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EF-to-EF Mentorship program between Fondo Accion and Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust Fund (MMCT)

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This case study shares the experience of Fondo Accion (FA) in the implementation of two Payment of Environmental Services (PES) schemes in Colombia. The document is intended to share the lessons learned on these two PES experiences with Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) and other RedLAC and CAFÉ affiliate funds. Furthermore, it provides clear and relevant information about the favorable conditions for an efficient performance of this financial mechanism in the preservation of biodiversity and other environmental services, as well as about issues that may hinder its performance.

This case study analyses the interaction between MMCT and Fondo Accion while sharing the experience of two PES schemes in Colombia. One of them addresses hydric ecosystem services in one municipality in the Andean Region, San Vicente de Chucurí, where users of the ecosystem service (ES) make in-kind payments to the service providers. The other scheme is implemente d in several municipalities in seven different regions of the country, where the international community makes payments in cash to cattle farmers for two different ecosystem services: biodiversity conservation and carbon emission reduction.

Both Environmental Funds (EF) visited their counterpart home country, exchanged experiences in management and project development, and had a field trip to see the projects first hand, interact with operators and beneficiaries, and identify relevant lessons learned.
The main results from the PES analysis in Colombia show that the initiatives were promoted by a third party interested in the conservation of at least one ecosystem service and relied on international funds for their design and initial implementation. One important finding is that the sustainability of PES schemes is challenging. They require constant funding for a long period, and it is crucial to find different funding sources, identify the main demand for the environmental service and implement strat- egies to keep all the parties committed and motivated. They also rely on the constant presence of professionals at the local level, interacting periodically with the main stakeholders (users and providers of the ES), and –in the case of Fondo Accion initiatives– delivering technical assistance to guide the transformation of agro-ecosystems to increase their productivity and compensate for the land devoted to conservation and provision of relevant ES, according to a farm plan.
Category: #Behavior #Capacity Building #Case Studies #Mentorship #Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)