SAFCA FOREST ALLIANCE
Together for forest
The tropical forests of South America constitute an irreplaceable natural heritage for Latin American society and humanity. The biological diversity and the social and cultural values they harbor contribute to sustainable development and to adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
However, land use change processes, deforestation trends, degradation, and wildfires exacerbated by the effects of climate change require urgent and coordinated actions among civil society, local populations, and decision-makers.
Against this backdrop SAFCA was formed in 2022 with the goal of enhancing international collaboration for the conservation of the Amazon and adjacent forest ecosystems. Its objectives include facilitating large-scale projects and fostering long-term commitment, as well as maximizing the conservation impacts and sustainability of investments in conservation efforts.
Vision
The SAFCA Alliance envisions maintaining the largest possible area of functional and climate-resilient tropical forests in South America, contributing to sustainable and regenerative development for the benefit of society.
Mission
The mission of the SAFCA Alliance is to contribute to the conservation of tropical forests through the promotion and establishment of natural and productive landscapes connected at regional scales.
Consequently, the SAFCA Alliance strives to forge strategic and enduring partnerships among civil society organizations engaged in preserving the tropical forests of South America.
These partnerships center on sharing knowledge, raising awareness, and mobilizing resources to promote innovative conservation and management efforts on a landscape scale, which are replicable and have a significant impact.
Alliance partners in South America
Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano (FCBC)
Working in the Chiquitano forest in the Santa Cruz region of eastern Bolivia.
Conservación Amazónica - ACEAA
Working in the Amazon rainforest in the Pando region in northwestern Bolivia.
Conservación Amazónica – ACCA
Working in the Amazon rainforest in the Madre de Dios region in eastern Peru on the border with Bolivia.
Strategy
Our immediate focus areas are within the large arc of tropical forests in the central-western regions of Bolivia and Peru, where our actions include:
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Building sustainable and resilient livelihoods that protect standing forests and strengthen environmental governance, improving the protection and management of natural resources in conjunction with society, local and indigenous populations, respecting their internal governance and ancestral values.
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Creating and strengthening sustainable management and governance of protected areas to conserve critical ecosystems and biodiversity.
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Linking protected areas and productive landscapes to ensure essential ecological connectivity for species and ecosystem survival and for climate change mitigation and adaptation in line with international goals and agreements.
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Promoting knowledge management as a contribution to informed decision-making in territories.
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Driving initiatives to conserve priority forests and restore degraded ecosystems.
The alliance primarily operates in areas where both threat levels and natural values are high to ensure the greatest possible positive impact on biodiversity and local forest communities.
Organization
A steering committee composed of members appointed from each alliance organization establishes frameworks, allocates decision-making powers, and communicates the alliance's work to partners.
Four-year framework strategies outline the direction of SAFCA's work, deeply rooted in a Memorandum of Understanding. Annual alliance conferences are held to ensure progress, anchoring, and the inclusion of skills, knowledge, and experiences across SAFCA in efforts to realize the alliance's vision.
Professionalism, Solidarity, and Transparency are core values that characterize the alliance's collaboration, while the principle of Long-term and Equitable partnerships forms the core of the cooperation: We all work together to preserve the forests in South America, and we will only achieve the goal by including all skills and experiences, allowing for synergies, and promoting local ownership of nature-based solutions to the global climate and biodiversity crisis. We do not provide North-to-South assistance. Development work is carried out in partnerships. We believe this approach best contributes to sustainable change.
Regions of interventions
