Natural resource management improves in Cajamarca

Natural resource management improved significantly in Cajamarca (Peru) with the creation of ‘mesas de concertación’, a participatory governance structure.

The fragile natural environment in Cajamarca has suffered from centuries of neglect. Once covered with forest and rich topsoil, the hillsides surrounding Cajamarca formed part of an important watershed on which the whole region depended. But cattle farmers seeking to expand their pastures have chopped down forests and encroached on marginal lands. Native trees have all but disappeared, along with a wealth of biodiversity, leaving behind soil prone to erosion during heavy rains.

In 1992, a formal mechanism for inter-institutional coordination related to resource allocation and use was launched. The key instrument for coordinated planning is the ‘mesas de concertación’. These bring together different levels of government, district mayors, NGOs, the local mining company, and other business interests to discuss development priorities and negotiate a sustainable development plan, which is submitted to the mayor for approval.

This approach presents a unique working model of a more participatory and open approach to planning, one that defines sustainability and equity as central objectives.

ICLEI’s Local Agenda 21 (LA21) Campaign promotes a participatory, long-term, strategic planning process that supports local governance by identifying local sustainability priorities and mobilizing local governments and their citizens to implement long-term action plans that address these sustainable priorities. Using the LA21 approach of participatory sustainable development planning, ICLEI aims to assist local authorities to move beyond general sustainable development planning and to apply this approach in tackling areas of priority concern. For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/la21.

Cajamarca is one of 25 local governments in Latin America and the Caribbean that are Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. To learn more about ICLEI and its activities in the Latin American and Caribbean Region, please visit www.iclei.org/lacs.

Source: “Improving Natural Resource Management in Cajamarca, Peru”, IRDC Reports.