ParksWatch, together with the Association for the Development of Rural Amazon (ADAR), recently held a field-training program in the management of protected areas for representatives of the Federation of Native Communities of the Purus River. The program enabled three indigenous leaders of the Alto Purus Reserved Zone to visit the Tambopata National Reserve, located in the department of Madre de Dios.
The main objective of the trip was for the Purús representatives to gain knowledge about the operation, administration, and common problems involved with protecting a natural area. It was hoped that by enabling these leaders to visit another protected natural area, it would remove their suspicions regarding the new implementation of the Alto Purus Reserved Zone as well as to help gain local support for its implementation.
In Madre de Dios the visitors had the opportunity to meet with the director and personnel of Tambopata National Reserve. They visited the control posts on the Tambopata River and held discussions with park rangers and park managers. They established contact with the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) who shared their experiences, discussed their problems with illegal loggers, and gave advice about working in a protected area. The leaders also visited tourist lodges and non-profit organizations working in the area. Finally, they traveled along a road that connects the region and experienced first-hand its impact on the forest and the local communities.
On their return trip through Lima, they visited the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) and met with the General Director of Natural Protected Areas, the Director of the project on Participation of Native Communities in the Management of Natural Protected Areas in the Peruvian Amazon (PIMA), and the Director in Charge of Forestry Control, among other important officials.
This visit allowed the indigenous representatives to clarify their doubts about the system of control that will be instituted in Alto Purus, as well as to establish key contacts with institutions and organizations that can help them solve future problems in their region.
(Top photo: Indigenous representatives from the Purus River with personnel from the Tambopata National Reserve.)
ParksWatch: September 2002