Peru’s Andes-Amazon region’s rich biological diversity is matched only by its cultural diversity. In the case of two communities in southeastern Peru near Manu National Park, the lowland Wachiperi and the highland Q’eros, Amazon Conservation Association’s conservation programs are complemented by the work of ethnomusicologist Dr. Holly Wissler, who is partnering with the communities to preserve their cultures through music. We are pleased to invite all our friends and supporters in the Washington, DC area on November 14th and 15th to two talks by Dr. Wissler to learn more about this project; please see the end of this email for details.

The Haramba Queros Wachiperi is a community located in the Andes foothills.  In June 2008 the Wachiperi became the first indigenous group in Peru to manage a conservation concession. The Haramba Queros Wachiperi Ecological Rerserve, created with ACA’s assistance, protects 17,238 acres of rainforest.

 Until recently, these stewards of Amazonian forests were disappearing. The Wachiperi lost a large portion of its members during the forced enslavement of the rubber boom in the early 20th century and during a 1948 small pox epidemic. Only 57 Wachiperi remain today. Of those remaining, barely half speak or understand their native language and only about ten members have retained their musical heritage.

Dr. Wissler’s project has helped the Wachiperi recover and relearn traditional songs, many of which focus heavily on the importance and beauty of the surrounding forest. In part due to this project and the new conservation concession, Wachiperi who had abandoned the community in search of work elsewhere are beginning to move back home. 

This new project comes shortly after Dr. Wissler’s work with the Q’eros community in the Peruvian Andes. The Quechua Andean community of Q’eros, a self-sufficient indigenous group, is located in the high Andes (ranging from 6,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level) in the Cusco region. In 2007, Dr. Wissler produced a documentary, “From Grief and Joy We Sing,” about the musical rituals of the Q’eros. Dr. Wissler believes there is a strong past cultural connection and exchange between the Q’eros and Wachiperi due to their close geographical relation and their shared use of the Queros River (from which both of their names are derived). 

Over the next two years, Dr. Wissler will work to create an archive of Wachiperi songs and text.  Much of the present archive is in existence thanks to the hard work of anthropologist Dr. Patricia Lyon, who recorded the songs of the Wachiperi community in 1964 and 1965.  In addition to the archive, a website will be created and a two-disc CD set will be produced, making certain future generations will be able to hear their ancestors’ voices and learn the songs themselves. Watch a video about her project here. 

ACA’s and Dr. Wissler’s collaborative work with the Wachiperi community provides an inspiring example of how forest conservation and cultural preservation can go hand in hand. By helping the Wachiperi regain their cultural traditions, the project not only benefits community, but protects the Amazon’s cultural and biological diversity for all.

Here are just a few of the things we were able to accomplish this year.

With your help, we:

• Protected five million acres of rainforest in Peru and Bolivia by supporting 637 families who depend on Brazil nut concessions for their livelihood.
• Protected the largest biological corridor in the Amazon headwaters by providing agroforestry support to 70 small landowners who are threatened by illegal gold mining and logging.

• Protected headwaters streams in the Manu National Park region by producing 90,453 tree seedlings to reforest 135 acres of degraded land.
• Engaged over 550 local schoolchildren by taking them on field trips to our biological stations and providing their teachers with educational materials about the importance of conserving local ecosystems.
• Pioneered the first use of a high-elevation constructed wetland that uses native plants to treat wastewater.
• Opened our new foothills research and education center, where we hosted 67 scientists studying climate change and conservation biology, two academic courses, and educational programs for 85 school children from the surrounding area.

You are helping us take effective action against the ongoing major threats facing forests, wildlife, and traditional communities of the Amazon Basin, and we want to take time out to thank you for your support and concern.

In one of the most diverse regions on the planet, Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) has partnered with the Institute for Peruvian   Amazon Studies (IIAP, in Spanish) to support local aquaculture and agroforestry ventures. As part of this project, we are working with several communities along the Interoceanic Highway in the southeastern Peruvian department of Madre de Dios to develop cooperative associations engaged in a number of conservation-friendly microenterprises, including aquaculture. By developing small-scale aquaculture enterprises, ACA is working to protect wild fish populations from overfishing, maintain biodiversity and promote sustainable livelihoods for local residents. 

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, approximately 80,000 tons of fish are consumed annually [1] in the Peruvian Amazon, making fish a key protein source for local communities and maintaining an important source of employment for local fishing communities. The region’s abundant water supply, fish biodiversity, and appropriate climate make the Amazonian lowlands well-suited to aquaculture development, allowing small family farms to produce a highly marketable source of protein and improve their own food security. Not only does farming of native river species reduce pressure on wild fish populations, but it provides small farmers with a sustainable, profitable alternative to slash-and-burn farming or gold mining. 

The high aquatic diversity of Madre de Dios is heavily relied upon by local communities’ cultures and economies, yet it is increasingly vulnerable to rises in demand.  In 2009, individuals in certain communities in the Amazon were found to be eating approximately 325 lbs of fish a year [2]. As locals in Madre de Dios fish more to keep up with increasing demand, biodiversity comes under considerable pressure. For example, the paiche fish, seen to the left, is an Amazonian freshwater fish that can reach approximately eight feet in length and provide up to 150 pounds worth of meat, but it is highly vulnerable to overexploitation. Fortunately, aquaculture of Amazonian fish can decrease pressure on already scarce but highly important wild fish species like the paiche. The local market and growing national demand present important opportunities for aquaculture activities. By supporting small scale aquaculture projects in the Amazon, ACA hopes to provide a new sustainable livelihood alternative for these communities.  

In addition to the pressures of overexploitation of native fish species, the recent rise in illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios has caused an increase in the contamination of river fish by mercury, a potent neurotoxin used to extract gold. A study sponsored by ACA found that popular Amazon fish have been found to have high levels of mercury well above the standards set forth by the World Health Organization. Exposure to these toxins further diminished the health and well-being of families that are already vulnerable to diseases from unclean drinking water. Fish farms provide integral benefits to the surrounding communities by supplying safe, affordable fish.

 Together, ACA, IIAP and regional authorities are developing local technical expertise and improving links to locally sourced fish food and hatchery ponds, which represent considerable costs for small-scale fish farmers. 

From August 11th through 22nd, the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) is hosting its first Birdathon in celebration of the immense diversity of bird species in southeastern Peru. ACA’s Birdathon is an event in which a group of conservationist birders will travel a route from the highlands to the lowlands alongside Manu National Park while counting the number of bird species they see. Their goal is to support conservation of southeastern Peru’s globally important forests and the birds dependent on them by seeking sponsors to pledge an amount per bird seen or to make a donation to the event. All funds raised go to ACA to further ongoing conservation efforts. 

The intrepid birders will be stopping at ACA’s Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station and Hacienda Villa Carmen, ACA’s new conservation property which was purchased with the help of the American Bird Conservancy to be protected as a refuge for countless rare and endangered birds. This area, where the eastern slopes of the Andes meet the Amazonian lowlands, boasts an exceptional array of habitats sustaining a vast number of bird species. Along the way the group may see species such as the Giant Hummingbird (“the Schwarzenegger of hummingbirds”), the Cock-of-the-rock, the Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan, or the Undulated Tinamou – but how many will they see in all?   It’s the question we all want answered!

Life-long conservationist and avid birder Craig Thompson will lead the Birdathon, traveling from La Crosse, Wisconsin to the Amazon rainforests of Peru along with 12 other participants. The coordinator of the international program of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative, he has been organizing and leading birding trips to the neotropics for the past 20 years. Like the birds they study, Thompson and participants will migrate down to bird wintering grounds in Peru. The connection between the neotropics and Wisconsin is a strong one – over half of Wisconsin’s 238 species of breeding birds winter within the tropical latitudes.

The Wisconsin birders have set a $20,000 goal for the Birdathon. They are currently more than halfway there – you can help them meet their goal by making a tax-deductible pledge of either a fixed or per-species amount. Your donation will be used by ACA to help protect one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Just go to ACA’s website to make a one-time donation in support of the event, or fill out our pledge form. Plus, if you guess the final bird count you will win a copy of Birds of Peru from the Princeton Field Guides Series. You can get an idea of the diversity of beautiful birds that the group may see in this video of birds in our Wayqecha Biological Station.

Download the PDF here

With a wingspan of almost eight inches, blue Morpho butterflies are some of the largest in the world. Unfortunately, these butterflies, known for the vivid blue color of their wings, are threatened by habitat destruction and unsustainable collection and are on the verge of being classified as an endangered species. In order to protect these creatures, the Amazon Conservation Association is working with the indigenous Queros Wachiperi community to create a market for ecotourism in southeastern Peru where these butterflies reach their peak of diversity.

Morpho butterflies of numerous species are in abundance at ACA’s Los Amigos Conservation Concession, Hacienda Villa Carmen, and the Haramba Queros Wachiperi Conservation Concession; the conservation of these magnificent butterflies and other threatened species is of great importance to the ACA.

ACA’s Research Manager, Dr. Adrian Tejedor, recently visited the Queros Conservation Concession and was stunned by the diversity of butterflies, observing over eight different species along the Blanco Chico River. The Queros Conservation Concession, the world’s first conservation concession managed by an indigenous group with support from ACA, is a critical place to study and protect blue Morpho butterflies because it is here where the piedmont and lowland species meet. The result: one of the richest Morpho communities in existence, found along this narrow strip of land situated between the lowlands and the highlands.

The high price the Morphos demand in international trade, selling for as much as $95 apiece, is a testament to its beauty. With their intimate knowledge of Morpho butterfly diversity and biology, the indigenous Queros Wachiperi people are ideally positioned to make the important change from selling butterfly corpses to marketing live sightings of these unique creatures to butterfly enthusiasts from all over the world.

ACA is currently working in cooperation with the with the indigenous Queros Wachiperi community to create and market an ecotourism enterprise for butterflywatching, especially of the magnificent blue Morpho. This project will provide a sustainable source of income for the Queros Wachiperi community, provide an opportunity for outsiders to experience this immense species richness, and promote long-term preservation of these rare, threatened butterflies.

As illegal gold miners flock to the southeastern Peruvian region of Madre de Dios, an Amazon Conservation Association (ACA)-sponsored study reveals alarming rates of mercury contamination in some of the region’s most commonly consumed fish. Researchers Luis Fernandez of the Carnegie Institution for Science and Victor Hugo Gonzalez of the Universidad Técnica de Machala tested locally-caught freshwater fish purchased in markets in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. They found that three very popular fish had mercury levels well above—in one case double—the maximum recommended concentration set by the World Health Organization. Because the human body completely absorbs most fish-borne mercury, researchers concluded that it is easily possible to consume more than the safe limit in a single meal. These results are alarming, and the threats to the local environment and human health are growing.

An estimated 300 people now arrive in Madre de Dios each day, most of them impoverished and looking for work in informal, small-scale gold mining. These miners use mercury to amalgamate gold. By discarding polluted tailings and burning mercury off the gold amalgam, miners release an estimated 30 to 40 tons of mercury annually into the environment in Madre de Dios alone. Miners work without safety measures or even rudimentary equipment to prevent or reduce mercury pollution. Their negligence threatens the health and livelihoods of their families and friends and contaminates the fragile ecosystems through burning of mercury and improper disposal of the toxic chemical.

Mercury consumption is extremely hazardous to human health, with effects ranging from brain damage, memory loss, personality change, and tremors, to permanent developmental damage to growing fetuses. While the local population is largely aware of the potential hazards associated with mercury consumption, many residents incorrectly assume that, as mercury sinks to the bottom of rivers, only bottom-dwelling fish are contaminated. To improve local awareness, ACA has used the results of the Fernandez-Gonzalez study to create an informational video on mercury poisoning, and the researchers themselves have been featured on Peruvian television broadcasts. Residents have indicated their surprise upon learning that larger, carnivorous fish have higher concentrations of mercury.        

In response to these mounting threats, ACA is working to encourage greener mining practices and technologies that reduce the need for mercury. ACA is also promoting open dialogue between the Ministry of Environment and local stakeholders regarding mining regulations and the promotion of alternative sustainable livelihoods. One such alternative is aquaculture of native fish: in uncontaminated water, aquaculture can improve human health by providing fish with low levels of mercury, while simultaneously stimulating the local economy. 

With the start of the new year, it brings us great pleasure to introduce Luis Felipe Duchicela, the new executive director for Amazon Conservation Association/Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónia (ACA/ACCA), who began as of February 1, 2011. Luis Felipe brings substantial experience from the private, governmental, and non-profit sectors throughout Latin America.

During the last six years, he served as regional director for the Rainforest Alliance, first in Central America and Mexico, and more recently in Ecuador and the Andean Amazon region, where he was in charge of promoting best management practices and sustainable livelihoods in agriculture (coffee, cocoa and bananas), forestry (timber and Brazil nuts), and tourism in the fragile ecosystems of these countries.

He became the first national secretary of indigenous affairs of Ecuador in 1994 and achieved the creation of the first multimillion-dollar fund exclusively for indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorean development. Luis Felipe is an expert in agricultural development, having worked nearly twenty years with Chiquita in various functions ranging from financial analyst to country manager in Central America and Ecuador.

Luis Felipe, an Ecuadorean of Quechua descent, holds a BA in architecture and regional planning from the Central University of Ecuador in Quito, and a master’s degree in public and private management from Yale University, with emphasis on finance, corporate strategies, and quantitative analysis.

We thank Monica Romo for her leadership as interim executive director, and look forward to the future efforts, leadership, and contributions of Luis Felipe. This addition marks an exciting change for ACA/ACCA, and we’ll keep you posted on our ongoing developments. 

Cesar Moran labored more than four long years with ACA and ACCA, first as conservation director and then as executive director for both organizations. With his seemingly unlimited energy, he traveled between our offices in Peru (Cusco, Puerto Maldonado, and Lima), Bolivia, and Washington, D.C., to the field, to meetings with funders and partners around the world, all the while overseeing operations for ACA and ACCA. As he moves on to new endeavors, we can hardly express our gratitude for all his efforts on behalf of not only our organizations but our shared purpose: to protect the world’s richest forests, train the next generation of Amazonian conservationists, and help people in the Amazon live better lives through sustainable means. We wish him the best, and expect to be in constant touch with him for the foreseeable future, as he continues to support the cause. As we seek new leadership, Monica Romo, director of ACCA’s Puerto Maldonado office, has stepped up to serve as interim executive director.

CICRA intern Sarah Federman relates her experience working at the Los Amigos Biological Station.

Sordid little detail: bugs (although I prefer the Spanish term, bichos – the sound of the word describes more fully my feelings than the hard ending of “bug”) have made off with the rubber parts of my earphones. I am not pleased. However, this is a price I am more than willing to pay to live and work at the Amazon Conservation Association’s Los Amigos Biological Station (known as “CICRA” in Spanish).

I wish I could package the sounds here – trills, screeches, squawks, growls, chirps, clicks, the mechanical hum of cicadas, and the steady patter of the swarm of wasps which flies repeatedly into the metal screens behind me. A flock of birds lives outside the dining hall. When they call, it is like listening to drops of water falling into a metal bowl.

To reach CICRA you must travel up the Madre de Dios river in a motorized canoe for anywhere between five and eight hours. The ride is amazing, opening up a scene of conflicting ideals. The wide river stretches sinuously below an imposing and mysterious wall of shining greens and browns reaching into the glaringly blue sky (or, as the rainy season sets in, the slate grey of an impending downpour); here it is easy to imagine nature as Nature. Below the wall of green, the water is littered with piles of discarded rocks upon which crouch men, women, and children. They sift and add to their ever-growing islands of refuse, which, with time, become archipelagoes of unrealized aspirations. At moments, though, hidden within the chaff is a whisper of gold that glints with the promise of paradise.

It would be easy to condemn one of these “ideals,” especially when presented with a literal divide at one point during the ride: a conservation concession beyond the bank of the river, with mining on the water. I wonder, though, if there is something more, some entanglement of these two seemingly irreconcilable experiences of the environment. It is this itching question, regarding the contents of the space of friction between two traditionally opposed realities which drives me to study not just ecology, but take a more interdisciplinary route of study.

One of the best perks of the job is that I get to organize and teach sábados científicos (Science Saturdays) at the closest town along the river. I was able to coordinate with the town’s teacher to create a year’s worth of lesson plans to complement the students’ scientific curriculum. The children are quite young, so sábado científico classes have a strong emphasis on combining group work, play, and knowledge of local biodiversity and ecosystems with the aim of promoting a sense of communal pride and protectiveness over local flora and fauna. Students often work in teams to solve questions, find and identify useful plants, or act out parts of an ecosystem; in this way we create a positive association between learning, play, and the amazing natural world in which we live.

ACA provides me with the perfect outlet for continuing and improving my passion for ecological investigations. I am allowed time to work with visiting researchers, allowing me to gain valuable field experience and skills, and to design and implement my own research projects. Thus far, I have designed two which I find quite interesting. The first is to monitor butterfly diversity with standard baited traps on an altitudinal gradient between ACA’s cloud forest station (Wayqecha) and CICRA, focusing on fruit feeding Nymphalidae butterflies as indicators of overall butterfly diversity. This investigation is primarily a “teaching study” maintained by students and volunteers with the intent to create opportunities to gain experience and learn field skills in the tropics. The second project is more of an independent investigation which compares vegetative regeneration in pristine and human-altered sites.

Thus far my work at CICRA has greatly expanded my array of field skills. I am confident that these important skills will further my goal to implement meaningful change as a professor or within a conservation organization, researching and educating on the subjects of ecology and conservation.

(Photos by Rick Stanley and Gabby Salazar)