Resources to finance efforts against climate change in the Colombian Amazon come from different sources. An important part comes from and/or is channeled through the Colombian state, and the rest is from other entities. is is an important distinction to understand the set of structures involved in the function of the funds, their mechanisms for territorial distribution, disclosure on how to access resources, and the mechanisms to monitor and evaluate use. ere is a serious lack of transparency when funds are handled by the state, much like the general handling of public finances in the country. When resources are channeled through non-governmental entities, they tend to have distinct operational, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms, and relevant information gets fragmented, favoring funding access among those who are familiar with the donor ecosystem.
That is to say, access to these funds requires either strong territorial or national political connections, the social capital characteristic of highly educated citizens and of international contacts, or both. It should not be assumed that these elements are present in communities requiring the funds. Rather, communities seem to depend on the goodwill of those with strategic contacts.
This document is part of a consultancy contracted by Ambiente y Sociedad and executed by Capital and Trabajo S.A.S. to analyze the function, territorial distribution, information available to citizens and regional governments on access to cooperation funds, as well as their monitoring and evaluation. e conclusions are based on a survey of resources available online for diferent funds, data available through the National Planning Department’s Measurement, Reporting, and Verification System (MRV in Spanish) on Climate Financing, brief digital and telephone communications with personnel at financing bodies, and semi-structured interviews with representatives of the aforementioned entities and those in charge of funds, as well as with stakeholders from regional governments and civil society in the Colombian Amazon.
The document is divided into six sections, this is the first. e second explains the operating structures of climate funds; the third describes the data available on the funds to analyze the territorial distribution of these resources; the fourth section focuses on the transparency of information circulated on these funds, especially among civil society and territorial actors; the h analyzes the monitoring and evaluation of how these resources are used; and the sixth concludes with key messages, findings, and proposals to improve how climate funds operate in Colombia, in general, and in the Amazon specifically.
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Climate Funds And The Colombian Amazon_compressed_compressed_compressed (1)