Ucayali Mission 2022 - EU and Amazonia 2.0

On August 9 and 10, 2022, the Amazonia 2.0 team accompanied the European Union delegation in Peru on a visit to the department of Ucayali.

The EU delegation included: Gaspar Frontini, Ambassador, Robert Steinlechner, Head of Cooperation and Tatiana García, Head of Environment and Climate Change - Cooperation Section. IUCN was represented by Gabriel Quijandría, Director of the Regional Office for South America and Braulio Buendía, Regional Coordinator of the Amazonia 2.0 project. ECO REDD, the organization implementing A2.0 in Peru, was also part of the mission.

Gaspar Frontini, Ambassador of the European Union in Peru - ORAU Headquarters

The activities of this joint mission began on August 9 at the institutional headquarters of ORAU. There, the EU delegation held a meeting with the Regional Organization of AIDESEP of Ucayali (ORAU), where they heard the voices of representatives of different communities about the current contexts, challenges, situation of the territories and indigenous rights.

That afternoon, a commemorative event for the International Day of Indigenous Peoples was held at the Manish Hotel, Pucallpa. The following people were part of the protocol table of the event: Berlin Rios (ORAU), Doris Novoa (ECO REDD), Noe Guadalupe (Regional Environmental Authority - GOREU), Américo Torres Uncino (President of the Superior Court of Justice), Susana Elisa Huamán Granados (Ucayali Ombudsman's Office) and Cleofaz Quintori (President of URPIA).

Protocol table, Indigenous Peoples' Day Event - Pucallpa

Representatives of the present organizations took part in the celebration and enjoyed artistic and cultural expressions of talents from the region, including Gasel with his "Rap del Veedor" (Monitor’s Rap). As part of the event, the Amazonia 2.0 team had a short intervention to mention the campaign #Countdown80x25, launched that same morning, through COICA's social networks. Likewise, Gabriel Quijandría, as Regional Director of IUCN, recognized URPIA as a new member of IUCN.

Rogelio Casique, Amazonia 2.0 monitor - Santa Rosa de Dinamarca

The mission continued on August 10 with a "Meeting of Indigenous Monitors and Defenders of Ucayali" in the Santa Rosa de Dinamarca Native Community. The meeting provided an opportunity to socialize experiences and proposals from indigenous monitors and defenders regarding territorial and community forest management. It also allowed to socialize the main contributions of the EU cooperation through projects. The interventions of Jesús Battistini and Rogelio Casique, URPIAA and CORPIAA monitors, trained thanks to the Amazonia 2.0 project, stood out.

The European Union Mission to Ucayali in Peru, together with IUCN and the Amazonia 2.0 project, was full of exchange of ideas, anecdotes and lessons, as well as cultural expressions and openness to dialogue. Visits like this strengthen inter-institutional relations, generating trust and credibility to continue working together with indigenous organizations on projects aimed at forest conservation and improving the quality of life of the communities. Generating spaces for interaction and empathy are key to the implementation of environmental and social initiatives such as those promoted by the European Union in Peru.

Watch the video that portrays the most important moments of this visit: