Agrobiodiversity zones are geographical areas recognized for their richness in native and cultivated species, animals and breeds, and these species’ wild relatives. They are areas where indigenous peoples develop, manage and conserve these genetic resources of importance for their food security and that of the country. The recognition of agrobiodiversity zones is an important mechanism for highlighting the importance and promoting the in-situ conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity as a measure of adaptation to climate change for men and women farmers, which increases resilience and contributes to improving their living conditions.

The National Institute for Agricultural Innovation (INIA), an agency of the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), together with the technical assistance of the Andes Resilient to Climate Change project, has drafted three guides in Spanish and Quechua to convey in greater detail the steps that take place before, during and after the recognition of an agrobiodiversity zone.

These guides provide and standardize information on the process of applying for the recognition and management of agrobiodiversity zones; facilitate agile and efficient assessment, and encourage planning for the conservation of agrobiodiversity and agroecosystems.

The Guide for drafting technical files to apply for recognition as an agrobiodiversity zone includes information that clarifies who can draft these files, how they should be drafted, and the technical grounds that should support them.

The purpose of the Guide for assessing technical files in applications for recognition as agrobiodiversity zones is to provide important information for conducting an agile and objective assessment of the technical files submitted by peasant farmer and indigenous communities who are asking for their lands to be recognized as agrobiodiversity zones.

The guide includes and describes the criteria to be used for assessing the file. It also describes the field inspection and its importance, because the information gathered at that stage complements and supports the data in the technical file.

Finally, the Guide for Drafting Master Plans for Agrobiodiversity Zones covers issues regarding the communities and entities involved, and has guidelines for formulating a baseline as a starting-point for managing the lands recognized and proposals for drafting the master plan itself. It has a participatory approach, and the core and protagonists of the management are the indigenous peasant communities that have a real expectation that their lands will be recognized as agrobiodiversity zones.

Guides

In the face of these challenges, and in a context of climate change, Switzerland’s Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is promoting the Andes Resilient to Climate Change project, which is facilitated by the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation-Avina Foundation consortium. The project focuses on strengthening and connecting up the capacities of public and private stakeholders to provide services that improve the capacity for climate adaptation of rural Andean communities living in poverty and vulnerability, in order to improve their food and water security, and promotes joint action in the face of climate change in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

About Andes Resilient to Climate Change

The regional Andes Resilient to Climate Change project is promoted by Swiss Cooperation (SDC) and facilitated by the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation-Avina Foundation consortium, in partnership with the International Institute Sustainable Development (IISD) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Resilient Andes is part of SDC’s Global Climate Change and Environment Programme. Its first phase runs from May 2020 to April 2024.

For further information:
Brochure Regional Andes Resilient to Climate Change Project
FS Regional Andes Resilient to Climate Change Project
Facebook Andes Resilient to Climate Change Project
FS Strategic Plan for Peru – Regional Andes Resilient to Climate Change Project