Dr. John Terborgh, co-director of the Center of Tropical Conservation and a professor at Duke University, USA, spoke before the Peruvian Congress in January. Dr. Terborgh has numerous years of experience in tropical research, particularly in the Peruvian Amazon. He focused his speech on the importance of protected areas, specifically their role in the conservation of biological diversity and their contribution to the economic and social development of Peru. The audience was composed of delegate members of and advisors to the different commissions of the Peruvian congress, representatives the National Council of the Environment (CONAM), the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA), several conservation NGO’s, and a diverse number of public intuitions and members of the press.
Using case studies from other tropical countries, Dr. Terborgh cited not only negative examples of protected area management, but also offered several models of the successful conservation programs. Synthesizing numerous scientific studies, Dr. Terborgh explained both the biological processes that occur within protected area boundaries and the role that these protected areas have in the effective preservation and management of species.
The conference was held in the context of a vote to approve of Peru’s new Law of Regionalization. This law would facilitate better participation by regional governments in issues concerning protected natural areas, creating unified and efficient administration and managerial procedures.
The conference, organized and coordinated by the Congressional Commission of Ecology, finished by recognizing Dr. Terborgh for his dedicated work in furthering both development and scientific research in Perú. This recognition was given by Dr. Fabiola Morales, president of the Commission.
(Photo above: Dr. Fabiola Morales gives an official recognition from the Peruvian govermnet to Dr. Terborgh.)
ParksWatch: January 2003