Who we are
The Mesoamerican Territorial Fund (FTM) is an alternative financial mechanism designed by the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), by and for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
Our objective is to promote rights-based, efficient and effective direct investment in key Mesoamerican territories while ensuring lower transaction costs and management of funds according to clear protocols and accountability.
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AMPB Members
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The FTM focuses its work in Mesoamerica, working closely with the membership of the AMPB and other Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities organizations (IPLCs).
Rationale
According to a study conducted by Rainforest Foundation Norway1, by 2021, less than 1% of global climate finance has reached Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the global south over the last ten year.
In response to this situation, the FTM, was created with the objective of facilitating and promoting direct territorial investment in favor of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs).
Likewise, the FTM seeks to accompany the organizations in a culturally adapted manner, through the creation and strengthening of capacities, promoting sustainability and positive impacts on the investment.
1. 2021. Rainforest Foundation Norway. Falling Short: Donor funding for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to secure tenure rights and manage forests in tropical countries (2011–2020).
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By 2028 the FTM aims to:
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Increase direct funding to an annual average of 30 to 40 donations with amounts starting at USD 50 thousand.
Extend the geographical areas and territories prioritized by the FTM, involving more partners and strategic allies and expanding its support to other organizations beyond the AMPB membership.
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A process that has already begun:
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How we work?
Through a mechanism of open calls for proposals to finance small and medium-sized donations with lower transaction costs, with rights-based approach to IPLC organisations located in key ecosystems of forests, biodiversity and connectivity in Mesoamerica.
Continuous and culturally adapted accompaniment of Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ organisations through training processes, capacity building and methodologies to strengthen their institutional and governance processes, enhancing the sustainability and quantitative and qualitative impact of their work.
In a collaborative and interdisciplinary manner with the different specialized units of the AMPB, which are the Mesoamerican School of Leadership (EML), and the Coordinating Committee of Territorial Women Leaders (CMLT).
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FTM Organizational Chart
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Board of Directors
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Susan Kandel
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Ms. Kandel’s areas of expertise include: Territorial governance and rural development; Climate Change and adaptation based mitigation; Migration, development and natural resource management; among other relevant topics. Before working at PRISMA, Ms. Kandel was the Director of the Human Rights Department of a Central American Refugee Center located in Los Angeles and Project Coordinator of the Index to Accountability, which directly informed the work of the UN-mandated Ad Hoc and Truth Commissions of El Salvador as part of the Peace Accords process.
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Jeffrey Campbell
Focused on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations, Community Forestry, Forest Policy, Biocultural diversity and Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Peoples Empowerment, Landscape-based Rural Livelihoods, Sustainable Development and Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change. .
Also publish poetry, perform and record music as jhaffur khan azad darakth, co-founder and composer with Orchestra naiF. .
Born and raised in India, husband, father and grand-father.
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Kirsi Chavda
Currently Ms. Chavda manages Siemenpuu’s programme on Feminist Agroecology and Community Forests with partners in Liberia and Mozambique.
Ms. Chavda has experience in the field of development cooperation from varied angles. At the UN Population Fund, UNFPA, she focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights themes in Honduras for two years.
At the Finnish CSO Kepa’s country office in Nicaragua, she contributed to the strengthening of the civil society, awareness on the impacts of extractive industries and territorial governance in Mesoamerica for three years.
Ms. Chavda holds a MSSc. in both Social Policy and Social Work from the Universities of Eastern Finland and Jyväskylä.
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Gustavo Sánchez Valle
He has specialized in strengthening forest community organizations by supporting communication activities, representation, project management, design of public policy proposals and participation in international spaces on behalf of indigenous organizations and local communities.
He is currently President of the Mexican Network of Peasant Forest Organizations (MOCAF Network), a network of forestry organizations, both indigenous and local communities, and is part of the board of directors of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB); of the Resources and Rights Initiative (RRI) and the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative (CLARIFI).
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Sara Madriz Martínez
She is also Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests. With more than 6 years of experience in the defense of indigenous rights and the preservation of indigenous culture.
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Marcedonio Cortave
Under his leadership, ACOFOP has earned nationally and internationally recognized awards and achievements in conservation through the participation of organized civil society in the management of natural resources. Mr. Cortave's vision is that, "To sustain the forest, communities must first be sustained and consolidated". That is why his trajectory for the benefit of all Guatemalans has allowed him to receive the academic degree of Doctor Honoris Causa granted by the Faculty of Agronomy of the glorious and three-hundred-year-old University of San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC).
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Aníbal Sánchez-Sagla Dummad
Strategic Partners
![Climate and Land Use Alliance](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/logoCLUA.jpg)
Climate and Land Use Alliance
www.climateandlandusealliance.org
![](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RRI_CLARIFI_Branding_RGB_lockup-square.png)
Rights + Resources
www.rightsandresources.org
![FSC Indigenous Foundation](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/logoFIF.png)
FSC Indigenous Foundation
www.fscindigenousfoundation.org
![](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/RFUS_horizontal_green_RGB.png)
Rainforest Foundation US
www.rainforestfoundation.org
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USAID
www.usaid.gov
![rewild](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Re-wild_Logo_RGB_green.png)
rewild
www.rewild.org
![](http://other.imaginaonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ford_foundation.jpg)
Ford Foundation
fordfoundation.org