J.13 SLV Fact Sheet.pdf

The purpose of the Sustainable Landscapes Ventures (SLV) Activity is to develop sustainable and inclusive value chains at scale that are market-driven and investor-ready in four landscapes in Mexico.

The SLV Activity will create links between organizations of small producers, investors, and buyers.

Deforestation and land degradation are accelerating in Mexico. This is due in large part to market demands for agricultural, livestock, and forestry products that are being met in large part through land use change and unsustainable agricultural practices. The SLV Activity sees sustainable and inclusive value chains as the solution to avoid deforestation and emissions from small producers in landscapes in the long-term. This can only be achieved by addressing demand, financing, and supply solutions simultaneously. Since the challenges are intersectoral and multiscale, the solutions have to be addressed in an integrated manner by several stakeholders including government, small producers, buyers, investors and NGOs. This Activity will be testing new market-based approaches to mobilize additional finance towards small producers that implement sustainable land management practices, and funds will be mobilized through the Mexican Stock Exchange, CIVentures Mexico, among others, with mechanisms in place that will continue to exist once the Activity ends.

OUR GOAL

USAID, in partnership with CI and the consortium of private sector partners, will help create the conditions for sustainable business transactions to occur, where the risk and the gain will be shared and distributed among all.

Small producers in four landscapes (one each in Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Jalisco) will be organized into Collective Business Entities (CBE) that will go through a project curation process. Buyers and investors with environmental and social responsibility goals, willing to share risks with CBEs, will be organized through a Blended Finance Engine (BFE)

WHO WILL THIS ACTIVITY BENEFIT

● Small Producers: Small rural producers who own 1-2 hectares; their livelihoods depend on products associated with forested ecosystems like coffee, cocoa, fruit, honey, and livestock.

USAID.GOV WWW.CONSERVATION.ORG/MEXICO/SLV-USAID

● Buyers and Investors: Private sector buyers of Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land-Use products, funds, and other investments, who are interested in improving sustainability.

HOW DO WE WORK

1. Collective Business Entities (CBE): Small producers in four landscapes will be organized into 12 Collective Business Entities (CBEs) to reach scale and quality.

2. Blended Finance Engine (BFE): the BFE will provide services to the CBEs including project curation, a marketplace to link producers with buyers and access to blended finance solutions.

3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL): Information from MEL adds value for decision making and business management. Knowledge societies and business networks will be established to increase the sharing of information, knowledge, and learning.

An important aspect to this Activity is its cross-sectional approach to gender equity, female empowerment, youth and indigenous communities inclusion, which will be promoted throughout the Activity.

WHERE DO WE WORK

Landscapes were chosen based on the following criteria: integrated landscape approach, sustainability goals, previous project investments or under way, improvements in governance structure at the landscape level (regional/multiple municipalities), investments in value chains, linkages to buyers, access to financing, and potential greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Selected landscapes include:

● Mascota and Tapalpa, Jalisco: 280,000 hectares

● Sierra Sur, Oaxaca: 956,000 hectares

● Sierra Madre, Chiapas: 806,000 hectares

● Calakmul, Campeche: 500,000 hectare

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

● Three coffee producer organizations in Oaxaca were interested in signing a cooperation agreement with SLV to strengthen their commercial, financial, and procurement strategies as a result of collaborative work sessions and group discussions with them.

● A collaborative agreement was reached with the Junta Intermunicipal de la Sierra de Jalisco (JISOC, by its Spanish acronym) to support the implementation of the activities in the Sierra de Jalisco region and foster synergies between the SLV Activity, private sector, and state government agencies.

● The first steps were taken to create the Blended Finance Engine (BFE) to support producer organizations to access funding and attract responsible buyers. This was the result of the collaborative efforts of the Activity partners to secure the best international practices to implement the BFE.

● The implementing personnel successfully completed the first course on social standards to foster positive environmental and social outcomes while minimizing risks and negative impacts on people and biodiversity.

USAID.GOV WWW.CONSERVATION.ORG/MEXICO/SLV-USAID