Quarterly Performance Report, Mercy Corps, January – March 2013: Resolution of Land and Natural Resources Conflicts in Colombia

The project's closing plan was made at the beginning of the January to March 2013 period, and a transitional phase was being prepared with Mercy Corps local partner, the Greater Communitarian Councils of Black Communities (COCOMACIA). Community leaders in Darien and Quibdó were implementing mediation techniques and principles of the Person to Person (PP) approach to solve the conflicts faced by the communities. A training process was conducted to understand the typologies of property informality with ten women of COCOMACIA's gender commission in Quibdó. The objective of this activity was to identify, with the Women of the Gender Commission of Cocomacia, the formalization routes in accordance with the type of property informality. The project achieved several key indicators, including the resolution of 133 previously existing land and natural resources conflicts in areas receiving USG assistance for mitigation of land conflicts. Additionally, 171 users were registered in the RedTierras system, and 48 households obtained property rights as a result of USG assistance. The project also established or strengthened four peace building structures that engage conflict-affected citizens in peace and reconciliation processes. The project's activities and results were focused on strengthening the capacity of Ethnic Afro-Colombian communities to manage conflicts peacefully within and between communities. The project's results included the implementation of mediation techniques and principles of the Person to Person (PP) approach, the formalization of property rights, and the establishment of peace building structures. The project also conducted a field tour to evaluate the advancements of the process and prepare the title delivery with the 165 women beneficiaries of the formalization strategy. The project's geographic focus was on the Darien and Quibdó, Choco regions of Colombia, and the project's timeframes were from January to March 2013. The project's recommendations included the continuation of the project's activities and the strengthening of the capacity of Ethnic Afro-Colombian communities to manage conflicts peacefully within and between communities.