A project that is already underway to upgrade existing roads linking Brazil to the Pacific Ocean will bring significant challenges for conservation and land use planners in southeastern Peru. In March, ACA joined more than 200 participants including Peruvian government authorities, regional environmental commissions, indigenous and native communities, representatives from academia and civil society in a workshop to facilitate discussion among the regions of Cusco, Puno and Madre de Dios on local opportunities and sustainable development and conservation issues around the construction of the highway.

One of the results achieved during this first workshop was a general consensus regarding the need to work together to ensure sustainable development, particularly in the biologically fragile Madre de Dios–Cusco region. Many discussions focused on the need to generate employment and improve the quality of life and social conditions in the region, while conserving biodiversity and maintaining the connectivity between the three regions’ unique ecosystems.

A strategy has been proposed, based on planned development and sustainable management of natural resources, to promote:

• Local capacity building
• Information access and exchange
• Independent monitoring and evaluation of social and environmental impacts related to the project
• Close collaboration among existing protected areas, and establishment of ecological and productive corridors with non-timber forest concessions, conservation concessions, ecotourism and reforestation, and community and indigenous reserves
• Incentives for forest protection.

ACA will continue to work closely with all the parties engaged in these discussions, to propose and implement viable solutions to these critical challenges.

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Since its establishment in 1999, Amazon Conservation Association has grown significantly and made great progress in Peru and Bolivia. During these first years, Cristian Vallejos successfully led the organization to greater horizons, consolidating a foundation for solid, effective programs have that surpassed even the highest initial expectations of colleagues, friends, and staff of the Organization.

As part of ACA’s adaptive strategy for meeting the coming challenges in conservation, we have appointed Steven Panfil as ACA’s new Executive Director, starting January 2006. Steve has a doctorate in botany from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in ecology from Princeton University

Based in Cusco, Peru, Steve has served as ACA’s Conservation Director for the past 3 years. With greater presence in the field, we expect to strengthen our relations with governmental organizations, local communities and other key partners in conservation. I would like to personally thank Cristian Vallejos for his excellent commitment and leadership during this important initial phase.

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The Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA) and the Peruvian National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (SENAMHI) have signed a cooperative agreement that will enhance the network of weather stations throughout the Madre de Dios basin.

This two-year renewable agreement will upgrade SENAMHI-operated weather stations and integrate them with two stations monitored by ACCA. The staff responsible for collecting data at the stations will be mostly selected from the communities adjacent to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, as a means to benefit the communities while achieving sustainable conservation. As part of this agreement

ACCA will also have access to historical data collected by SENAMHI in the Madre de Dios basin. Data obtained from these archives and from the stations will be critical in our ongoing efforts to monitor the impacts of climate change in the Andes-Amazon region.

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