Environment Peace Initiative for Colombia (EPIC) REPORTE Q3FY2016

The project, which began in 2013 and is set to conclude in 2020, is implemented by FAAN - Fondo Acción, with funding from USAID. In Caquetá, the project focuses on consolidating bio-cultural corridors in the Piedemonte Andino Amazónico region, specifically in the areas of Belén de los Andaquíes and San José del Fragua. The project also aims to establish reduced deforestation and sustainable resource management zones in the municipalities of Solano and Cartagena de Chairá. To achieve this, the project implements strategies for generating sustainable community-based income, improving the livelihoods and well-being of rural communities, and supporting public and community governance arrangements. In the Pacific region, the project focuses on completing milestones associated with the verification of eight REDD+ projects. The project supports community governance agreements, strengthens and capacitates leaders and teams in 19 organizations (Afro-Colombian and indigenous), and completes specific requirements leading to the verification of REDD+ projects in the BioREDD+ Pacific portfolio. During the third quarter of 2016, the project continued to increase direct landscape transformation actions in the Corredor Fragua-Churumbelos (CFC) area. Through 221 technical assistance visits, the project implemented interventions such as the creation of 4,777.5 meters of isolation for quebradas and rivers, 7,598 meters of productive trails, and 1,110 meters of living fences. The project also mapped and coordinated with the community the creation of four new connectivity corridors in the CFC area, which were accompanied by technical assistance. Additionally, the project initiated the delivery of inputs and materials to beneficiary families in Solano, with a total of 73 families receiving deliveries in the three rural nuclei. In Cartagena del Chairá, the project conducted eight socialization sessions in the seven prioritized veredas and the Puerto Camelias caserío, designating a community vigilance group and coordinating with the communal action councils to schedule the baseline survey and verification of 56 pre-selected families. In the Pacific region, the project selected 265 families to implement productive and conservation alternatives, following a protocol that includes social, environmental, and productive criteria. The project also contracted four agro-pastoral technicians and two specialized consultant teams to provide technical assistance to the families, as well as a coordinator for productive linkages in Bogotá to facilitate connections with potential markets and investors. In the Naidí product line, the project advised Naidí del Pacífico S.A.S on a restructuring and adjustment of its statutes, which were accepted by the company and are currently being registered with the Chamber of Commerce. The project also designed a pilot test to adjust the business model, defining the needs for technical accompaniment and socializing the design with interested families.