20 for 20: Launch of the Southwest Amazon Drone Center

The Southwest Amazon Drone Center located in the Peruvian Amazon, launched in 2017, focuses on training local landowners, indigenous communities, students, and officials in Peru to actively monitor and report illegal deforestation in the western Amazon as well as providing drone overflights for the local government upon request. 

Southwest Amazon Drone Center as a part of the sustainable forest products program by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationThis center allows for local community members to obtain training, certifications, and access to high-tech drones that can be used as remote sensing tools to monitor deforestation in tropical forests in a safe, fast, and scientific way. Last year, we trained and certified 89 individuals in using drones and smartphone apps to detect illegal activities in remote areas of their forests, and report them using drone imagery as legally-admissible evidence for law enforcement to be able to take action and prosecute offenders. Sixteen of the new users were women, and their numbers continue to increase as we focus on their inclusion in this type of training. 

By providing these services, we empower people to protect their forests by giving them the tools needed increase legal responses to illegal activities. Presenting evidence, such as drone photos and videos of unlawful deforestation or mining, can be used to prosecute offenders which then deters future illegal activities. Moreover, the use of drone technology is important due to the vastness and remoteness of the Amazon Rainforest — it is a challenge to patrol by foot and stop incidents of illegal deforestation. Face-to-face encounters with those conducting illegal deforestation for financial gain can also be extremely dangerous, and potentially deadly. With technology, Amazon Conservation is changing that.

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to support trainings that help local community members in the Amazon protect their forests.

20 for 20: Discovery of New Beetle Species at our Biological Stations

Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington beetle species discovered by Caroline Chaboo
“Paddington Beetle” Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington

At Amazon Conservation’s biological stations around Peru, biodiversity extends beyond just mammals and birds. More than 1,000 new species of beetles were believed to be discovered around these areas in a major study conducted a few years ago by lifelong beetle researcher and expert Dr. Caroline Chaboo, along with around with 40 beetle experts from around the world.

The first to be described in that study was discovered at our Villa Carmen Biological Station, located in the Andean foothills. Named Paddington (Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington), in reference to the Spectacled bear from the movie and children’s books, Dr. Chaboo had hoped the new beetle will raise awareness about biodiversity and conservation in Peru. Additionally, she has published a series of scientific papers titled “Beetles of Peru”– an extensive project spanning ten years–which identified more than 10,000 different types of beetles. Read Part 1 of her studies here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285619523_Beetles_Col.

Discovery of 1,000 new beetles as a part of the sustainable forest products program by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon Conservation
Peru is home to many beetle species

Recently, researchers Michael Caterino and Alexey Tishechkin published a detailed beetle study with 49 new species, including 26 new species from Peru, many coming from Dr. Chaboo’s specimens, titled “Recognition and revision of the Phelister blairi group”. One specimen, Phelister chabooae, is even named after her!

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at 20 significant conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to support the protection of these areas that provide spaces for important research like this that helps us learn more about the Amazon.

 

20 for 20: Açaí Safety Harnesses, a Practical Conservation Tool

Acai harness as a part of the sustainable forest products program by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationDue to a misstep coming down the tree with a heavy branch of açaí in hand, Omar Espinoza, an açaí harvester, fell from a height of about 40 feet head first. He was gathering fruits to support his family and like many açaí harvesters, was climbing 10-15 açaí trees a day with heights reaching up to 65 feet to bring down bundles of açaí weighing dozens of pounds.

Thanks to one of the features in our newly developed safety harnesses distributed earlier in the year, Omar’s misstep was not fatal and due to the harness’s aptly named “life line”, he was stopped from hitting the ground. Instead Omar just dangled from the harness, his head a few feet above the forest floor. Using the harness he had before this project would have meant a certain fall. Had it not been for this new equipment, he would have faced severe and debilitating injuries or possibly, death.

These harnesses are a practical conservation tool because they promote (and improve the safety of) forest-friendly livelihoods such as the sustainable gathering of brazil nuts and acai berries. These activities are safer, more profitable, and encourage conservation of standing forests compared to activities such as gold mining, logging, or agriculture, which results in forest habitats being cleared.

For many years now, we have been working with açaí and Brazil nut harvesters who depend on the Santa Rosa de Abuná conservation area and have helped improve how harvesters locate, gather, and process the forest goods they sustainably harvest. This is a key conservation and community development strategy for providing local people with the incentive to keep forests standing, as many of the globally in-demand fruits and nuts they harvest can only grow in healthy forests – not in large-scale plantations. With this strategy in mind, we help families improve their income by growing their local economies through instituting ecologically sustainable activities that protect the forests they call home.

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to help create more life saving tools that help local harvesters in the Amazon.

20 for 20: Establishing Bajo Madidi, Bolivia’s Largest Conservation Area

Photo of Bajo Madidi Conservation Area by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationLast year we helped the local government of Ixiamas, Bolivia establish the Municipal Conservation Area of Bajo Madidi, an area spanning 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares). Three times the size of the Grand Canyon, this conservation area is the largest in Bolivia and one of the largest in the world. It hosts a variety of ecological landscapes including wetlands, lowland rainforests, and savannas. 

Throughout the long and complex creation process, we provided the technical expertise and assistance to both the government and local communities that was needed to officially declare the area. We also helped them gather and understand key environmental data on the conservation needs of this landscape to develop the plan to protect it for the long-term. This conservation plan now guides the sustainable use and management of natural resources in Bajo Madidi. 

The establishment of this area was a massive undertaking with contributions by local peoples and support from over 800 stakeholders. Successes like these are the foundation of our conservation efforts that have helped protect over 8.3 million acres of forests to date. 

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. You can help create more protected areas like Bajo Madidi around the Amazon.

 

20 for 20: Species Discoveries at our Research Stations

Photo of Glass Frog Discovered At Wayqecha by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationThanks to the incredible biodiversity in the Andean Amazon, scientists conducting research at our biological stations have discovered multiple new species. In this 20 for 20 story, we’re highlighting some of our favorite frog discoveries over the years.

An Amazon Conservation-funded research team discovered the 7,000th amphibian species in the world at our Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Station . The new glass frog, described as Centrolene sabini, was particularly intriguing for researchers due to its high sensitivity to the chytrid fungus. The team was led by Wayqecha’s then-research coordinator Alessandro Catenazzi, who has extensive background studying frog populations around the area, documenting the decline in frog diversity and populations. 

Pygmy Andean Frog Additionally, the Andean region’s smallest known frog was discovered at our Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Station. Smaller than a dime, the Noble’s pygmy frog (Noblella pygmae) surprised herpetologists studying at Wayqecha because it contradicts the informal rule that high altitude vertebrates tend to be larger than low altitude vertebrates.  Noble’s pygmy frog is among the smallest vertebrates ever found at this altitude, and one of the smallest amphibian species in the world.

New Frog Species Discovered at Los AmigosThe last highlight of today includes a new frog discovered at Los Amigos Biological Station. This species, Pristimantis divnae, belongs to the family Strabomantidae and lives in the leaf-litter and understory in terra firme forest at the base of Peru’s southern Andes. The species is characterized by a contrasting pattern of yellow and black with brown patches.

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to fund important research at our biological stations in and around the Amazon.

High School Student Hosts Virtual Art Classes for Kids to Support the Amazon

High school student Madeleine Herberger has always had a passion for animals and the environment, and last year she was able to visit the Amazon Basin in Peru, nearby where our conservation hubs of Los Amigos, Villa Carmen, and Wayqecha operate. Reflecting on that trip she says, “I was able to spend four incredible days soaking up the awesome beauty and nature there, learning facts about leaf ant highways, tarantulas, clay licks, and more.” 

One aspect of the trip that stood out to her was the amazing range of biodiversity found in this particular region of the Amazon, the headwaters to the Amazon basin. The Amazon’s diverse forests are home to 10% of the world’s known wildlife species, and Madeleine remembers how, “One of the group members photographed a suspected undiscovered insect. This experience made me realize how much the Amazon holds and how important it really is not just to the region, but to our entire world ecosystem.” Not only does a healthy Amazon provide an important mosaic of habitats for over 350 endangered and endemic species, it also serves as a climate regulator, storing over 150 billion metric tons of carbon—more than a third of all the carbon stored in tropical forests worldwide. Amazon forests also absorb 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, representing 5% of global annual emissions.

But Madeleine’s trip also revealed to her how the Amazon is being threatened, as it nears closer to its “tipping point”. This is when the Amazon will no longer be able to generate its own rainfall and support its rainforest ecosystems. Estimates place the current deforestation level of the Amazon at 17%, and its tipping point at 20-25%. If the tipping point is surpassed, the largest rainforest on Earth could become—at best—a dry grassland. So after returning to the United States, Madeleine planned to share this experience with others and raise awareness on the importance of the Amazon rainforest. 

Citing her experience and enjoyment working with children as a babysitter, she came up with a series of virtual art lessons for kids for her school senior project, each focusing on an “amazing animal”, such as macaws, sloths, and leaf-cutter ants. Not only do children learn how to draw the animal, but the lesson also includes fun facts about the species and their English and Spanish names. “These virtual lessons would also help parents who might need a break trying to come up with ways to entertain their children during the pandemic, as well as bring the cause to their attention,” she adds.

It is always inspiring when the next generation of conservationists find new and creative ways to promote conservation in the Amazon. Madeleine says, “I hope to create a series of art lessons that have educational elements focused on Amazonian wildlife, with an overarching theme of raising awareness about the importance of the Amazon basin.” 

 

Details: 

Classes are free of charge, with optional donations to support Amazon Conservation’s programs that protect the Amazon and all of the important species and communities that call it home. Click here to support Madeleine and the protection of the Amazon rainforest.

 

The next class is at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12th. Click here to register.

 

 

 

Schedule 

Classes will run every week on Saturday from 11:00-11:45  a.m. Click here to register.

 

Contact information 

Contact Madeleine Herberger at the above link for more information.

20 for 20: Celebrating Wayqecha, the Only Cloud Forest Research Station in Peru

Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Station part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationAmazon Conservation’s Wayqecha Research Station and Conservation Hub, the only cloud forest research station in Peru, officially opened its doors in 2006. Located at 2,900 m of elevation in the cloud forest region of Cusco and just 175 km from our Los Amigos Conservation Hub in the Amazonian lowlands, these research sites together provide a full panorama of the biodiversity and climate changes in the Andes-Amazon region.

Wayqecha Research Station protects the cloud forest’s biodiversity and facilitates research that leads to a better understanding of this ecosystem. Cloud forests receive hundreds of inches of rain every year and their trees, mosses and soil work as giant sponges capturing the abundant rainfall and then releasing it slowly into a network of small streams and creeks that represent the smallest tributaries of the vast Amazon drainage.

Cloud forests are of critical conservation value for many reasons, including containing a vast storehouse of species, many of them narrowly endemic, and also serve as natural corridors for plant and animal species pushed uphill by global warming.

Canopy Walkway at Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Station and Conservation HubAdditionally, three years after opening, we added the first-ever canopy walkway in an Amazonian highland cloud forest. The canopy walkway provides access to the upper parts of the forest, which is where a lot of natural activity is, including an amazing diversity of bromeliad, orchids, birds and butterflies. It consists of four aluminum towers connected by a 146-meter-long network of suspension bridges that pass under, through, and above the forest canopy. Another important feature of the canopy walkway is a rigid truss bridge through a small rock canyon that leads to the base of a waterfall passing through an area with a completely distinct climate and Cloud Forest Canopy. Other bridges lead visitors across forested slopes that cover eight distinct eco-zones, providing a view from more than 10,000 feet in elevation down to the Amazon basin.

This is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to support protected areas and research stations around the Amazon.

20 for 20: Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) Established

Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) by Amazon Conservation,part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationAndean forests faced escalating threats from illegal gold mining, illegal logging, illegal drug plantations, unsustainable agriculture, cattle pasture, and road construction, and new tactics were needed to address the problems. In response, Amazon Conservation and Conservación Amazónica – ACCA developed MAAP – Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project to provide real-time satellite monitoring deforestation reports. 

Since the establishment of MAAP in 2015, the program has provided geographic information and evidence of illegal gold mining, deforestation, logging, and more to the public and government officials. MAAP currently monitors 83% of the Amazon rainforest across five countries: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia.

This past summer, in anticipation of the fire season, we’d improved upon our novel MAAP Amazon Fire Tracker App, which recorded over 2,500 major fires across the Amazon. We also provide MAAP deforestation reports directly to government officials who can take action on the ground against the illegal activity, and this information has helped prosecutors stop deforestation in Pariamanu and Chispa, Peru. Additionally, a major success was last year year, when we helped Peruvian government officials in the dismantling of an illegal mining stronghold in La Pampa, Peru causing deforestation in the area to plummet by 90%.

 

20 for 20: Photographing the First Recorded Melanistic Jaguar in Bolivia With Camera Traps

Melanistic jaguar as part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationOur camera trap program has been implemented in our areas of work in Bolivia since 2015. We have camera traps placed in:

  • TCO Tacana II, an indigenous territory we’ve worked with for decades in the North of the Department of La Paz,
  • Santa Rosa del Abuná Integral Model Area, a conservation area we helped create in the department of Pando,
  • Manuripi National Wildlife Reserve National Protected Area, an area for conservation we’ve been supporting also in the Department of Pando.

These places have successfully managed to register a wide variety of wild species, and have even photographed a very unique melanistic jaguar (Panthera onca). This is a color morph which occurs at about 6% frequency in jaguar populations, giving it an almost “black” look that is a stark contrast to the species normal orange/ brown complexion. This is the first time this type of jaguar has ever been recorded in the entire country of Bolivia.

Additionally, our camera traps have recorded evidence of animals which had previously been declared as no longer living in the area, as well as ones that have been categorized as endangered, near-threatened, or vulnerable by the internationally-recognized IUCN Red List of threatened species, including endangered giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), near-threatened jaguar (Pantera onca), bush dog (Speothos venaticus), and harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), as well as the vulnerable white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) and South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris).

This story is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to support camera trap conservation programs in the Amazon.

20 for 20: Deforestation Decreases 92% After Years of Work Leads to Operation Mercury

Operation Mercury Before and After Illegal Gold Mining Intervention as part of 20 for 20 Years of Conservation Wins by Amazon ConservationFor decades, the southern region of Madre de Dios had been plagued by unmanaged and illegal gold mining that converted once thriving habitats into wastelands, and contaminated lands and rivers with mercury. This became so severe that the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency, and subsequently launched Operation Mercury, a series of highly-coordinated military interventions that apprehended illegal gold miners and destroyed the mining camps that not only destroy thousands of acres of forests, but were the breeding ground for human trafficking, child labor, sex slavery, and hired hit men.

The result was immediate: a 92% decrease in deforestation caused by illegal gold mining in the region. This intervention was a culmination of years of work.

For the past five years, our deforestation satellite monitoring program has given the Peruvian government real-time reports on illegal deforestation. We applied our satellite monitoring expertise to build the government’s capacity in understanding and using this high-tech information within the judicial system, by training judges, prosecutors, and government officials, as well as creating specialized offices to conduct their own satellite monitoring. Since often the complexity and bureaucracy inherent in governments makes it difficult for agencies to step out of their own silos to effectively work together on fighting complex environmental crimes, we also worked to establish the formal intra-governmental relationships necessary for action to take place. Now the government has a working system – called the National System for Control and Monitoring – that uses high-tech information and is able to coordinate large-scale interventions like Operation Mercury.

This is part of a series commemorating our 20th anniversary protecting the Amazon. We’re celebrating this milestone with a look back at our 20 biggest conservation wins over the past 20 years. Click here to support more capacity-building conservation programs in the Amazon.