring natural ecosystems to slow, halt, or reverse biodiversity loss.
2. People: Investing in sustainable practices to create economic opportunities and strengthen community resilience, Indigenous rights protection, and governance of territories.
3. Climate: Mitigating climate change through innovative, nature-based solutions and sustainable land management practices.

Between 2024 and 2029 we will:

• protect biodiversity through regenerative farming methods,
• support better decision-making by working with key indigenous groups and existing government institutions
• promote gender equity by prioritising working with women and women’s groups
• enable key indigenous groups to secure millions of pounds of climate finance by improving their knowledge, structures and experience
• develop sustainable value chains with crops such as coffee, cacao, and banana.

By doing so, we will enable the Amazonian people to cut deforestation, prevent biodiversity loss, and enhance the resilience of both the environment and communities.

As the lead organisation, Practical Action is responsible for coordinating the project, securing additional funding, and ensuring our work leaves a lasting legacy.

Sarah Roberts, CEO of Practical Action, said:

“This is a crucial piece of work, not just for people living in and around areas of critical biodiversity but for all of us.

“Bringing together an approach which improves livelihoods and addresses the biodiversity and nature crisis is vital.

“The role of UK International Development in supporting long term change is hugely important and we are proud to be leading such a strong partnership, which places indigenous people at its heart in the Andes Amazon region.

“On my recent visit to the area I witnessed huge threats to these globally important forests, and the people who depend on them.

“I spent time with people we will be working with. They are already confronting these threats, and farming close to the forests. Together, we discussed mechanisms that could support long term sustainable livelihoods and conservation in the area.

 “We will work with farmers to enable them to get them the money they need to increase sustainable agroforestry. We will work with indigenous groups to support a range of sustainable bio-businesses and with all partners so they can on get financial support to protect nature, increase biodiversity and their climate resilience.”