Statement The REDD Working Group of Loreto demands to be included in the formulation of the Investment Plan of the Forest Investment Program Dear Representatives of the National Steering Committee of the Forest Investment Program: Ministry of Environment – MINAM Ministry of Agriculture – MINAG Minstry of Economy and Finances – MEF Interregional Amazon Council – CIAM National Environmental Fund – FONAM National Assembly of Regional Governments – ANGR InterAmerican Development Bank – IDB and General population of Loreto The Forest Investment Plan – drafted by the National Technical Committee – is not incorporating regional scientific information as developed by recognized institutions of Loreto (GOREL, UNAP, IIAP, UNIA, amongst others) that have maps of deforestation, carbon reserves, etc that are updated and validated by international institutions. We believe that the proposal has been worked on without the two drafts to date having been officially circulated within the region. We also suggest that the Forest Investment Plan contains a glossary of terms used within so that everyone involved can understand and use the same language. According to the document, “Elements for the identification of the area within the forest sector to reduce with greatest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” written by INDUFOR, Loreto is the most extensive department in Peru with 36.9 million hectares (51% of Peru’s Amazonian region), is the most forested part of Peru (55% of the country’s forests at 35.8 million hectares), and is the part with the largest carbon stocks (303 tons of carbon per hectare – Tc/ha), along with being the department with the greatest deforestation (20%) in the five year period of 2005 – 2009. All this to say, Loreto has a very important role to play in the conservation of bio-‐diversity and in the construction of sustainable development in the country and should be considered by the FIP in a much wider manner. We believe that the Technical Committee didn’t have sufficient technical scientific arguments to substantiate the possible investment that could happen in our department around deforestation, given that it didn’t know the studies carried out in Loreto by highly prestigious institutions. The preliminary proposal considers agro-‐industrial development as one of the solutions to deforestation, in terms of oil palm cultivation and agrarian development. However, Loreto needs to culminate the processes of Territorial Organizing and Ecologic-‐Economic Zoning before expanding controversial economic
activities which, if not well planned environmentally or socially, will actually damage the sustainable development of our region. As such, it should be assured that private sector businesses that participate in the FIP should have to pass through a selection process, guaranteeing that they don’t have past or present problems with indigenous communities, in addition to not having problems around environmental complaints or issues related to illicit activities. The CIAM participates in the FIP National Steering Committee in representation of the regional governments. However it has not complied with its duty to inform people about the advances in the process of drafting the Forest Investment Plan. It has not circulated within Loreto the information developed within the National Steering Committee. As such, we recommend that the FIP National Steering Committee and the technical secretariat of the CIAM inform – in an opportune and transparent manner – the regional presidents, environmental authorities and other regional actors about the advances and proposals that come out over the course of the drafting of the FIP investment plan. The implementation of the FIP investment plan is an opportunity for the survival of our forests in Loreto. It should be oriented toward an economic, social, and environmental benefit for the majority of the population and not just the interests of powerful individuals. As such, we require clear signals of a complete change in attitude toward the regional governments within this process. Finally, we reaffirm our rejection of the way in which the drafting of the Forest Investment Plan was carried out – denying the Loreto region the opportunity to be considered in our full dimension, we would guess for lack of information. At the same time, we express our complete disposition to contribute to the drafting the final proposals of the Forest Investment Plan.