Los Amigos Forever : 360,000 acres of the Amazon’s richest forest to be permanently protected
July 22, 2006
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!