Empowered Indigenous Tribes and Effective Protected Areas
Our vision for the Purús—Manu Landscape includes truly effective protected areas where the isolated tribes are able to continue their lifestyle in voluntary isolation for as long as they choose. In this vision, local communities are actively engaged in conservation efforts and earning income through the sustainable use of their resources. We envision a better-educated, healthier, and more skilled local population with renewed pride in their diverse cultures, and the confidence and capability to assume their rightful role as stewards of one of the most remarkable places left on Earth.
We are working to achieve this vision through several multifaceted strategies.
Gateway Communities Initiative
The most remote communities located along the borders of protected areas play a critical role in protecting the most intact parts of the Purús-Manu Landscape and the isolated tribes who live there. Yet the government has virtually no presence in these marginalized, hard to access regions. Through this initiative, we are supporting planning, conservation and vigilance capacity building and sustainable livelihood projects to improve stewardship and standard of living on some of the most remote and marginalized communities in the Amazon.
Indigenous Support
We support communities and federations in their struggle to protect their lands from illegal and exploitative forces. In 2021, we are partnered with the indigenous associations of the Yurua region, providing much-needed office and monitoring equipment, conducting capacity building workshops and helping to strengthen and raise awareness of their opposition to an illegal road.
Protected Areas
We work closely with the Peru’s National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) to engage local people in monitoring access routes and buffer zones of protected areas. We provide equipment like boats, motors and GPS unites, host training workshops and conduct aerial and river patrols to investigate illegal activities and monitor populations of endangered flora and fauna. We also work to establish indigenous-managed protected areas, for example the Yurua Communal Conservation Concession.
Raising Awareness
Through our education and awareness campaigns, we are generating international attention for the struggles of Peru’s marginalized indigenous tribes, including those living in isolation and initial contact with the outside world. Successful campaigns have covered illegal mahogany logging, illegal infrastructure projects and the current invasion of the coca mafia to indigenous lands and protected areas.
Example: In October 2019, our investigation of land invasions was published in the English and Spanish versions on the global environmental news site, Mongabay.