Through a public statement, Andean and Amazonian organizations from Peru questioned president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for the appointment of the Ministry of Economy and Finance as national designated authority for the Green Climate Fund.

This is a United Nations mechanism to channel funds to developing countries for the creation of programs and projects for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The national designated authority  is the official entity responsible for approving the projects to be financed by this mechanism.

Until last year, the Ministry of the Environment was in charge of assuming this role. The mistrust of indigenous organizations over this new scenario lies in the lack of experience of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to deal with indigenous issues and to establish dialogues with their communities, especially on issues related to climate change and the environment.

The organizations demanded to be convened by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to jointly define priority projects to be implemented in their territories.

They also recalled that the ministry has a fund of 300 thousand dollars to promote the participation of indigenous peoples -and other relevant actors- in the use of these funds. They also pointed out the need to participate in the monitoring and accountability of the implementation of these projects.

To date, only the private entity Profonanpe has received funds for the protection of wetlands in Loreto. The indigenous organizations demanded to know how this project has been implemented and how the indigenous peoples who live in this territory have been involved in its implementation.

This public statement was issued last February as part of a meeting promoted by the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Partnership on Climate Change, Forests and Sustainable Development, a network integrated by twenty indigenous organizations in thirteen countries of the Americas, Asia and Africa. being CHIRAPAQ its counterpart in Peru.