Promotion of Sustainable Development of Andean Microwatersheds

About this Operation

Operations ID: 06240.0
Operations Type: Development Operations (DEVs)

This project was prepared following the conclusions and recommendations of the October-November 1999 evaluation mission to the sites of WFP's three current development projects in Peru. Included in this new project are activities undertaken in projects PER 2341 and PER 5162, and the following changes:

a project concentration in the three poorest departments—Apurímac, Ayacucho and Huancavelica—which are also those most affected by past violence;
a standardized application of the concept of a micro-watershed approach;
a modification of core soil conservation and water management activities in order to solve the problem of overgrazing, which is the principal cause of resource degradation; and
a reorientation of the promotion of income-generating groups and micro-enterprises, emphasizing the mobilization of savings, “action learning” in business promotion and credit, and the participation of NGOs and institutions specialized in the administration of these tasks.

The project participants live in 547 villages located in 32 micro-watersheds in the three targeted departments. They total 115,490 persons (73,450 women and 42,040 men). Food-for-work (FFW) participants would receive an average of 137 family rations per year. The project has been designed with the goal of contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of the inhabitants of upper Andean watersheds, through increased food security,income, and human capital of peasant families.

In accordance with decision 1999/EB.A/2 of the Executive Board, WFP focuses its development activities on five objectives. This project addresses objectives 2 (enable poor households to invest in human capital through education and training), 3 (make it possible for poor families to gain and preserve assets) and 5 (enable households which depend on degraded natural resources for their food security to make a shift to more sustainable livelihoods). The project includes substantial government financing, through executing partners and public funding institutions, which together will contribute 59 percent of the total project cost.