Western Amazon Newsletter

Caroline Chaboo, Ph.D., (left) is an assistant professor of evolutionary biology and a curator of the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas. She has developed deep beetle expertise through field work in some 25 different countries and through many years of research and publishing scientific papers on the subject. During the past decade, she […]

Put Science and Technology to Work Synthesis Reports

Deforestation continues to increase in the Peruvian Amazon. According to the latest information from the Peruvian Environment Ministry1, 2014 had the highest annual forest loss on record since 2000 (177,500 hectares, or 438,600 acres per year). 2013 and 2012 had the third and fourth highest annual forest loss totals, respectively (behind only 2009).   To […]

MAAP Reports

Deforestation continues to increase in the Peruvian Amazon. According to the latest information from the Peruvian Environment Ministry1, 2014 had the highest annual forest loss on record since 2000 (177,500 hectares, or 438,600 acres per year). 2013 and 2012 had the third and fourth highest annual forest loss totals, respectively (behind only 2009).

MAAP Reports

Download PDF of this article Deforestation continues to increase in the Peruvian Amazon. According to the latest information from the Peruvian Environment Ministry1, 2014 had the highest annual forest loss on record since 2000 (177,500 hectares, or 438,600 acres per year). 2013 and 2012 had the third and fourth highest annual forest loss totals, respectively […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

*Note: During the preparation of this analysis, the Peruvian government conducted an operation against the illegal gold mining activity in the area described below (see this news article in Spanish for more information). In MAAP #21, we revealed, using high-resolution images, the first sign of an invasion into the Tambopata National Reserve (an important natural protected area in the […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

The Las Piedras River in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios) is increasingly recognized for its outstanding wildlife (for example, see this video by naturalist and explorer Paul Rosolie, and this trailer for the upcoming film Uncharted Amazon). As seen in Image 23a, its headwaters are born in the Alto Purus National […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

Peru recently celebrated a major conservation victory for 2015 with the creation of Sierra del Divisor National Park. Prior to this announcement, Sierra del Divisor was classified as a Reserved Zone, which is a temporary measure to protect an area of biological importance until the government is able to determine a final designation. In these […]

Western Amazon Newsletter

As the world breathes a sigh of relief about progress at the recent climate conference in Paris, the Puerto Arturo indigenous community in southeast Peru is hard at work protecting their forest home.  The year’s end means harvest time for this castañero community, harvesters who provide for their families by sustainably gathering castañas (which we know as Brazil nuts) that […]

MAAP Reports

Image 21a illustrates a recent illegal gold mining invasion of the Tambopata National Reserve. Tambopata is an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios). Image 21a compares two high-resolution (0.5 m) images taken two months apart over the same area along the northern border of the reserve. One can clearly see […]

Put Science and Technology to Work

*Note: During the review process for this article, a major operation against illegal mining activities was carried out by the Peruvian government in the area described below. Image 21a illustrates a recent illegal gold mining invasion of the Tambopata National Reserve. Tambopata is an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios). Image 21a […]