The Workshop on the Biodiversity, Conservation and Management of the Alto Purús Reserved Zone was held in the main auditorium of the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) Headquarters in Lima on November 7th, 2002. This workshop was organized by the Duke University’s Center for Tropical Conservation (CTC), ParksWatch, and INRENA, with funding from the FANPE-GTZ Project.
The Peruvian Government established the Alto Purús Reserved Zone in 2000 in order to protect the lowland forests of the Ucayali and Madre de Dios Departments. This area is considered to be of high priority in the conservation of Peru’s biological and cultural diversity. Due to its location among several protected areas in Peru and neighboring Brazil, it plays a strategic role in the conservation of this part of the Amazon. The great ecological value of, and imminent threats to, this pristine area served as a catalyst for the gathering of scientists and environmental organizations to discuss the various issues implied by the conservation of this critical natural area.
The workshop counted with the participation of distinguished lecturers and guests, with the opening address being delivered by Gustavo Suarez de Feitas, General Director of the Peru’s National System of Protected Areas. The day was then punctuated by a series of presentations on the diverse challenges currently faced by the Reserve, a list of which is given below:
“The Trees of the Alto Purús Basin” by Nigel Pitman and Percy Núñez; “Ethnobotanical Studies of the Alto Purús” by James Graham; “The Herpetofauna of the Alto Purús: What Do We Currently Know?” by Lily Rodríguez; “The Endangered Waters, Rivers Otters (Pteronura brasilensis) and the Aquatic Habitats of the Alto Purús” by Lisa Davenport; “Terrestrial Mammals and the Threats to their Conservation” by Renata Leite; “Evaluation of Peccary Populations in the Alto Purus” by Miguel Lleellish; “The Local Communities along the Reserved Zone: History and Present Activities” by Diego Shoobridge; “Sociocultural Impacts of Forest Clearing” by Diego Shoobridge; “Effects of Hunting in the Pikiniki and Nueva Belén Indigenous Communities” by Jessica Amanzo”; “Identification of Non-traditional Resource Use by the Local Communities of the Alto Purús” by Ulrike Wagner and Carlos Arias; “Populated Frontiers: A Viable Policy or an Anachronism?” by John Terborgh; “Current Conservation Status of the Reserved Zone and the Participation of the Prima Project in the Management Area” by Ricardo Jon Llap; and “The Alto Purús Reserved Zone and its Surroundings: INRENA’s Conservation Objectives” by Gustavo Suárez de Freitas.
Among the guests attending the workshop were such influential figures in the local decision-making process as Dr. Josefina Takahashi, coordinator and designer of the area’s management plan, and Miguel Delgado, Director of the PIMA Project (Participation of Native Communities in the Management of Natural Protected Areas in the Peruvian Amazon). The seminar was also attended by various representatives of environmental NGOs, students, and delegates of logging companies active in the area.
La foto inicial: El Río Curanja, cerca de la frontera de la Zona Reservada Alto Purús.)
ParksWatch: November 2002