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Sustainable Land Use in Water Catchment Areas in the AndesProgramme description
Title: Sustainable Land Use in Water Catchment Areas in the Andes (Cuencas Andinas)
Context
Natural resources in the highlands of the Andes are being degraded. Deforestation, overgrazing and the laying out of fields on steep slopes lead to soil erosion and low soil fertility. The population is sinking into poverty. National projects and programmes cannot cope with this transboundary problem on their own. ObjectiveIn eight locations in rural regions of the Andes, soil use in water catchment areas has been improved through innovative land use methods that are consistent with sustainable development. In this way, the economic foundation for small-scale farms is being stabilised and degradation lessened in Andean ecosystems. ApproachThe project works on a transboundary basis in water catchment areas in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. It links local development organisations in the Andean region together in networks and supports organised knowledge management for experience exchange and problem solving through synergies. Biophysical, socio-economic analyses and awareness of the roles and tasks of the participating institutions in the individual water catchment areas are key factors in the creation of strategies to promote investment, reform institutions and set up advisory services. Specialists, managers, technicians and scientists from municipalities and NGOs are trained in issues touching on water catchment area management and in the principles of sustainable development. The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecoregión Andina (CONDESAN) and the Latin American training and upgrading network Red de Instituciones Vinculadas a la Capacitación en Economía y Políticas Agrícolas en América Latina y el Caribe (REDCAPA). In May of 2006, a correspondence course was begun in the field of integrated water catchment area management. It is offered in cooperation with REDCAPA and the Peruvian agricultural university La Molina in the form of an e-learning course on REDCAPA’s Internet platform. In addition to the modules on theory, the course includes a practice phase in the project’s water catchment areas (blended learning). Wirkung – Was bisher erreicht wurdePaid environmental services were established in three locations, and the effectiveness and popular acceptance of the advisory services were assessed. Training / upgrading events were held in three countries, and a curriculum was created for advanced study and research in water catchment area management in the Andes countries. The intensive cooperation between institutions and actors in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia has led to a regular exchange of experience and information and to the harmonisation of concepts on the subject of integrated water catchment area management. The project’s analyses of water catchment areas serve as a basis for decision-making on policy formulation and investment planning. The project’s advisory services are in demand on the local, national and regional levels. The project serves as the region’s central coordinator for the development and dissemination of approaches involving payments for environmental services. 
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