We as SIFAV partner took the opportunity to efficiently implement water stewardship in this high water risk sourcing region, by co-investing in- and scaling an existing, locally validated, multi-stakeholder collective action.
By doing so, Salud will help improve water retention, decrease erosion, and improve pasture availability as well as water availability upstream. This is key for sustainable livelihoods of the rural communities. Furthermore, it improves the resilience of sourcing and addresses our 2025 ambition to promote water stewardship.
In 2022, 5 SIFAV partners collaborated in an IDH co-funded project to engage in several objectives. These objectives have been translated into (1) build capacity on water management in our purchase department and the producers and growers we work with, (2) deepen knowledge from the catchment passport, (3) develop a shortlist of projects to potentially address these and (4) prioritize and develop a project plan to implement with both the SIFAV partners and local producers.
The project aims to improve water retention and water availability in the Ica catchment and to reduce erosion in the upstream community of Tambo.
Some objectives of the project are to:
Implement water harvest practices in Tambo: for example digging infiltration ditches, placing reservoirs and planting seedlings.
Improve the sustainability of livelihoods in the Tambo communities: work with local communities as product of the landscape interventions.
Monitor catchment effects of the interventions and impact on the catchment water cycle
Validate project results using a water stewardship approach locally.
Establish a supply chain mechanism to sustain the intervention and ensure water stewardship after the project ends: engaging SIFAV, their local suppliers and other stakeholders to define and agree on a sustainable model.