{"id":283404,"date":"2025-05-23T16:40:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=283404"},"modified":"2025-05-27T11:15:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:15:35","slug":"course-in-madre-de-dios-to-strengthen-the-work-of-peruvian-environmental-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/news\/course-in-madre-de-dios-to-strengthen-the-work-of-peruvian-environmental-defenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Course in Madre de Dios to strengthen the work of Peruvian environmental defenders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Earlier this month, our Peruvian partner Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA) organised the first edition of a course for people committed to protecting the environment and human rights in Madre de Dios. The course aims to reduce the risks faced by environmental defenders by emphasising the value of their work and promoting legal protection and practical tools. This initiative is part of PIDDA Rights, a joint project of SPDA and IUCN NL.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This article was written by SPDA. Read the original version in Spanish here<\/a>. All photos on this page Diego Perez \/ SPDA<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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According to Global Witness<\/a>, Peru is among the ten most dangerous countries in the world for those who defend the environment and human rights. Against this backdrop, SPDA organised the first edition of the course Environmental defenders: rights and mechanisms for their defence in Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian Amazon region of Madre de Dios. The objective of the course is to reduce the risks faced by defenders by providing practical and legal tools, while it highlights the importance of their efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Environmental defenders from Madre de Dios and beyond<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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On 9 and 10 May, 2025, around 50 people participated in the classroom phase of the course, organised in two groups. The first group consisted of defenders belonging to Indigenous peoples and local communities of Madre de Dios and Cusco. In the other group professionals from different regions of the country linked to organisations working for the protection of environmental defenders participated. This second group was selected by SPDA from more than 300 applications, based on their experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Throughout the programme, topics such as the national and international normative framework on human rights, state protection mechanisms, inter-institutional articulation, and legal tools that can be applied when facing threats were addressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u2018The course has helped me a lot. I work with coordinators who have been defending their rights and their territories. What I have learned will help me to replicate it and look for strategies on how we can face the challenges they face.\u2019 commented Jos\u00e9 Vargas, technical specialist of the Tambopata National Reserve Management Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2018Understanding the whole legal and protection system, through our fields of expertise, can enable us to anticipate to decrease the risks or to make connections so that the risks can be better addressed.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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