From August 11th to the 22nd of 2011, the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) hosted its first-ever Birdathon to raise awareness about the diversity of bird species found in Peru and to help protect their imperiled habitat around Manu National Park. Every year, millions of birds make the long journey from Wisconsin to their wintering grounds in the Amazon. This year, […]
From August 11th through 22nd, the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) is hosting its first Birdathon in celebration of the immense diversity of bird species in southeastern Peru. ACA’s Birdathon is an event in which a group of conservationist birders will travel a route from the highlands to the lowlands alongside Manu National Park while counting the number of […]
Download the PDF here With a wingspan of almost eight inches, blue Morpho butterflies are some of the largest in the world. Unfortunately, these butterflies, known for the vivid blue color of their wings, are threatened by habitat destruction and unsustainable collection and are on the verge of being classified as an endangered species. In […]
As illegal gold miners flock to the southeastern Peruvian region of Madre de Dios, an Amazon Conservation Association (ACA)-sponsored study reveals alarming rates of mercury contamination in some of the region’s most commonly consumed fish. Researchers Luis Fernandez of the Carnegie Institution for Science and Victor Hugo Gonzalez of the Universidad Técnica de Machala tested […]
With the start of the new year, it brings us great pleasure to introduce Luis Felipe Duchicela, the new executive director for Amazon Conservation Association/Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónia (ACA/ACCA), who began as of February 1, 2011. Luis Felipe brings substantial experience from the private, governmental, and non-profit sectors throughout Latin America. During the last six […]
Cesar Moran labored more than four long years with ACA and ACCA, first as conservation director and then as executive director for both organizations. With his seemingly unlimited energy, he traveled between our offices in Peru (Cusco, Puerto Maldonado, and Lima), Bolivia, and Washington, D.C., to the field, to meetings with funders and partners around the […]
CICRA intern Sarah Federman relates her experience working at the Los Amigos Biological Station. Sordid little detail: bugs (although I prefer the Spanish term, bichos – the sound of the word describes more fully my feelings than the hard ending of “bug”) have made off with the rubber parts of my earphones. I am not pleased. However, […]
Back in February 2010, the government of Peru issued an emergency decree to impose stricter environmental regulations on gold mining. The decree put a hold on approval of new mining claims in Madre de Dios, added controls over where mining is permitted, and prohibited river dredging. The Mining Federation of Madre de Dios (FEDEMIN), afraid […]
ACA’s hosting of NPR journalists in the summer of 2009 resulted in an award-winning multimedia package. Reporter Lourdes Garcia-Navarro and photographer John Poole traveled along the Interoceanic highway in southern Peru with Adrian Forsyth and Enrique Ortiz, ACA’s president and vice-president, respectively. Joined by former secretary of the interior and ACA board member, Bruce Babbitt, […]
During the low tourist season of November–January, Wayqecha is a magnificent wonder of flowering plants, curious animals, and diverse birds seldom seen at other times of year. Story by Wayqecha intern Laura Morales. When I first arrived to work at Wayqecha in July 2009, I was struck by how relatively dry this cloud forest […]