ANDES

About ANDES

ANDES is a civil non-profit association, registered in the “Register of Associations" in the Public Records of Cusco with registration No. 686 and renewed registration in the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation - APCI by Management Resolution 0016-2007/APCI -GOC issued on January 26, 2007.

ANDES activities are framed in the struggle and alleviation of poverty, biodiversity management, recognition and strengthening of traditional community rights systems on the local bio-cultural resources, and promoting institutional and policy changes relevant to the conservation and development. These lines fully integrate gender considerations, conservation, sustainable use and participatory processes.

To this end ANDES works cooperatively with indigenous organizations at the community level in developing models of adaptive management of bio-cultural heritage that affirm the rights and responsibilities of communities, and strengthen food sovereignty, health and local livelihoods.  Using community development strategies based on the cosmovision and traditional values of the Andean culture, ensuring that its interventions are holistic, democratic, participatory and locally effective.

In recent years ANDES has become recognized nationally and internationally in the field of indigenous rights over genetic resources, traditional knowledge and the protection and conservation of centres of origin of Andean native crops and the nature of the Andean landscape. ANDES is a pioneer in the promotion and establishment of Biocultural Territories, based on an innovative strategy that combines conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity and the landscape, the development of novel strategies of local livelihoods and poverty reduction. The Potato Park is the flagship project of this new conservation-development proposal.