Montevideo, 27 October 2023. Component 2 of AL-INVEST Verde organised together with the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) of Uruguay the workshop "Certification of agro-exportable products from native forests" to foster dialogue on the importance of sustainably managing native forests and, consequently, the opportunity to certify the sustainability of their products.

The workshops, supported by the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI), took place on 24 and 26 October in Paysandú and Montevideo, respectively. They brought together experts and representatives of public institutions, organisations and producers.

The inauguration was in charge of the director of the Directorate General of Forestry (DG) of MGAP, Carlos Faroppa, the director of Forest Management, Joaquín Garrido, and the director of operations of IDAF, Rodrigo Arthus, who presented the action that AL-INVEST Verde and IDAF are carrying out with MGAP for the development of a proposal for a public certification system for agro-exportable products produced on farms under sustainable native forest management.

The aim of the workshops was to get the views of all the parties involved in the generation of a proposal for a public certification system, which meets the requirements of the European regulation on deforestation and forest degradation-free supply chains. Among other issues, the challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the system were analysed, priorities for the sustainable management of native forests were identified, and the gender perspective was highlighted to include the vision, interests and possible impacts on women who interact with forests and adjacent productive sectors.

The results obtained in these workshops will complement the information and diagnosis of the main productive value chains in lands with native forest carried out in the framework of the action that AL-INVEST Verde and IDAF carry out together with MGAP.

About AL-INVEST Verde

AL-INVEST Verde is a European Union (EU) programme whose main objective is to promote sustainable growth and job creation in Latin America by supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy. Through Component 2, led by FIIAPP in consortium with IILA, the programme provides assistance for strengthening public policy and multi-stakeholder dialogues on sustainable agricultural and value chains, environmental and labour standards, as well as sustainable trade and economic policy and regulatory frameworks.