Natural Infrastructure for Water Security Project (NIWS) Quarterly Report Q3 FY2022

The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Canada. NIWS celebrated the reactivation of Peru's MERESE programs and natural infrastructure investments with a high-level delegation visit to Moyobamba, the birthplace of MERESE programs, and the dissemination of the second NIWS project to reach implementation in the field, in Pusmalca, Piura. The project aims to improve water security and economic development in the region. The project has made significant progress in enabling the environment for natural infrastructure, including the establishment of a working group to develop a new public investment typology that would institutionalize the approach to invest in natural infrastructure to manage risks of extreme events like floods and landslides. NIWS also worked with SERFOR, ANA, and MINAM to develop a proposal to implement real consequences for violating existing laws related to wetland degradation. In addition, NIWS has been building the capacities of over 400 people, including regional government officials, agricultural extensionists, journalists, communicators, and local producers, through specialized training programs designed to sustain the emerging marketplace for natural infrastructure investments. The project has also trained 50 local water communicators through a partnership with ANA, focusing on strategies and techniques for communicating for impact. NIWS has also made significant progress in information management, producing valuable information and knowledge for decision-making on natural infrastructure for water security through prestigious peer-reviewed publications, innovative research, and a new cadre of young researchers focusing on natural infrastructure. The project has published several articles, including a new evapotranspiration dataset and accompanying scientific article produced by NIWS with Peru's national hydrometeorological service, SENAMHI, published in Scientific Data, a journal of Nature. The project has also made significant progress in natural infrastructure projects, with NIWS now managing a portfolio of over USD 328 M in natural infrastructure investments. Overall, 80% of the portfolio is in the most mature stages of project development (expediente técnico development and approval) before mobilization. The project has also celebrated the beginning of implementation of the second project in NIWS' portfolio to reach this important milestone, in Pusmalca, Piura, funded by the Regional Government of Piura. The project aims to stabilize soils and improve the regulation of water flows, increasing water availability in the dry season. Approximately 41,000 day wages will be paid to rural workers to implement the project, contributing to a green economic reactivation of the region. The project also aims to protect freshwater springs, install 4 nurseries, reforest 744 hectares of montane forest with native species, and train communities on forest management and control. Overall, NIWS has made significant progress in enabling the environment for natural infrastructure, building capacities, and implementing natural infrastructure projects in vulnerable watersheds. The project continues to work towards its objectives of improving water security and economic development in the region.