“Pan-amazon integration is vital”

Sigrid Vásconez is a sociologist who for more than 15 years has devoted herself to environmental issues in civil society organizations, in Ecuador. Among other duties, she was director of the Fundo Ambiental Nacional, coordinator of the Plano Verde initiative at Pachamama Foundation, and now is director of Environment and Society for Group FARO. Professor at Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais (FLACSO Ecuador), she has been invited by OEcoAmazonia to present the ARA (Articulação Regional Amazônica), a strategy created in 2007, with the support of the AVINA Foundation, which has allowed the implementation of actions focused on sustainable development and conservation of the Amazon in an integrated way so far by six of the nine countries responsible for the largest rainforest in the world.

In almost four years of existence, ARA was able to articulate 34 organizations from different sectors of civil society and has formed important working groups as the one monitoring fire in Amazonia, apart from the ones focused on REDD+ projects. Everyday ARA celebrates a new success, but still aims to consolidate itself with governance structure that allows long-term sustainability and the achievement of a higher position in the political debate about the future of Amazonia. In mid-2011, a piece of news: ARA will launch an unpublished report on how is Amazon according to the Millennium Development Goals. Check out the full interview below.

How did you start working with ARA?

SV: I was contacted by AVINA Foundation in 2008. I was coordinating the Plano Verde initiative with Pachamama Foundation, a proposal to hinder the expansion of the oil frontier to the center-south of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Much of my career was built in the Ecuadorian Amazon, both in the east, especially around Parque Nacional de Yasuní, as in the South of Ecuador. Because of my trajectory, I had the opportunity to get to know the ARA and started working to consolidate the strategy nationally. Today, the ARA Ecuador has more than 11 organizations.

How did it all begin? Who had the idea to create the ARA?

SV: In the last trimester of 2007, leaders of civil society organizations who worked in the Amazon basin gathered in São Paulo with the support of the AVINA Foundation and agreed to establish the ARA – a regional network with offices in each of the countries that constitute Amazonia. The purpose of the ARA is to join efforts to stop deforestation in the region and to promote sustainable handling. In a special way, the agreement was to manage a pan-amazon vision to stop deforestation generating regional knowledge, facilitating the Exchange and influence in public politics. Three overriding lines of work were determined: Transparency and forest governance; New Forest Economy and Cultural Increase in Value. Currently, is part of the ARA: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, six of the nine countries that form the Amazon basin.
 
How were chosen the organizations that joined ARA?

SV: The work done by AVINA Foundation helped us identify leaders and organizations that share this vision of generating a pan-amazon network. Then, national offices were created – the National ARAs. Little by little, they started inviting other entities, the business sector, research institutions and universities to become part of this network. Since 2008-2009, each National ARA established governance mechanisms to incorporate members and allies, always making sure that its participants share the principles of plurality, exchange and sustainability.

How is the everyday work of the organizations that are part of the ARA?

SV: Regionally, the work of the network is based on the objectives established in the work plan for the year. The same happens in each National ARA. They are free to formulate their own plan of activities according to the needs and opportunities of each country. The work plan of the Regional ARA is prepared after a meeting between the members of the Direction Committee – which are representatives of each National ARA – and is coordinated by a Technical Secretary. This plan defines priority actions, currently put in practice by work groups.

And which are the priority areas of action of the ARA today?

SV: In the context of New Economy for the Forest we have a group about Climate Changes and Environmental Services, based on the opportunities and challenges of projects of REDD (Redução de Emissões de Desmatamento e Degradação) and also a group about fire. When it comes to Forest Transparency, there is a third work group that writes a few national reports and one regional report about the condition of the Amazon in relation to the Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio (ODM) proposed by the United Nations. A fourth work group, led by the Secretaria Executiva (SE) and the Comitê Diretivo of the ARA, seeks to strengthen and consolidate the governance structure and decision-making of the network (Governance Group).

The diversified groups probably enjoy this amazing exchange of experiences between the Amazon countries. Do you pay special attention to those exchanges of experiences?

SV: Yes. There is an Exchange of Experiences Fund which channels resources from the main allies of the Regional ARA (AVINA Foundation and Skoll Foundation) so that the members of the ARAs can define activities to be undertaken during the year regarding interchange and knowledge. This is a way to generate new capabilities and opportunities for us to grow as a network. Since 2009, the fund has allowed the accomplishment of more than 10 interchanges, such as the participation in a REDD course, organized by IDESAM, in Manaus; a strategic meeting between ISA, GAIA and Wataniba to consolidate the 2030 vision of the northwest of the Amazon and the role of Canoa; a communication course for journalists at Tiputini Scientific Station, at Parque Nacional Yasuni, in Ecuador; the participation in the Plenary of the Sustainable Amazon Forum, among others.

What is the network relation with the governments and public institutions in the Amazon countries?

SV: The purpose of the Regional ARA is to influence public policies in governments that are part of the Amazon basin. In some cases, such as in ARA Colombia, the government - through the National Institute of Parks - is part of the network. However, each National ARA has autonomy and composition in their organization to incorporate flexibility in the approach strategies to government entities. In the case of Ecuador, the ARA supported the Ministry of Environment in the mapping of actors to be involved in the National Strategy REDD+, and thus contribute to their design and possible implementation could be more participatory.

What motivates you to work with the ARA?

SV: The problems of Amazon will not be solved by thinking nationally. The handling of the basin goes beyond borders. So, it is vital to work in a pan-Amazon initiative, as we share the same challenges. The governments don’t consider the Amazon a place in need of coherent policies in order to ease its sustainable development. Government leaders make little effort to integrate the Amazon. However, in this region, there are many experiences and accrued knowledge in the civil society organizations. By working in its linkage, I am convinced that we can promote the necessary changes! It is very enriching to get to know other country’s experiences and through interchange, the incidence opportunities multiply. Being part of the ARA made me think about the importance of working in group.