Across the five Matavén zones, we carried out the 2025 Captains’ Workshops with the active participation of 341 Indigenous leaders. These capacity-building spaces are essential to strengthen Indigenous governance, promote community leadership, and consolidate the long-term commitment to forest conservation, water protection, biodiversity, and the safeguarding of ancestral knowledge.
Governance and leadership to stop deforestation
At REDD+ Matavén, we understand that conserving natural resources requires more than financial resources: it demands strong local capacities, community autonomy, and effective Indigenous leadership. That is why these workshops, held annually, have become a strategic tool for advancing a territory-driven development model that respects cultural identity and ensures environmental sustainability.
Key components of the workshops
- Shared progress updates on the REDD+ Matavén Project through the end of 2024 and the implementation of the Territorial Land and Forest Management Plan.
- In-depth training on biodiversity and the international certification standards applied to the project (VCS, CCB, and SD VISta).
- Strengthening of best practices in solid waste management, forest fire prevention, and community PQRS (Petitions, Complaints, Claims and Suggestions) systems.
- Reinforcement of local leadership through the Internal Regulations for Captains.
- Implementation of surveys to map subsistence farming practices (conucos), identify agricultural areas, and assess their productive capacity—key data to advance a sustainable development model built from within the territory.
Tools to replicate and scale knowledge
Each Captain received:
- A printed copy of the Internal Regulations.
- A handbook explaining the project’s certification standards (VCS, CCB, SD VISta).
- Graphic materials including posters on PQRS and standards, translated into local languages.
- The 2025 edition of the REDD+ Matavén community newspaper to share with their communities.
These materials ensure that information is accessible and replicable, reinforce transparency, and help communities deepen their ownership of the project.
Why these workshops matter
These workshops inform, empower, listen, and build collectively. They are a strategic tool to foster the circulation of knowledge, strengthen Indigenous leadership, and ensure the REDD+ Matavén Project continues to meet its core objectives:
stopping deforestation, protecting biodiversity, conserving water, and improving the living conditions of Indigenous communities in Matavén.