“Minga” is a word of Quechua origin and an ancestral practice that refers to a collective effort convened to achieve a common goal, in which the conscience of the community surpasses the individual and in which every effort is essential.”
The Minga Fund is a commitment by Fondo Acción and Conservation International Colombia (CI) to ensure the sustainability of the protected areas in the Colombian Pacific, one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Home to more than 1,400 species, including the country’s most preserved mangrove forests and the largest humpback whale nursery in the region.
The Minga seeks to support the conservation and sustainable management of more than 350,000 hectares through active and effective participation of ethnic communities that have traditionally inhabited the territory, ensuring the future of these landscapes and their traditions.
All together
The Swedish Embassy, the Walton Family Foundation and the Global Conservation Fund are the organizations that contributed the seed capital to constitute this fund that will be maintained in the long term, and that intends to collect patrimonial resources and an equivalent amount of extinguishable resources to ensure the continuous protection of these invaluable natural resources.
To develop the Minga Fund, Fondo Acción and CI worked together with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Colombia, the regional environmental authorities in Codechocó and CVC Asocars and the community councils in Riscales (from Nuquí, in Chocó), La Plata and Chucheros (both from Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca). Alliances made in order to make environmental investments synergetic and with greater impact in the areas of work.
Territories of life
The Minga Fund will initially focus on three regional protected areas: La Sierpe Regional Park, La Plata Regional District of Integrated Management, and the Golfo de Tribugá-Cabo Corrientes Regional District of Integrated Management. These are territories inhabited by more than 6,000 families, mostly Afro-Colombian and indigenous families.
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The power of what we do
“These communities are already good stewards of their land and willing partners. However, resources and a management structure are needed to counteract the threats to their way of life and the growing pressures of illegal activities and conflicts. With the Minga, these communities can better participate in the sustainable management of their resources for the benefit of all.” – María Claudia Díazgranados, director of marine and community incentive programs for Conservation International Colombia.
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