This project works to support indigenous peoples in improving the management of their territories and good living, including the participation of youth and women in the management of risks, and the protection of cultural identity cultural and the rescue of ancestral knowledge for the protection of mother earth, strengthening community structures and contributing to the resilience processes in the face of risk-generating events.

The context of intervention

In the Nicaraguan Caribbean region, there are 22 declared protected areas, being the region with the greatest natural values in Nicaragua and is of great strategic importance for the country, due to its ethnic diversity, high biological richness, and forest coverage. The population of the North Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACCN) is multicultural, residing in different municipalities, with the majority being the Miskito indigenous people, representing 72.3% of the population. The actions that are carried out in the RACCN of Nicaragua, are in: the Miskito Keys Marine Biological Reserve, the Immediate Coastal Strip, and the BOSAWAS Reserve, as well as in the municipalities of Puerto Cabezas, Prinzapolka, and Waspam.

The ¡WINAMBA! Project

We aim to strengthen indigenous populations in disaster preparedness, response, and risk reduction, as well as in monitoring, safeguarding, and protecting Mother Earth, natural resources, and their populations against environmental degradation and climate vulnerability risks. All these processes are carried out under a gender- and generation-sensitive approach, addressing the inequalities that affect indigenous and Afro-descendant women and youth.

The three project components will be implemented through a range of activities:

  • Strengthening indigenous communities in disaster preparedness, response, and risk reduction: Within the project framework, participatory community and school resilience plans are developed to address climate resilience, risk management, and coping strategies. The pilot testing of endogenous strategies and the exchange of successful practices in addressing climate change will be promoted. It also aims to enhance the functioning of state institutions in their activities and responses.
  • Monitoring, safeguarding, and protection systems against environmental degradation and climate vulnerability risks: Plans will be developed for the protection and sustainable management of natural resources. Moreover, a local and territorial level space for environmental and climate monitoring will be created, incorporating traditional bioindicators and knowledge.
  • Contributing to the modification of unequal gender and generational relations: Awareness-raising trainings and workshops will be conducted on gender-based violence prevention and culturally and contextually adapted WASH systems.