ACA is working with the Field Museum to produce two new field guides in 2007: hummingbirds and terrestrial mammals. Both field guides will depict species surveyed in the Madre de Dios Watershed, including species specifically for our Los Amigos Biological Station and our Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Station.

There are many field guides produced at Los Amigos that are already available at the Field Museum website (www. fieldmuseum.org). These include:

• Mamíferos (Mammals) del S.E. Perú by author Renata Leite Pitman.
• Reptiles del Centro Río Los Amigos, Manu y Tambopata by authors: von May, Emmons, Knell, Jacobs & Rodríguez.
• Arboles y Arbustos del Centro Río Amigos by authors Foster, Betz & Beltrán.
• Herbs of Centro Río Amigos by aurthors Foster, Betz & Beltrán.
• Palmas of Centro Río Amigos by authors Foster, Betz & Beltrán.
• Trepadores y Epifitas of Centro Río Amigos by authors Foster, Betz & Beltrán.

Make sure you read our Cicra Letter to learn about other research projects being conducted at our Los Amigos Research Station.

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The Association of Sacha Inchi Growers in Manu (APASIMANU) has signed an agreement with AgroIndustrias Amazonicas, Peru’s main distributor of Sacha Inchi oil, to become one of its suppliers.

After several months of continuous conversations between APASI-MANU and AgroIndustrias Amazonicas, ACA’s partner organization in Peru could finally facilitate an agreement that will benefit the Sacha Inchi growers of the Kosñipata valley.

“We have achieved a unification of interests: the private sector, the community and the ACCA NGO, and this group can have only one result which is the confidence in the future.” Said Mr. José Anaya, Director of AgroIndustrias Amazónicas.

This agreement is a milestone achievement of our Micro-enterprise initiatives’ project, currently funded by the Blue Moon Fund. Sacha Inchi, also known as Inca Inchi, is an Amazonian seed high in Omega 6 (36.8 %) and Omega 3 (48.6 %). Being of vegetable origin, the Sacha Inchi oil has 0 cholesterol.

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At the end of last year we had a spectacled bear sighting at our Wayqecha Research Station. Two of our staff workers where doing maintenance work in a trail near the station when a strong, big, messy-coated bear slowly approached them. Our staff stood still, nervous, but still. The bear in turn, was quietly chewing a chunk of Bromelia sp. 5 meters was all that separated our staff from that powerful, robust but yet adorable beast.

The spectacled bear or Tremarctos ornatus is an endangered species that can only be found in a few countries of South America. Although this type of bear is adaptable and can be found in many types of habitats, like rainforests, cloud forests, and even in desert lands, the rapid loss of habitat has been the main threat that pushed this bear species population close to extinction.

Over the past decade or so, conservation programs have made a tremendous effort to protect this animal’s habitat and have contributed to a rebound in its population size. However, numbers are still very low and the spectacled bear continues to be listed under the IUCN Red List.

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Wild orchids are disappearing in Latin America due to over-collection and loss of habitat. Peru alone has lost more than 13 percent of its forest from 1950-1992. Thankfully, scientists, students and local resident naturalists are collaborating to document and conserve wild orchids of the neotropics and their ecosystems. In addition to discovering new orchids, there is a comprehensive orchid inventory monitoring program that provides a baseline for documenting overall ecosystem’s health.

Team members from the Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program (AABP) at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) in collaboration with ACA are studying wild orchids in the Andes-Amazon region of southeast Peru. The project is currently based at ACA’s Los Amigos Biological Station and Wayqecha Research Station, covering transitional region where the Andes Mountains slope down to meet with the Amazon basin. Experts in the field say that research in Wayqecha could help promote conservation in the area and ensure the protection of these wild orchids and their ecosystem for many years.

The main goals are to study the diversity and ecology of wild orchids and to document this work through the publication of checklists, field guides, scientific papers and an online database. A major goal of the orchid project is to study the effect of habitat, season and elevation on the change in orchid species diversity and ecology. So far the project has been a success. The AABP field team collected 60 species of flowering or fruiting orchids from forest and wetland areas around the Los Amigos Biological Station in September 2005. In Wayqecha Research Station, in only five days of initial fieldwork in 2004, the AABP team documented 110 orchids in Wayqecha forests.

Orchid scientists and orchid enthusiast are invited to view the AABP orchid collection online at the AABP Atrium website (atrium. andesamazon.org), where one can view digital images of orchids and other plants collected by project botanists.

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ACA is pleased to announce a new and exciting project: The Manu Cloud Forest Observatory and Canopy Walkway System.

The project consists of a highly sophisticated aluminum canopy walkway system that will include an observatory in the Peruvian cloud forests, at ~9,500 ft asl. The walkway will be constructed along steep mountain slopes in the Kosñipata valley and will include a high-end technology classroom tower for educational courses and research activities.

The canopy walkway system will be fully integrated with a trail system to provide a unique experience both for the general public and for researchers and educators.

Our partners for this project are the ACEER Foundation, Greenheart Conservation, the National Geographic Society, Alcan Inc., the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, among others. More news on the development of this project in our next issue.

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When one lives at 13,450 ft in the Peruvian Andes, a cup of hot chocolate and a Christmas present have a whole new meaning. On December 20, 2006 our partner organization in Peru, the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA) organized a Christmas celebration with the children of the Quico community in Cusco.

Quico is a weaving community of about 60 families that live high in the Andean mountains of the Kosñipata Valley. When it comes to weaving their magnificent textiles, all family members participate, from the very young and playful to very old and wise. Their weaving techniques are ancient, dating back perhaps to the times of the Incas.

ACCA works with the Quicos helping them improve their weaving techniques, and providing training in the use of natural dyes as part of a Micro-enterprise initiatives’ project funded by the Blue Moon Fund and ACA.

This past December, a team of ACCA visited the Quicos bringing hot chocolate and presents for 120 children. The Christmas celebration not only was enjoyed by the children, but also by the parents and teachers of the local school. The presents given to the children included musical instruments like quenas, zampoñas and flutes for the boys; the girls received little toy-stuffed llamas and dolls dressed with traditional clothing.

“This is a good day, we like that we work together, thank you.” said Wenceslao, a leader of the community.

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In August-September 2006, fieldwork at ACA Los Amigos research station by Drs. Joseph Tobias and Nathalie Seddon (Oxford University, UK) added seven new bird species to the Los Amigos list. The new species include the Whitebellied Seedeater (Sporophila leucoptera) and the Whitechinned Swift (Cypseloides cryptus).

Both of these sightings were documented with photographs, and represent the first records for the department of Madre de Dios, Peru. Indeed, there is no previous documented Peruvian record of the Seedeater, and the Swift is only known from a handful of specimens (mainly old records from the department of Puno, Peru). Their discovery is just another example of the vast biodiversity of Los Amigos yet to be explored.

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In July Luz Marina Velarde, Director of our Brazil Nut Program, organized a workshop on sustainable management of Brazil nuts in the Madre de Dios region in Peru. Approximately 50 local Brazil nut growers attended the workshop. Delegates from Brazil and Bolivia were also present.

The purpose of the workshop was to give Brazil nut growers a framework to share experiences and discuss the different techniques they have developed over the past years in their respective communities.

The workshop also helped address issues affecting local communities, such as environmental and social risks and benefits associated with the use of Brazil nuts as an economic alternative. Ms. Sara Hurtado and Mr. Amancio Ibanez, harvesters in the areas of Alegria and Alerta of Madre de Dios, discussed how their lives have improved with the use of Brazil nuts as a sustainable development and economically viable alternative.

In Madre de Dios, Brazil nuts represent more than half a year’s income for thousands of families. ACA promotes regular workshops to increase awareness of the benefits resulting from harvesting Brazil nuts, not only for the community but for forest conservation as well.

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César Morán, an experienced Peruvian environmentalist, joins the ACA family as our new Conservation Director starting this month.

César was born in Lima, Peru, and studied Zoology at the La Molina University in Lima. He then pursued a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry. César has a vast experience in the environmental conservation field. He developed a hands-on environmental education program at the La Molina University aimed to teach school children in Lima about organic gardening.

Later, he worked for seven years as Project Coordinator for the Machu Picchu Program, a debt-for-nature swap between the countries of Finland and Peru which supported the park in environmental issues. We are delighted to bring him along in our journey and are confident that he will help ACA accomplish major conservation goals. Welcome César!

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On September 3, 2006, Vanessa Sequeira, 36, a dear friend and former member of ACA was killed in the Brazilian Amazon. She was working on her doctoral research for Costa Rica’s Center for Tropical Agricultural Research. Her dream was to promote programs of sustainable development in the Amazon region. She worked side by side with local communities and helped them develop techniques that would benefit them economically without cutting or destroying the forest. This goal became a priority in her professional and personal life.

She was a passionate conservationist who worked hard to see her dreams come true. When she first joined the ACA family back in 1999, as Field Director of the Brazil Nut Program in Peru, the program had just started. As she took over and assumed many responsibilities, she laid the groundwork for ACA’s advances since. She turned the Brazil Nut Program into a sustainable economic and ecological alternative to ensure the conservation of the Peruvian Amazon. Her legacy in the conservation field and at ACA has been tremendous. Her hard work with the Brazil Nut Program made ACA a worldwide pioneer in the field.

Vanessa was a wonderful person with an incomparable passion for her work. She has left us a valuable scientific, professional and humanitarian heritage. She will always be in the hearts of Brazil nut growers, her colleagues in the environmental community and all of us at ACA. May Vanessa be always remembered with love and respect, and may her legacy continue for decades to come.

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