Peru’s forests under pressure

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon, regulate the climate, protect biodiversity and sustain millions of livelihoods. The Amazon is home to around 10 percent of all known species. Peru has a strategic role in its conservation: more than 72 million hectares of forest cover around 56 percent of the country.

Yet these ecosystems face growing threats. Peru lost an average of 172,000 hectares of forest each year between 2010 and 2020. Around 80 percent of this loss is linked to agricultural expansion, particularly farming and livestock production. Other drivers include illegal mining, illegal logging and illicit crops.

Peru has established protected natural areas to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Effective management of these areas protects strategic ecosystems, supports local livelihoods and advances national and international environmental commitments. These include Target 3 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, known as the 30x30 target. This calls for at least 30 percent of the world’s land and sea to be effectively conserved by 2030.

Some protected areas are managed by the national government through the National Service for Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP). Others are managed by regional governments and are known as Regional Conservation Areas. The Subnational PFM programme works with the latter. These areas cover 3.6 million hectares, or 2.8 percent of Peru’s territory.

Why conservation agreements are needed

One of the main management challenges is effective coordination between public bodies, local organisations and other actors in the area.

To address this challenge, the Peruvian Government promotes participatory approaches to biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. Conservation agreements are one such approach. Through these voluntary instruments, the authorities responsible for protected areas agree conservation commitments with communities, associations, businesses and other local actors.

However, regional governments face significant barriers when putting conservation agreements into practice.

• Institutional frameworks and procedures are often underdeveloped.
• Managers and technical teams may have limited knowledge of the mechanism.
• Coordination can also be difficult between SERNANP and the regional governments responsible for the conservation areas.

These gaps limit the agreements’ potential and underline the need for stronger capacities, clearer procedures and better coordination.

The Subnational PFM programme developed a practical strategy to address these barriers. It focused on strengthening institutional capacity, improving coordination with SERNANP and establishing a more robust framework for participatory conservation.

The table below shows how the support responded to the main gaps identified.

The programme’s technical assistance introduced a more rigorous method for managing conservation agreements.

• Clear stages for better monitoring: In line with SERNANP guidance, the new agreements set out clear stages for design, implementation, monitoring, review and feedback. This makes it easier to verify commitments and assess whether activities are reducing threats such as deforestation and contributing to ecosystem conservation.
• Defined areas: Each agreement also defines a precisely georeferenced area and aligns its commitments with the conservation objectives in the relevant area’s Master Plan.
• Stronger capacity: The programme also strengthened the capacity of conservation area managers, local associations and other actors through specialised workshops, coordination meetings and ongoing technical support. This helped participants understand the mechanism, improved coordination between regional governments and SERNANP, and supported the consistent application of national standards.

From individual agreements to a regional directive

The programme provided support throughout the process, from identifying potential signatories to preparing workplans and monitoring arrangements.

In San Martín, it also helped develop a proposed Regional Directive on Conservation Agreements in coordination with SERNANP. The directive is intended to standardise procedures for designing, implementing, monitoring and overseeing agreements. It should help institutionalise the approach, sustain it over time and provide a model for other regions.

More agreements in place

Before the Subnational PFM programme became involved, only two conservation agreements were in force across Peru’s Regional Conservation Areas, both in Loreto.

With programme support, nine agreements have been signed in two conservation areas in San Martín and four more are being developed. This represents a significant expansion in the use of this participatory management tool.

Stronger local stewardship

The signed agreements are strengthening surveillance, control and ecosystem conservation. Participating associations have become strategic partners for conservation area managers. They help monitor the territory and prevent illegal activities and other threats to natural resources.

The agreements also provide greater legal certainty for the sustainable use of resources. This strengthens the operational capacity of local organisations and supports the long-term viability of their economic activities.

New access to funding

Conservation agreements can also help local associations, communities and businesses access funding for the sustainable use of natural resources.

Some competitive funds now require applicants to have signed, or committed to sign, a conservation agreement. One example is the Entrepreneurs for Nature fund managed by Peru’s Fund for the Promotion of Protected Natural Areas (PROFONANPE).

The Takiwasi Association and the Mel de Montaña Association, which participated in the programme-supported process, have both secured funding. This will help them meet their conservation commitments while creating opportunities for sustainable local economic development.

This experience shows that conservation agreements can strengthen participatory management when institutions have the necessary capacity, procedures and coordination mechanisms. Tools such as San Martín’s proposed Regional Directive on Conservation Agreements can embed the approach in regional systems and support its long-term sustainability.

The methods developed through the programme also provide a practical model that other regional governments can adapt to protect strategic ecosystems and support sustainable local development.

• About public financial management

• Programa GFP Subnacional website