Voices for Just Climate Action SSN Paraguay

The Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) Programme is being implemented in 7 countries, including Paraguay. In VCA Paraguay, in collaboration with VCA Bolivia, the programme is being implemented in the Pantanal and Chaco ecoregions, focusing on the transboundary region between Paraguay and Bolivia. The landscape contains many of the headwaters of the La Plata Basin, the second-largest basin in South America and one of the ten most threatened in the world. This region has been selected due to its climate and conservation importance and the strong presence and local networks of Alliance members. The programme aims to create an impact towards reducing people’s exposure to climate change stresses, shocks and variability by maintaining large protected areas, reforestation and restoration. Good and greater forest coverage and other relevant ecosystems are natural conditions to reduce exposure to high temperatures, droughts, etc. so disasters like wildfires will be less destructive. The programme will leverage previous work in the regions but also focus on new innovations and partnerships that are central to this Alliance, for example, by linking to urban communities (including urban poor) and youth/feminist activists within and beyond the landscape, linking local success stories to influence the national policy level, and through innovative multimedia and storytelling strategies. In addition, the Alliance will build coalitions that bring together rural and urban civil society including indigenous people, women and youth to amplify their voices and influence key policy issues related to climate change; and link these coalitions to other social movements.