In 2003, ACA and its Peruvian partner, Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA), launched a grant program to support research in the Amazon region. Since then, the program has granted 90 scholarships. All this has been possible due to the generous support of the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.

The main objective of this research grants program is to provide economic assistance to young scientists to conduct research at our Los Amigos station.

There are three grant categories that support field research in pure and applied biology and resource use and related topics:

1. Grants for Peruvian undergraduate students
2. Grants for master’s and doctoral students, and
3. Seed grants or matching grants for post-docs or established researchers.

In 2006 ACA and ACCA awarded 21 grants: 4 to Peruvian undergraduate students, 7 to master’s and doctoral students, and 10 to established researchers at the post-doc level. Research projects conducted by these students include topics on climate change, vegetation inventory, plant-animal interactions, fishes, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, and many others.

Results from this work will help us better understand the Amazonian ecosystems and to develop strategies to help preserve the richest rainforest on Earth. Our research grants represent a significant financial resource for Latin American scientists. Of the 90 grants awarded to date, 54 have been given to Peruvian scientists, 2 to Argentinean scientists, 2 to Brazilian scientists, 2 to Colombian scientists, and 1 to a Mexican scientist.

We are very proud of the research activity and results generated by these grants and hope to continue offering them for many years to come.

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In June, ACA’s Wayqecha Research Station, located at 2,900 m of elevation in the cloud forest region of Cusco, Peru, opened its doors to researchers from around the world. In the months of July and August alone, Wayqecha hosted 29 different researchers from various American, British and Peruvian institutions, such as University of Florida, University of Missouri, Texas A&M University, and Oxford University.

Wayqecha Research Station aims to protect the cloud forest’s biodiversity as it facilitates research which will lead to a better understanding of this ecosystem. Cloud forests receive hundreds of inches of rain every year. 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:

1. they contain a vast storehouse of species, many of them narrowly endemic
2. They are among the ecosystems hardest hit by the amphibian extinction crisis
3. They will serve as natural corridors for plant and animal species pushed uphill by global warming.

At the moment, Wayqecha is ready to receive up to 12 people at a time. The station is equipped with 3 cabins for researchers, a dining room for up to 40 people, a kitchen, a laundry room, and a camping area. Satellite internet and VOIP are also available.

In addition to research in the cloud forest, ACA is actively involved with communities in the region to develop sustainable resource use practices.

We have three projects already in place:

1. Extraction of essential oils from medicinal plants
2. Production of high-quality cooking oil from the native Sacha Inchi plant
3. Production of natural dyes used to color traditional textiles.

The new Wayqecha station is just 175 km from our Los Amigos station in the Amazonian lowlands. Together, research at these sites will provide a full panorama of the biodiversity and climate changes in the Andes-Amazon region.

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After four years of intensive efforts to document the reptile species that live within the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, a team of experts has recently completed a detailed catalog of more than 80 reptile species.

Hundreds of species are still expected to be recorded in the coming years, and as the list grows, so does the chance of engaging the Peruvian government and other organizations in implementing new conservation activities.

“Knowledge of amphibian and reptile communities across Amazonian forests is crucial for understanding how highly diverse the region is and how important it is to preserve its diversity,” explains Rudolf von May, a Peruvian Ph.D. student at Florida International University. Von May has done field work at many sites in Peru, including the Manu Biosphere Reserve and Rio Abiseo National Park, and is currently completing his thesis on “Anuran beta diversity across forest types in a lowland Amazonian rainforest” at the Los Amigos Biological Station.

Along with colleagues Louise Emmons, Guillermo Knell, Jennifer Jacobs, and Lily Rodriguez, von May has now published a downloadable field guide, available at Field Museum of Natural History’s website. Also available at the Field Museum website are guides to several groups of plants prepared by noted botanist Robin Foster and colleagues.

The reptile plates include some species from Peru’s Manu National Park and Tambopata Reserve. Both sites lie adjacent to the Los Amigos biological station and thus share similar ecosystems and species. A similar set of guides is currently being planned for the amphibians at Los Amigos.

“Laminated guides to identify tropical organisms are important tools for research and education,” finalizes von May.

“The study of these organisms and studies on plant and animal life will contribute to regional strategies for conservation.”

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The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) recently released Atrium, an online biodiversity information system that provides scientists, students, and the general public with access to biodiversity data, images, maps, and more for the Andes-Amazon region of southeastern Peru, and beyond.

Atrium facilitates the collection, organization, and sharing of organismal and ecological information generated by the biologists, ecologists, students, and local field assistants conducting studies in the region from the different ACA field sites: Los Amigos and Wayqechas Research Stations.

With a standard Web browser, viewers can log in to Atrium and search over 5,000 collections that compose the Peruvian plant specimen data and browse over more than 15,000 images. And they can compare plant species between different areas of the tropics, especially between Peru and the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.

The development and design of Atrium was partially funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation under the initiative to increase knowledge of the AndesAmazon area and to develop new technologies to document and disseminate information about the species and ecosystems in the region.

In 2004, John Janovec, Ph.D., BRIT botanist and head of AABP; Amanda Neill, BRIT collections manager and co-director of AABP; and Mathias Tobler, doctoral student and co-director of AABP, began defining the types of data necessary for a biodiversity information system. Since the release of the initial version in August 2005, the team has added new features, including custom field guides, satellite imagery, bibliographic records, and live mapping of specimen locations.

Moreover, the team has developed a portable version of Atrium that can be taken into the field by researchers, allowing easy access to data and images without requiring an Internet connection. Many new components and datasets will be added during 2006-2007. Atrium can be seen online at: http://atrium.andesamazon.org.

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Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) and its Peruvian counterpart, the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA) are establishing a US$ 1 million trust fund to ensure permanent protection of the Los Amigos Conservation Concession. The trust fund will cover the basic costs of both protecting and monitoring the ecological health of the conservation concession.

Established in 2001, the Los Amigos Conservation Concession is an example of one of the most innovative tools in conservation. Prior to the creation of the Los Amigos Concession, illegal logging and hunting in the area was steadily increasing. The government of Peru lacked the resources to protect the forest and fauna of the area.

Today, thanks to the intervention and management of ACA/ACCA, all illegal logging and hunting activities have completely stopped. Wildlife populations are growing steadily, and ACA’s Research Program in Los Amigos has tremendously helped to increase our understanding of these Amazonian ecosystems.

In setting aside Los Amigos, the Peruvian Government has entrusted us with the care of a large tract of the biologically richest forest on earth. To ensure that this forest is permanently conserved, we need to raise $ 2.78 per acre!

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ACA recently partnered with ACEER, the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research, to enhance education and research training activities at CICRA– ACA’s Research Station adjacent to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession.

With support from the National Geographic Society, ACEER will expand current facilities at CICRA to accommodate groups of up to 20 course participants in comfortable dormitories. Course participants will have access to laboratories, ACA’s library, internet, and other facilities. Most importantly, they will have access to the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, a pristine Amazon setting.

ACEER plans to sponsor several courses at CICRA during the year, and expand in the years to come.

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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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