Program for Integrated Social and Sustainable Development – PRODESIS

Client: Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (Mexico)/EU.

Southern Mexico’s federal state of Chiapas has been experiencing severe conflicts of interest around several protected areas in the jungles of La Selva. Conflicting interests arise from the use and misuse of natural resources.

The conservation and rehabilitation of these resources and biodiversity should lead to sustainable income stabilization for the marginalized indigenous people, thereby contributing to poverty reduc-tion.  The project PRODESIS aims to improve the social development and political involvement of the communities living around the protected area of Monte Azules.

Goals

The project’s goal was to develop and implement a strategy for sustainable regional development. The project empowered regional and local stakeholders in 830 communities and 16 micro-regions around the Montes Azules protected area in the planning and implementation of development processes. To ensure the project’s success, participative methods were applied and target groups, including community representatives, were closely involved.

Services:

• Prepare community development plans and strengthen community capacity.
• Institutional support: Organizational development and strengthen community networks.

• Build stakeholder capacity on sustainable and participative planning processes
• Develop methodology, instruments, and tools for the participatory planning process
• Design und set-up an information system that makes the relevant data for regional planning, such as socio-economic, geographical, and economic elements, available and accessible for communities
• Establish a financial control system
• Develop models linking departmental planning with sectoral and central government planning systems